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How Kuma chooses the right policy to apply
At any single moment, there might be multiple policies (of the same type) that match a connection between sources
and destinations
Dataplane
s.
E.g., there might be a catch-all policy that sets the baseline for your organization
type: TrafficLog
mesh: default
name: catch-all-policy
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: '*'
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: '*'
conf:
backend: logstash
Additionally, there might be a more focused use case-specific policy, e.g.
type: TrafficLog
mesh: default
name: web-to-backend-policy
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: web
cloud: aws
region: us
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: backend
conf:
backend: splunk
What does Kuma do when it encounters multiple matching policies?
General rules
Kuma always picks the single most specific policy.
-
A policy that matches by a greater number of tags
- match: kuma.io/service: '*' cloud: aws region: us
is “more specific” than the one with the less number of tags
- match: kuma.io/service: '*'
-
A policy that matches by the exact tag value
- match: kuma.io/service: web
is “more specific” than the one that matches by a
'*'
(wildcard)- match: kuma.io/service: '*'
-
If 2 policies match by the same number of tags, then the one with a greater total number of matches by the exact tag value
- match: kuma.io/service: web version: v1
is “more specific” than the other
- match: kuma.io/service: web version: '*'
-
If 2 policies are equal (match by the same number of tags, and the total number of matches by the exact tag value is the same for both policies, and the total number of matches by a
'*'
tag value is the same for both policies) then the latest onemodificationTime: "2020-01-01T20:00:00.0000Z" ... - match: kuma.io/service: web version: v1
is “more specific” policy than the older one
modificationTime: "2019-01-01T20:00:00.0000Z" ... - match: kuma.io/service: web cloud: aws
Only one policy of a given type is matched to a particular inbound. If multiple matches are desired, they must be combined into a single policy.
To see which policies were matched for the specific data plane proxy you can use Inspect API.
Combine Policies to Avoid Overriding
If the following two policies are applied, the most recent one will override the other:
apiVersion: kuma.io/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPermission
mesh: default
metadata:
name: allow-b-to-a
spec:
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: b
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: a
apiVersion: kuma.io/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPermission
mesh: default
metadata:
name: allow-c-to-a
spec:
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: c
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: a
This is because both destinations match the same inbound with the same specificity, and Kuma selects exactly one policy of a given type.
If it is desired that both policies be applied, they must be combined:
apiVersion: kuma.io/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficPermission
mesh: default
metadata:
name: allow-b-c-to-a
spec:
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: b
- match:
kuma.io/service: c
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: a
Dataplane Policy
Dataplane policy is a policy that matches group of data plane proxies, not a connection between multiple proxies.
Assuming we have the following data plane proxy
type: Dataplane
mesh: default
name: web-1
networking:
address: 192.168.0.1
inbound:
- port: 9000
servicePort: 6379
tags:
kuma.io/service: web
and a ProxyTemplate
which is an example of a Dataplane Policy
type: ProxyTemplate
mesh: default
name: custom-template-1
selectors:
- match:
kuma.io/service: web
conf:
imports:
- default-proxy
then the policy is appplied on the web-1
data plane proxy.
Connection policies
The policy can be applied either on inbound connections that a data plane proxy receives or outbound connections that data plane proxy creates, therefore there are two types of connection policies. It is indicated at the beginning of each policy doc whether they are inbound or outbounds.
Outbound Connection Policy
This kind of policy is enforced on the outbound connections initiated by the data plane proxy defined in sources
section
and then is applied only if the target data plane proxy matches tags defined in destination
.
Assuming we have the following data plane proxies:
type: Dataplane
mesh: default
name: web-1
networking:
address: 192.168.0.1
inbound:
- port: 9000
servicePort: 6379
tags:
kuma.io/service: web
outbound:
- port: 1234
tags:
kuma.io/service: backend
- port: 1234
tags:
kuma.io/service: admin
type: Dataplane
mesh: default
name: backend-1
networking:
address: 192.168.0.2
inbound:
- port: 9000
servicePort: 6379
tags:
kuma.io/service: backend
and a HealthCheck
which is an example of Outbound Connection Policy
type: HealthCheck
mesh: default
name: catch-all-policy
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: web
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: backend
then the health checking is applied only on the first outbound listener of the web-1
data plane proxy.
The configuration of backend-1
data plane proxy is not changed in any way.
Inbound Connection Policy
This kind of policy is enforced on the inbound connections received by the data plane proxy defined in destination
section
and then is applied only if the data plane proxy that initiated this connection matches tags defined in sources
.
Assuming we have the following data plane proxies:
type: Dataplane
mesh: default
name: web-1
networking:
address: 192.168.0.1
inbound:
- port: 9000
servicePort: 6379
tags:
kuma.io/service: web
outbound:
- port: 1234
tags:
kuma.io/service: backend
type: Dataplane
mesh: default
name: backend-1
networking:
address: 192.168.0.2
inbound:
- port: 9000
servicePort: 6379
tags:
kuma.io/service: backend
- port: 9000
servicePort: 6379
tags:
kuma.io/service: backend-api
and a TrafficPermission
which is an example of Inbound Connection Policy
type: TrafficPermission
mesh: default
name: catch-all-policy
sources:
- match:
kuma.io/service: web
destinations:
- match:
kuma.io/service: backend
then the TrafficPermission
is enforced only on the first inbound listener of the backend-1
data plane proxy.
The configuration of web-1
data plane proxy is not changed in any way.