Istio Ambient Mesh

A revolutionary sidecar-less service mesh architecture that provides security, observability, and traffic management without the complexity of traditional sidecars.

Key Features

Zero-Trust Security

Implement mTLS and security policies without sidecars using the ambient data plane.

Simplified Operations

Reduce operational complexity with shared infrastructure and simplified deployment.

Rich Observability

Get comprehensive metrics, traces, and logs without per-pod overhead.

Incremental Adoption

Gradually adopt mesh features with fine-grained control over your applications.

Quick Start

Get ambient mesh running in your cluster in just a few commands.

# Install Istio with ambient profile
istioctl install --set values.pilot.env.EXTERNAL_ISTIOD=false \
  --set values.istiodRemote.enabled=false \
  --set values.pilot.env.ENABLE_WORKLOAD_ENTRY_AUTOREGISTRATION=true \
  --set values.ztunnel.enabled=true

# Enable ambient mode for a namespace
kubectl label namespace default istio.io/dataplane-mode=ambient

# Deploy your application
kubectl apply -f your-app.yaml

Documentation

Overview

Learn about ambient mesh architecture and core concepts

Getting Started

Step-by-step guide to deploy your first ambient mesh

Usage

Configure traffic management, security, and observability

Upgrade

Upgrade your ambient mesh installation safely

Troubleshooting

Common issues and solutions for ambient mesh

Reference

API reference and configuration options