A Comparative Study of Service Mesh Implementations in Kubernetes for Multi-cluster Management

In modern cloud-native applications, managing communication across multiple Kubernetes clusters can be complex. Service meshes, such as Istio, Linkerd, Kuma, and Consul, help address challenges like service discovery, traffic routing, security, and observability in multi-cluster environments. This study compares these leading service meshes based on scalability, security, ease of use, performance, and operational complexity. Istio excels in scalability and advanced traffic management, making it ideal for large-scale, complex applications. Linkerd, with its simplicity and high performance, is well-suited for smaller, less complex setups. Kuma stands out for its flexibility, supporting both Kubernetes and non-Kubernetes environments, and offers built-in multi-cluster capabilities. Consul, known for its strong service discovery features, is particularly effective in hybrid cloud environments, efficiently managing multi-cluster communication. The findings provide actionable insights for organizations seeking to optimize performance, security, and operational efficiency across distributed systems, helping them select the most appropriate service mesh for their specific multi-cluster Kubernetes deployment.