Exploring Gateway API

In this tutorial you will explore the Gateway API set-up in the HavenPlus stack. We'll explore some of the Gateway API resources and how these are used to create the actual gateways which are managed by Istio.

info

For a more generic description of Gateway API, its purpose and how it relates to Ingress, see this guide.

Prerequisites

1. Bootstrap a local cluster as explained in the Getting Started guide.
2. Install Cloud Provider Kind so we can loadbalance traffic from localhost.

1. Verify that required CRD's are installed

As HavenPlus standardizes on Gateway API, all required Gateway API CRD's are automatically installed. You can verify this as follows:

kubectl get crd | grep gateway.networking.k8s.io

You should see the following CRD's:

backendtlspolicies.gateway.networking.k8s.io            2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
gatewayclasses.gateway.networking.k8s.io                2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
gateways.gateway.networking.k8s.io                      2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
grpcroutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io                    2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
httproutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io                    2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
referencegrants.gateway.networking.k8s.io               2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
tcproutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io                     2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
tlsroutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io                     2025-12-18T18:44:58Z
udproutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io                     2025-12-18T18:44:58Z

2. Start Cloud Provider Kind

Install Cloud Provider Kind and run the following command to expose services of type LoadBalancer on you local machine:

sudo cloud-provider-kind

3. View the Gateway

On the local environment, an example gateway named public-gateway is automatically deployed:

kubectl get gateway

Will show something like:

NAME             CLASS   ADDRESS      PROGRAMMED   AGE
public-gateway   istio   172.18.0.3   True         6m6s

The Gateway is assigned an IP address by the Cloud Provider’s Kind load balancer, which you set up in Step 2. While you can access your cluster via this IP in a browser, you’ll see a 404 error since no route is configured to handle such a request on this Gateway.

4. View Istio Gateway pods

Istio fully supports Gateway API and therefore listens to Gateway resources. Once the Istio controller sees a Gateway resource, it will launch the required Istio Gateway pod:

kubectl -n istio-gateway get pods

Result:

NAME                                    READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
public-gateway-istio-56d4575bc6-bvft8   1/1     Running   0          11m

5. Inspect the pod-info HTTPRoute

In the tenant-demo namespace we've got the pod-info example app deployed:

kubectl -n tenant-demo get pods -l app=podinfo 

Result:

NAME                       READY   STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE
podinfo-55d69c5cc8-8w4gr   1/1     Running   0          13m
podinfo-55d69c5cc8-fclbh   1/1     Running   0          13m

Now this application already contains some HTTPRoutes:

kubectl -n tenant-demo get httproutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io podinfo-http

Result:

NAME           HOSTNAMES                     AGE
podinfo-http   ["podinfo.havenplus.local"]   15m

Let's describe this route:

kubectl -n tenant-demo describe httproutes.gateway.networking.k8s.io podinfo-http

In the status field, you should see the following:

Status:
  Parents:
    Conditions:
      Last Transition Time:  2026-01-07T20:14:41Z
      Message:               Route was valid

The status field should also contain:

Parent Ref:
    Group:         gateway.networking.k8s.io
    Kind:          Gateway
    Name:          public-gateway
    Namespace:     istio-gateway
    Section Name:  http

Here you can see which Gateway is handling the route.

6. Accessing the pod-info application

In your /etc/hosts file on your machine, create the following entry:

<IP-ADDRESS-FROM-STEP-2> podinfo.havenplus.local 

Next, go to http://podinfo.havenplus.local in your browser. You should now see the podinfo WebUI!

7. Next Steps

Try adding an additional gateway and deploy an alternative HTTPRoute with another domain for the podinfo app. Add the required entry to your local /etc/hosts file and check if you can access the podinfo app via this URL as well.