Summary
Add a standalone service-mesh skill to aws-dev-toolkit covering service mesh on
EKS — Istio (sidecar + ambient), mTLS, L7 traffic management, and how it relates to
the AWS Gateway API and App Mesh's deprecation.
Motivation
The eks skill covers cluster lifecycle but nothing on east-west traffic or service
mesh. Questions about mTLS between services, canary/blue-green traffic shifting, or
Istio on EKS have no targeted skill today.
Proposed Solution
- New folder:
solution-architecture/plugins/aws-dev-toolkit/skills/service-mesh/
- Single flat
SKILL.md in dev-toolkit style (process → defaults → CLI → output table
→ related skills → anti-patterns). No references/ folder.
- Trigger: service mesh, mTLS, traffic shifting, east-west traffic, Istio on EKS.
- Covers: when a mesh is/isn't justified, install (sidecar vs ambient), mTLS, traffic
management, observability (Kiali), cost, alternatives (Gateway API, Cilium).
- Cross-link with
eks, networking, observability.
Alternatives Considered
- Fold into
eks — rejected: doubles its size and dilutes its trigger.
- Name it
istio — rejected: no skill is named after an OSS tool; concept names
(networking, observability) are the convention.
Open Questions
- Name
service-mesh vs eks-service-mesh?
- Istio-only or include Cilium/Linkerd contrast?
Drawbacks
- Adds to skill count; mesh tooling moves fast and will need periodic refresh.
Summary
Add a standalone
service-meshskill toaws-dev-toolkitcovering service mesh onEKS — Istio (sidecar + ambient), mTLS, L7 traffic management, and how it relates to
the AWS Gateway API and App Mesh's deprecation.
Motivation
The
eksskill covers cluster lifecycle but nothing on east-west traffic or servicemesh. Questions about mTLS between services, canary/blue-green traffic shifting, or
Istio on EKS have no targeted skill today.
Proposed Solution
solution-architecture/plugins/aws-dev-toolkit/skills/service-mesh/SKILL.mdin dev-toolkit style (process → defaults → CLI → output table→ related skills → anti-patterns). No
references/folder.management, observability (Kiali), cost, alternatives (Gateway API, Cilium).
eks,networking,observability.Alternatives Considered
eks— rejected: doubles its size and dilutes its trigger.istio— rejected: no skill is named after an OSS tool; concept names(
networking,observability) are the convention.Open Questions
service-meshvseks-service-mesh?Drawbacks