Execution Context
This integration design establishes a robust Service Mesh layer using Istio or Linkerd to manage traffic routing, authentication, and monitoring across distributed systems. The focus is strictly on defining the mesh topology and policy enforcement mechanisms required for secure inter-service communication. This step anchors the architectural shift from monolithic to microservices by introducing sidecar proxies that handle cross-cutting concerns without modifying application code.
Deploy the chosen Service Mesh control plane (Istio or Linkerd) as a dedicated cluster component to initialize the mesh infrastructure.
Configure sidecar injection policies for target services to ensure automatic proxy attachment and traffic interception capabilities.
Define mTLS policies and virtual service routes to enforce security boundaries and route traffic based on labels or metadata.
Operating Checklist
Initialize the control plane cluster with appropriate resource quotas and network policies.
Define service mesh specific admission controllers for automatic sidecar injection.
Configure mTLS mutual authentication policies for all service-to-service communication channels.
Establish virtual service routes to define traffic splitting and routing logic based on metadata.
Integration Surfaces
Control Plane Deployment
Install the Istio or Linkerd control plane using Helm charts or official manifests, ensuring high availability across multiple zones.
Sidecar Injection Policy
Create cluster-scoped admission controllers to inject sidecar proxies into all pods matching specific namespace or service labels.
Traffic Policy Definition
Implement virtual services and destination rules to direct traffic flow, apply load balancing, and enforce circuit breaking logic.
