Envoy Patch Policy

This guide explains the usage of the EnvoyPatchPolicy API. Note: This API is meant for users extremely familiar with Envoy xDS semantics. Also before considering this API for production use cases, please be aware that this API is unstable and the outcome may change across versions. Use at your own risk.

Introduction

The EnvoyPatchPolicy API allows user to modify the output xDS configuration generated by Envoy Gateway intended for EnvoyProxy, using JSON Patch semantics.

Motivation

This API was introduced to allow advanced users to be able to leverage Envoy Proxy functionality not exposed by Envoy Gateway APIs today.

Quickstart

Prerequisites

• Follow the steps from the Quickstart guide to install Envoy Gateway and the example manifest. Before proceeding, you should be able to query the example backend using HTTP.

Enable EnvoyPatchPolicy

• By default EnvoyPatchPolicy][] is disabled. Lets enable it in the EnvoyGateway startup configuration

• The default installation of Envoy Gateway installs a default EnvoyGateway configuration and attaches it using a ConfigMap. In the next step, we will update this resource to enable EnvoyPatchPolicy.

cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: v1
kind: ConfigMap
metadata:
  name: envoy-gateway-config
  namespace: envoy-gateway-system
data:
  envoy-gateway.yaml: |
    apiVersion: config.gateway.envoyproxy.io/v1alpha1
    kind: EnvoyGateway
    provider:
      type: Kubernetes
    gateway:
      controllerName: gateway.envoyproxy.io/gatewayclass-controller
    extensionApis:
      enableEnvoyPatchPolicy: true
EOF

• After updating the ConfigMap, you will need to restart the envoy-gateway deployment so the configuration kicks in

kubectl rollout restart deployment envoy-gateway -n envoy-gateway-system

Testing

Customize Response

• Lets use EnvoyProxy’s Local Reply Modification feature to return a custom response back to the client when the status code is 404

• Lets apply the configuration

cat <<EOF | kubectl apply -f -
apiVersion: gateway.envoyproxy.io/v1alpha1
kind: EnvoyPatchPolicy
metadata:
  name: custom-response-patch-policy
  namespace: default
spec:
  targetRef:
    group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
    kind: Gateway
    name: eg
    namespace: default
  type: JSONPatch
  jsonPatches:
    - type: "type.googleapis.com/envoy.config.listener.v3.Listener"
      # The listener name is of the form <GatewayNamespace>/<GatewayName>/<GatewayListenerName>
      name: default/eg/http
      operation:
        op: add
        path: "/default_filter_chain/filters/0/typed_config/local_reply_config"
        value:
          mappers:
          - filter:
              status_code_filter:
                comparison:
                 op: EQ
                 value:
                   default_value: 404
                   runtime_key: key_b
            status_code: 406
            body:
              inline_string: "could not find what you are looking for"
EOF

• Lets edit the HTTPRoute resource from the Quickstart to only match on paths with value /get

kubectl patch httproute backend --type=json --patch '[{
   "op": "add",
   "path": "/spec/rules/0/matches/0/path/value",
   "value": "/get",
}]'

• Lets test it out by specifying a path apart from /get

$ curl --header "Host: www.example.com" http://localhost:8888/find
Handling connection for 8888
could not find what you are looking for

Debugging

Runtime

• The Status subresource should have information about the status of the resource. Make sure Accepted=True and Programmed=True conditions are set to ensure that the policy has been applied to Envoy Proxy.

apiVersion: gateway.envoyproxy.io/v1alpha1
kind: EnvoyPatchPolicy
metadata:
  annotations:
    kubectl.kubernetes.io/last-applied-configuration: |
      {"apiVersion":"gateway.envoyproxy.io/v1alpha1","kind":"EnvoyPatchPolicy","metadata":{"annotations":{},"name":"custom-response-patch-policy","namespace":"default"},"spec":{"jsonPatches":[{"name":"default/eg/http","operation":{"op":"add","path":"/default_filter_chain/filters/0/typed_config/local_reply_config","value":{"mappers":[{"body":{"inline_string":"could not find what you are looking for"},"filter":{"status_code_filter":{"comparison":{"op":"EQ","value":{"default_value":404}}}}}]}},"type":"type.googleapis.com/envoy.config.listener.v3.Listener"}],"priority":0,"targetRef":{"group":"gateway.networking.k8s.io","kind":"Gateway","name":"eg","namespace":"default"},"type":"JSONPatch"}}
  creationTimestamp: "2023-07-31T21:47:53Z"
  generation: 1
  name: custom-response-patch-policy
  namespace: default
  resourceVersion: "10265"
  uid: a35bda6e-a0cc-46d7-a63a-cee765174bc3
spec:
  jsonPatches:
  - name: default/eg/http
    operation:
      op: add
      path: /default_filter_chain/filters/0/typed_config/local_reply_config
      value:
        mappers:
        - body:
            inline_string: could not find what you are looking for
          filter:
            status_code_filter:
              comparison:
                op: EQ
                value:
                  default_value: 404
    type: type.googleapis.com/envoy.config.listener.v3.Listener
  priority: 0
  targetRef:
    group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
    kind: Gateway
    name: eg
    namespace: default
  type: JSONPatch
status:
  conditions:
  - lastTransitionTime: "2023-07-31T21:48:19Z"
    message: EnvoyPatchPolicy has been accepted.
    observedGeneration: 1
    reason: Accepted
    status: "True"
    type: Accepted
  - lastTransitionTime: "2023-07-31T21:48:19Z"
    message: successfully applied patches.
    reason: Programmed
    status: "True"
    type: Programmed

Offline

• You can use egctl x translate to validate the translated xds output.

Caveats

This API will always be an unstable API and the same outcome cannot be garunteed across versions for these reasons

• The Envoy Proxy API might deprecate and remove API fields
• Envoy Gateway might alter the xDS translation creating a different xDS output such as changing the name field of resources.