Kong Ingress Controller 2.4: Weighted Load Balancing, Support for TCP, UDP and HTTP Routes

Kong has announced the general availability of Kong Ingress Controller (KIC) 2.4, which introduces new features including support for TCP, UDP, and HTTP routes, and enhanced weighted load balancing capabilities, marking a significant shift in how ingress traffic is managed in Kubernetes. Building on the initial support for Kubernetes Gateway API introduced in KIC 2.2, this release further integrates advanced traffic control and resilience features by allowing multiple backend references for load balancing, which is beneficial for scenarios like canary deployments and split testing. The release also introduces the CombinedRoutes feature, which optimizes the data plane configuration by reducing the number of routes needed, though this change requires opting-in due to its disruptive nature. Additionally, KIC 2.4 enhances management capabilities with CRD categories for simplified operations and a new flag to manage CA certificates across multiple workspaces. Future plans for KIC include achieving full feature parity with the Gateway API, transitioning into beta, and launching a Gateway Operator to streamline the management and deployment of Kong Gateway and KIC instances.

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