Introduction
Kong Enterprise is a Service Control Platform that brokers an organization’s information across all services by allowing customers to manage the full lifecycle of services and APIs. Built on top of Kong Gateway, Kong Enterprise enables users to simplify the management of APIs and microservices across hybrid-cloud and multi-cloud deployments.
Kong Enterprise is designed to run on decentralized architectures, leveraging workflow automation and modern GitOps practices. With Kong Enterprise, users can:
- Decentralize applications/services and transition to microservices
- Create a thriving API developer ecosystem
- Proactively identify API-related anomalies and threats
- Secure and govern APIs/services, and improve API visibility across the entire organization
Kong Enterprise is a combination of several features and modules on top of the open-sourced Kong Gateway, as shown in the diagram and described in the next section Kong Enterprise Features.
Kong Enterprise Features
Kong Enterprise features are described in this section, including modules and plugins that extend and enhance the functionality of the Kong Enterprise platform.
Kong Gateway
Kong Gateway is a lightweight, fast, and flexible cloud-native API gateway. It’s easy to download, install, and configure to get up and running once you know the basics. Kong runs in front of any RESTful API and is extended through modules and plugins which provide extra functionality beyond the core platform.
Kong Admin API
Kong Admin API provides a RESTful interface for administration and configuration of Services, Routes, Plugins, and Consumers. All of the tasks you perform in the Kong Manager can be automated using the Kong Admin API. For more information, see Kong Admin API.
Kong Brain
Kong Brain automates tasks, increases visibility and ensures consistency across complex architectures. Use Kong Brain to automatically standardize documentation and create a visual map of your services. For more information, see the Kong Brain and Immunity Guide.
Kong Developer Portal
Kong Developer Portal (Kong Dev Portal) is used to onboard new developers and to generate API documentation, create custom pages, manage API versions, and secure developer access. For more information, see Kong Developer Portal.
Kong Immunity
Kong Immunity uses machine learning to autonomously identify service behavior anomalies in real-time to improve security, mitigate breaches and isolate issues. Use Kong Immunity to autonomously identify service issues with machine learning-powered anomaly detection. For more information, see the Kong Brain and Immunity Guide.
Kong Manager
Kong Manager is the Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Kong Enterprise. It uses the Kong Admin API under the hood to administer and control Kong Gateway. Use Kong Manager to organize teams, adjust policies, and monitor performance with just a few clicks. Group your teams, services, plugins, consumer management, and more exactly how you want them. Create new routes and services, activate or deactivate plugins in seconds. For more information, see the Kong Manager Guide.
Kong Plugins
Kong Enterprise plugins provide advanced functionality to better manage your API and microservices. With turnkey capabilities to meet the most challenging use cases, Kong Enterprise Plugins ensure maximum control and minimizes unnecessary overhead. Enable features like authentication, rate-limiting, and transformations by enabling Kong Enterprise plugins through Kong Manager or the Admin API. For more information on which plugins are Enterprise-only, see the Kong Hub.
Kong Vitals
Kong Vitals provides useful metrics about the health and performance of your Kong nodes, as well as metrics about the usage of your Kong-proxied APIs. You can visually monitor vital signs and pinpoint anomalies in real-time, and use visual API analytics to see exactly how your APIs and Gateway are performing and access key statistics. Kong Vitals is part of the Kong Manager UI. For more information, see Kong Vitals.
Kong Studio
Kong Studio enables spec-first development for all REST and GraphQL services. With Kong Studio, organizations can accelerate design and test workflows using automated testing, direct Git sync, and inspection of all response types. Teams of all sizes can use Kong Studio to increase development velocity, reduce deployment risk, and increase collaboration. For more information, see Kong Studio.
Try Kong Enterprise
Here are a few ways to try Kong Enterprise:
- Sign up for the Kong Enterprise self-serve, cloud-based, 15 day free trial.
- Try out Kong for Kubernetes Enterprise using a live tutorial at https://kubecon.konglabs.io/
- If you are interested in evaluating Kong Enterprise locally, the Kong sales team manages evaluation licenses as part of a formal sales process. The best way to get started with the sales process is to request a demo and indicate your interest.