gateway API
also: Gateway, Kubernetes Gateway API
A Kubernetes API resource that defines how external traffic routes to services within a cluster, replacing the older Ingress API with more flexible and expressive routing rules.
Gateway API is a Kubernetes standard that provides advanced traffic management and routing capabilities for cluster ingress. It separates concerns between infrastructure providers (who manage gateways) and application developers (who define routes), allowing more granular control over how external traffic reaches services.
Unlike the older Ingress API, Gateway API uses multiple resource types: Gateway (infrastructure level), HTTPRoute (HTTP routing rules), and TcpRoute or UdpRoute for other protocols. This enables features like header-based routing, weighted traffic splitting, and cross-namespace routing.
Example: An HTTPRoute might direct traffic to /api paths to an API service while sending /static paths to a content service, all defined separately from the underlying Gateway infrastructure.