Configure a Runtime

Set up your first runtime through the Konnect Runtime Manager.

At this time, the only runtime type available is a Kong Gateway data plane.

Kong Gateway data planes proxy service traffic. With Kong Konnect working as the control plane, a runtime doesn’t need a database to store configuration data. Instead, configuration is stored in-memory on each node, and you can easily update multiple runtimes from one Konnect account with a few clicks.

Note: Kong does not host runtimes. You must install and host your own runtime instances.

Prerequisites

• You have the Organization Admin role in Kong Konnect. If you created this Konnect organization, your account is part of the organization admin team by default.
• The quick setup script requires Docker and a Unix shell (for example, bash or zsh). Platform-specific tools and permissions:
  • All platforms: Docker and jq installed
  • Linux: User added to the docker group
  • Windows: Docker Desktop installed and integrated with a WSL 2 backend.

Set up a new runtime instance

Kong Gateway data planes proxy service traffic.

1. From the left navigation menu, open Runtime Manager.

2. Select the default runtime group.

   Every account starts with one group named default. If you have an Enterprise subscription, you can create additional custom groups.

3. Click Add runtime instance.

   The page opens to a runtime configuration form with the Docker tab selected.

4. Click Copy Script.

5. Replace the placeholder for <your-password> with your own Kong Konnect password.

6. Run the script on any host you choose.

   This script creates a Docker container running a Kong Gateway instance and connects it to your Kong Konnect account.

7. Click Done to go to the Runtime Instances page.

Once the script has finished running, the runtime instances table will include a new entry for your instance and the tag in the Sync Status column should say In Sync.

The default proxy URL for this runtime is http://localhost:8000. Take note of this URL, as you’ll need it later to access a service implementation.

Note: The certificates generated by Konnect have a ten (10) year expiration date by default. If you bring your own certificates, make sure to monitor the expiration date. To rotate certificates, see Renew Certificates

Summary and next steps

In this step, you ran a script which set up a Docker container with a Kong Gateway instance, adding your first runtime to the Runtime Manager.

Next, set up a your first Konnect service through Kong Konnect.