Networking
Introduction
This document describes the default networking configuration for the Admin GUI as well as common custom configurations.
Default Configuration
By default, the Admin GUI starts up without authentication (admin_gui_auth
),
and it assumes that the Admin API is available on port 8001 (admin_api_port
)
of the same host that serves the Admin GUI.
Custom Configuration
Common configurations to enable are
- serving the Admin GUI from a dedicated Kong node
- securing the Admin GUI via a Kong authentication plugin
- securing the Admin GUI and serving it from a dedicated node
When (1) the Admin GUI is on a dedicated Kong node, it must make external
calls to the Admin API. Set admin_api_uri
to the location of your Admin API.
When (2) the Admin GUI is secured via an authentication plugin and not on
a dedicated node, it makes calls to the Admin API via the Kong proxy (which
executes the plugin). By default, the proxy listens on ports 8000 and 8443 on
localhost. Change proxy_listen
if necessary, or set proxy_url
.
When (3) the Admin GUI is secured and served from a dedicated node, set
proxy_url
to the location of the Kong proxy. The Admin API is not used
directly in this case.
The table below summarizes which properties to set (or defaults to verify) when configuring the Admin GUI connectivity to the Admin API.
authentication enabled | local API | remote API | auth settings ———————–+————–+—————-+————– yes | proxy_listen | proxy_url | admin_gui_auth, enforce_rbac, admin_gui_auth_conf no | admin_listen | admin_api_uri | n/a
To enable authentication, configure the following properties:
admin_gui_auth
- to indicate which Kong auth plugin to useadmin_gui_auth_conf
(optional) - to configure the auth pluginenforce_rbac
- toon
orboth
⚠️ When Admin GUI authentication is enabled, RBAC must be turned on to enforce authorization rules. Otherwise, whoever can log in to the Admin GUI or access the Admin API proxy can perform any operation available on the Admin API.
The Admin API Proxy
When you enable admin_gui_auth
Kong creates a service that routes to
/_kong/admin
. This route is accessible on the proxy to which the Admin
GUI connects to make API requests, and it is secured by the authentication
plugin that you specified. This route is intended for the Admin GUI
application only and is subject to change. It should not be used in any
scripts or external tools that connect to Kong. For these purposes, use
the Admin API on its regular host and port, secured with RBAC.
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