From Ingress to Gateway API in AWS EKS

Traditional Kubernetes Ingress has been the standard way to expose applications for years — but as platforms scale and become multi-tenant, Ingress resources become overloaded with responsibilities. The Gateway API introduces a structured model that separates infrastructure concerns from application routing, and on EKS the AWS Load Balancer Controller provisions real ALBs directly from Gateway resources.

Key Takeaways

• Traditional Ingress mixes infrastructure, routing, and policies in a single YAML object — platform and application concerns collide
• Gateway API splits this into Gateway (infrastructure, owned by platform teams) and HTTPRoute (routing, owned by application teams)
• The AWS Load Balancer Controller natively supports Gateway API, automatically provisioning ALBs, listeners, and target groups
• Multiple teams can share a single Gateway/ALB while independently managing their own routes in their own namespaces
• Gateway API v1.5 (latest stable) adds ListenerSet — teams can now manage their own TLS listeners independently without touching the shared Gateway
• Gateway API doesn’t fix bad networking design or application latency — it’s a better API model, not a magic platform

Quick Overview

A Gateway represents the network entry point — in EKS, this becomes a public or internal ALB managed by the platform team. HTTPRoutes define path-based routing rules that application teams own. The separation means:

• The platform team manages TLS certificates (via LoadBalancerConfiguration CRD), security policies, and the shared ALB
• Application teams define their own routes (/payments, /orders, etc.) independently in their own namespaces
• Each team’s routes live in their own namespace with no cross-team interference
• The AWS Load Balancer Controller watches Gateway + HTTPRoute resources and reconciles them into actual ALBs, listeners, and target groups
• TLS is configured through the AWS LBC’s custom LoadBalancerConfiguration CRD — not the standard Gateway API certificateRefs

This is the single biggest architectural improvement over traditional Ingress: clear ownership boundaries. Note: The AWS LBC implements a subset of Gateway API features — check the full guide for the compatibility matrix.

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Read the full guide: From Ingress to Gateway API in AWS EKS → — includes complete YAML examples for Gateway, HTTPRoute, multi-team routing scenarios, four production patterns, and migration guidance.