In Kong Gateway, the Service and Route are core entities that determine how external requests are proxied to your upstream APIs or services.
Here’s how they work together:
1. Service (What you proxy to)
A Service in Kong represents an upstream API or backend application you want to expose via Kong.
Example:
{
"name": "example-service",
"url": "http://my-upstream-api:8080"
}
- This defines where Kong should send requests once they are matched.
- It includes details like
host,port,path, orprotocol.
2. Route (How requests are matched)
A Route defines the rules that determine which requests should be forwarded to a Service.
Example:
{
"paths": ["/api/v1"],
"methods": ["GET", "POST"],
"service": { "id": "example-service-id" }
}
- It maps incoming requests (based on path, method, host, headers, etc.) to a specific Service.
- One service can have multiple routes (e.g.,
/v1/users,/v1/orders, etc.).
The Flow
Client --> Kong Gateway --> [Route matched] --> [Service invoked] --> Upstream API
- Kong receives a request.
- It checks the Route rules (e.g., path, host).
- If a match is found, it forwards the request to the associated Service.
- The upstream service processes it and returns the response via Kong.
Plugins
You can attach plugins (like rate-limiting, auth, logging) at:
- Global level (applies to all requests)
- Service level (applies to all routes of a service)
- Route level (applies only to that route)
Quick Example via curl
# Create a service
curl -i -X POST http://localhost:8001/services \
--data name=example-service \
--data url=http://httpbin.org
# Create a route to that service
curl -i -X POST http://localhost:8001/services/example-service/routes \
--data paths[]=/test
Now, accessing http://localhost:8000/test will proxy to http://httpbin.org.
Example 2:
Absolutely. Let’s break down how Services and Routes work in Kong Gateway, with a clear explanation, flow, and examples.
🔹 What Is a Service in Kong?
A Service in Kong Gateway represents an upstream API or microservice. This is the destination Kong forwards requests to. You define a service with details like the host, port, and protocol (HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, etc.).
Example:
{
"name": "user-service",
"url": "http://user-api.internal:8080"
}
Or more explicitly:
{
"name": "user-service",
"host": "user-api.internal",
"port": 8080,
"protocol": "http"
}
🔸 What Is a Route in Kong?
A Route defines how incoming client requests are mapped to a Service. Routes define rules and match criteria like:
- Path (e.g.,
/users) - HTTP method (e.g.,
GET,POST) - Host (e.g.,
api.myapp.com) - Headers
- SNI (for SSL)
- TCP/UDP port
Example:
{
"paths": ["/users"],
"methods": ["GET", "POST"],
"service": { "id": "uuid-of-user-service" }
}
🔄 How Do They Work Together?
- A client sends a request to Kong (e.g.,
GET https://api.myapp.com/users). - Kong matches the request to a Route based on the defined criteria.
- The Route is linked to a Service.
- Kong forwards the request to the upstream Service.
- The response is returned to the client.
🔁 Flow Diagram (Simplified)
Client
|
v
[Request: GET /users]
|
v
[Kong Gateway]
|
├─► Match Route: "/users" → user-service
|
└─► Forward to: http://user-api.internal:8080
|
v
[Upstream Service Response]
|
v
[Kong Gateway]
|
v
Client
🧪 Practical Example Using curl
1. Create Service
curl -i -X POST http://localhost:8001/services \
--data name=user-service \
--data url='http://user-api.internal:8080'
2. Create Route
curl -i -X POST http://localhost:8001/services/user-service/routes \
--data paths[]='/users'
Now, when you call:
curl http://localhost:8000/users
Kong will route it to:
http://user-api.internal:8080
Advanced Matching Capabilities
Routes can also match based on:
- hosts (virtual hosts like
api.myapp.com) - methods (
GET,POST, etc.) - headers (e.g.,
X-Version) - snis (for SSL/TLS)
- sources/destinations (for TCP streams)
Best Practices
- Keep one route per API path unless multi-match is needed.
- Use tags to categorize services/routes for environments.
- Apply plugins at service or route level depending on scope:
- Service-level plugin: applies to all routes to that service.
- Route-level plugin: applies only to that specific route.
Would you like a visual diagram in PNG or SVG format, or a Postman collection to test this setup?
Infra Cloud Solutions 