Newer Kubernetes API replacing Ingress for handling incoming and layer-7 traffic. On AKS it is provided through application routing as GatewayClass approuting-istio, taking over from the managed NGINX add-on.
Also called Kubernetes Gateway API.
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In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Gateway API in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- API
Short for application programming interface: a contract that client code calls programmatically, for example a web API secured with tokens or the Files, Images or Responses APIs.
- Ingress
In Container Apps, turning this on exposes an app over TCP or HTTP, either to the internet or just within its environment, and no load balancer needs creating. AKS handles it differently: Ingress resources carry rules, and an ingress controller enforces them.
- AKS
Short for Azure Kubernetes Service, a managed Kubernetes offering that gives full control of clusters and node pools. Scaling uses the cluster autoscaler and Horizontal Pod Autoscaler; user sign-in is not built in.
- Geographic
A Traffic Manager routing method that picks the endpoint according to where the user is located geographically.
- OVER
Gives a T-SQL window function its window: PARTITION BY, ORDER BY and, if wanted, a ROWS or RANGE frame. Rankings and running totals can then be worked out while every row is kept.
- NGINX
Open-source reverse proxy and web server underpinning the Ingress NGINX controller for AKS, which lacks Azure WAF. Upstream maintenance stopped in March 2026 and Gateway API succeeds it.
Related terms
- Application routing add-on
Managed NGINX ingress for AKS, deployed and run as an add-on, integrated with Azure DNS and with certificates held in Key Vault. Its NGINX version is supported only until the end of November 2026, after which the Gateway API version takes over.