Service mesh options
Decide on the mode, image, and lifecycle of Istio service mesh to install in Gloo Mesh Enterprise clusters.
Istio mode
Gloo Mesh Enterprise supports Istio service meshes that run in sidecar mode.
| Istio mode | Maturity | Lifecycle options | Solo distributions of Istio? | Feature highlights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sidecar (default) | Production | Gloo-managed, manual, takeover existing installations | Yes | Deploy your service mesh with the standard sidecar approach. Although this approach is more resource-intensive, you get more observability data because all network traffic stays on Layer 7. To get started, see . |
Running Istio in ambient mode is not supported with the Gloo Mesh Enterprise APIs. If you are interested in trying out Istio in ambient mode, check out Gloo Mesh.
Istio image
Gloo Mesh Enterprise supports Istio service meshes that run either community Istio images or Solo distributions of Istio. The Solo distribution of Istio is a hardened Istio enterprise image, which maintains n-4 support for CVEs and other security fixes. The image support timeline is longer than the community Istio support timeline, which provides n-1 support with an additional 6 weeks of extended time to upgrade the n-2 version to n-1. For more about the added benefits of Solo distributions of Istio and to review the available image distributions, see Solo distributions of Istio.