kubernetes and istio components, resources and command line tools

Section	Component / Resource / Utility	Runs Where	Purpose	API / Interface
1. Kubernetes Core Components	kube-apiserver	Control Plane	Main entry point for all Kubernetes operations	REST API
1. Kubernetes Core Components	etcd	Control Plane	Stores entire cluster state	Internal KV API
1. Kubernetes Core Components	kube-scheduler	Control Plane	Assigns Pods to Nodes	Internal
1. Kubernetes Core Components	kube-controller-manager	Control Plane	Runs reconciliation controllers	Internal
1. Kubernetes Core Components	cloud-controller-manager	Control Plane (Cloud)	Integrates Kubernetes with cloud services	Internal
1. Kubernetes Core Components	kubelet	Every Node	Creates and manages Pods	Limited Node API
1. Kubernetes Core Components	kube-proxy	Every Node	Implements Service networking and load balancing	Internal
1. Kubernetes Core Components	containerd / CRI-O	Every Node	Runs containers	CRI API
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	CoreDNS	Cluster Add-on	Service discovery and DNS resolution	DNS Protocol
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	Metrics Server	Cluster Add-on	Provides CPU/Memory metrics	Metrics API
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	NGINX Ingress Controller / Traefik	Cluster Add-on	Exposes applications externally	Controller APIs
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	CSI Drivers	Cluster Add-on	Storage provisioning	CSI API
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	Calico / Cilium / Flannel (CNI)	Every Node	Pod networking	CNI API
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	Prometheus	Cluster Add-on	Metrics collection	REST API
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	Grafana	Cluster Add-on	Visualization and dashboards	REST API
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	Fluentd / Fluent Bit	Cluster Add-on	Log collection	Internal
2. Kubernetes Add-ons	Kubernetes Dashboard	Cluster Add-on	Web UI	Uses Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Pod	Stored in etcd	Smallest deployable unit	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Deployment	Stored in etcd	Replica management and rollout	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	ReplicaSet	Stored in etcd	Maintains replica count	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	StatefulSet	Stored in etcd	Stateful applications	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	DaemonSet	Stored in etcd	One Pod per Node	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Job	Stored in etcd	Run-once workloads	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	CronJob	Stored in etcd	Scheduled workloads	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Service	Stored in etcd	Stable network endpoint	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Ingress	Stored in etcd	HTTP entry point	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	ConfigMap	Stored in etcd	Non-sensitive configuration	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Secret	Stored in etcd	Sensitive configuration	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Namespace	Stored in etcd	Logical isolation	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	PersistentVolume (PV)	Stored in etcd	Physical storage representation	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	PersistentVolumeClaim (PVC)	Stored in etcd	Storage request	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	ServiceAccount	Stored in etcd	Workload identity	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	Role / ClusterRole	Stored in etcd	Permissions	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	RoleBinding / ClusterRoleBinding	Stored in etcd	Permission assignment	Kubernetes API
3. Kubernetes Resources (Artifacts)	NetworkPolicy	Stored in etcd	Network access control	Kubernetes API
4. Istio Control Plane Components	Istiod	Usually Control Plane Nodes	Service discovery, cert management, config distribution	xDS APIs
5. Istio Data Plane (Sidecar Mode)	Envoy Proxy	Inside each meshed Pod	Routing, mTLS, retries, telemetry	xDS Client
6. Istio Data Plane (Ambient Mode)	ztunnel	One per Worker Node	L4 proxy, mTLS, identity	xDS Client
6. Istio Data Plane (Ambient Mode)	Waypoint Proxy	Selected namespaces/services	Advanced L7 routing and policies	xDS Client
7. Istio Resources	VirtualService	Stored in etcd	Traffic routing rules	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	DestinationRule	Stored in etcd	Backend policies	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	Gateway	Stored in etcd	Traffic entry point	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	ServiceEntry	Stored in etcd	External service registration	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	AuthorizationPolicy	Stored in etcd	Access control	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	PeerAuthentication	Stored in etcd	mTLS policy	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	RequestAuthentication	Stored in etcd	JWT validation	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	Telemetry	Stored in etcd	Metrics/tracing configuration	Kubernetes API
7. Istio Resources	Sidecar	Stored in etcd	Sidecar-specific settings	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	GatewayClass	Stored in etcd	Gateway implementation definition	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	Gateway	Stored in etcd	Traffic entry point	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	HTTPRoute	Stored in etcd	HTTP routing	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	GRPCRoute	Stored in etcd	gRPC routing	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	TCPRoute	Stored in etcd	TCP routing	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	TLSRoute	Stored in etcd	TLS routing	Kubernetes API
8. Gateway API Resources	UDPRoute	Stored in etcd	UDP routing	Kubernetes API
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	kubectl	Client Machine	Main Kubernetes CLI	kube-apiserver
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	kubeadm	Client / Control Plane	Cluster creation and management	kube-apiserver
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	crictl	Client / Node	Debug container runtime	CRI
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	ctr	Client / Node	Direct containerd interaction	containerd
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	nerdctl	Client / Node	Docker-like CLI for containerd	containerd
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	helm	Client Machine	Package manager	kube-apiserver
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	kustomize	Client Machine	Manifest customization	kube-apiserver
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	stern	Client Machine	Multi-pod log viewer	kube-apiserver
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	kubectx	Client Machine	Context switching	kubeconfig
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	kubens	Client Machine	Namespace switching	kubeconfig
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	k9s	Client Machine	Terminal UI	kube-apiserver
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	Kind	Client Machine	Kubernetes-in-Docker	Local Cluster
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	Minikube	Client Machine	Local Kubernetes cluster	Local Cluster
9. Kubernetes Command-Line Utilities	k3d	Client Machine	K3s in Docker	Local Cluster
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl	Client Machine	Main Istio CLI	Kubernetes API + Istiod
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl install	Client Machine	Install Istio	Kubernetes API
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl uninstall	Client Machine	Remove Istio	Kubernetes API
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl analyze	Client Machine	Validate Istio configuration	Kubernetes API
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl proxy-config	Client Machine	Inspect Envoy configuration	Envoy xDS
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl proxy-status	Client Machine	Check proxy synchronization	Istiod
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl dashboard	Client Machine	Open Grafana/Kiali/Prometheus dashboards	Various
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl x precheck	Client Machine	Cluster readiness validation	Kubernetes API
10. Istio Command-Line Utilities	istioctl x waypoint	Client Machine	Manage Ambient Waypoints	Kubernetes API
11. Major Communication Paths	kubectl → kube-apiserver	Client → Control Plane	Cluster management	REST API
11. Major Communication Paths	Helm → kube-apiserver	Client → Control Plane	Package deployment	REST API
11. Major Communication Paths	Istiod → kube-apiserver	Control Plane → Control Plane	Watch cluster resources	REST API
11. Major Communication Paths	kubelet → kube-apiserver	Node → Control Plane	Pod lifecycle management	REST API
11. Major Communication Paths	kube-apiserver → etcd	Control Plane → Database	State persistence	etcd API
11. Major Communication Paths	Envoy → Istiod	Pod → Control Plane	Configuration updates	xDS
11. Major Communication Paths	ztunnel → Istiod	Node → Control Plane	Ambient configuration	xDS
11. Major Communication Paths	CoreDNS → kube-apiserver	Add-on → Control Plane	Service discovery updates	REST API
11. Major Communication Paths	Metrics Server → kube-apiserver	Add-on → Control Plane	Metrics publishing	Metrics API