Runtime Groups
Konnect manages runtime configuration in runtime groups. Each runtime group acts as a separate control plane and can manage runtime configurations independently of any other group. You can find a list of all runtime groups in your organization on the Runtime Manager overview.
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A runtime group is a collection of API connectivity runtime instances sharing the same configuration and behavior space.
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A runtime instance is a single data plane node with a single instance of a runtime, such as Kong Gateway. Runtime instances service traffic for the runtime group. All runtime instances in one runtime group must be of the same type. Currently, only Kong Gateway runtime types are supported.
Every organization has one default runtime group.
With an Enterprise subscription, you can configure additional custom runtime groups. Use multiple groups in one Konnect organization to manage runtime instances and their configuration in any groupings you want.
Figure 1: Example runtime group configuration with three runtime groups: the default group, a development group, and a production group. Konnect is the SaaS-managed global management plane that controls all of the groups, while the runtime groups contain self-managed runtime instances.
Default runtime group
The default runtime group is the foundational group in Konnect. Every region in every organization starts with one default group.
This group can’t be deleted, and its status as the default group can’t be changed.
Multiple runtime groups
In addition to the default runtime group, you can also configure custom groups. Splitting runtime instances and configuration into multiple runtime groups provides multiple specialized environments in one account.
Some common use cases for using multiple runtime groups include:
- Environment separation: Split environments based on their purpose, such as development, staging, and production.
- Region separation: Dedicate each runtime group to a region or group of regions. Spin up runtime instances in those regions for each runtime group.
- Team separation: Dedicate each runtime group to a different team and share resources based on team purpose.
Set up and manage runtime groups →
Administration
Access to each runtime group is configurable on a team-by-team basis using entity-specific permissions.
Runtime group dashboard
For each runtime group, you can view traffic, error rate, and Kong Gateway service analytics for instances in a runtime group. This allows you to see how much of a runtime group is used. You can also select the time frame of analytics that you want to display.
Runtime group configuration
For each runtime group, you can spin up runtime instances and configure the following Kong Gateway objects:
- Gateway services
- Routes
- Consumers
- Consumer Groups
- Plugins
- Upstreams
- Certificates
- SNIs
- Vaults
When there are multiple runtime groups, any object configuration only applies to the runtime group that it was created in. Consumers and their authentication mechanisms don’t carry over to other runtime groups.
Kong Gateway configuration in Konnect →
References
Runtime groups table
The following describes the content of the table found on the Runtime Manager overview.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | The name of the runtime group. This group name must be unique in the organization. |
| ID | A unique ID for the group. This ID is automatically generated when a group is created. |
| Type | Types of runtimes that this group contains. Currently, the only supported runtime type is Kong Gateway. |
Runtime instances table
The following describes the content of the Runtime Instances table found on the landing page of a runtime group.
You can sort the table by the Last Ping column.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Host | The hostname of the instance. |
| Type | The runtime instance type. Currently, only Kong Gateway is supported. |
| Last Ping | The last time that this instance received a configuration update from the Konnect control plane to proxy a service. |
| Version | The Kong Gateway version that this instance is running. |
| ID | The UUID of the instance. |