Kong Enterprise

Basic Information

• Model: Kong Enterprise is a comprehensive API management and service connectivity platform. It includes the Kong Gateway, Kong Manager, Kong Vitals, Kong Immunity, Kong Brain, Kong Studio, and a Developer Portal.
• Version: The latest Long-Term Support (LTS) stable version recommended for enterprises is Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.4.x.x.
• Release Date: Kong Enterprise versions are released regularly. For example, Kong Enterprise 2.8 LTS was released around March 2023.
• Minimum Requirements: Kong Enterprise is designed for flexible deployment across various environments. It requires a database (PostgreSQL is default, Cassandra was used in earlier versions) for traditional deployments, but also supports DB-less configurations.
• Supported Operating Systems: Supports various Linux distributions including Amazon Linux, Debian, Red Hat, and Ubuntu. It is also designed to run natively on Kubernetes.
• Latest Stable Version: Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.4.x.x is the recommended LTS version.
• End of Support Date: Support timelines vary by version. LTS versions typically receive technical support for up to three years. For Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.4.x.x, full support extends until August 2026. Non-LTS minor versions receive 12 months of technical support from release.
• End of Life Date: After the full support period, a version enters "sunset support" for an additional 12 months, during which limited support is provided for upgrades but no new patches are released. For example, Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.1.x.x entered sunset support until December 2024, and 3.3.x.x until May 2025. Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.8.x.x will enter its EOL phase in September 2025, followed by sunset support until September 2026.
• Auto-update Expiration Date: Not explicitly stated, but adherence to support timelines and regular upgrades to supported versions are necessary to receive ongoing updates and patches.
• License Type: Annual subscription license. Licensing can be modular, allowing purchase of individual components, or as packaged solutions.
• Deployment Model: Supports customer self-hosted deployments (on-premises), hybrid-cloud, and multi-cloud environments. It can be deployed in traditional (database-backed), DB-less, or hybrid modes, and integrates with Kubernetes. Kong Konnect offers a cloud-managed control plane option.

Technical Requirements

• Processor: Not specified as a minimum, but performance benchmarks are conducted on instances with 16 vCPU, indicating suitability for multi-core processors.
• RAM: Not specified as a minimum.
• Storage: Requires a database for traditional deployments (e.g., PostgreSQL). DB-less modes store configurations in memory or via declarative configurations.
• Display: Access to Kong Manager (GUI) requires a web browser.
• Ports: The Admin API typically listens on port 8001 or 8443 for SSL.
• Operating System: Compatible with Amazon Linux, Debian, Red Hat, Ubuntu, and Kubernetes environments.

Analysis of Technical Requirements

Kong Enterprise is highly adaptable, designed for cloud-native and distributed architectures. Its core is built on Nginx and Lua, enabling a lightweight and performant foundation. The platform's flexibility in deployment models (traditional, DB-less, hybrid, Kubernetes) means that specific hardware requirements are largely dependent on the scale and chosen architecture. While precise minimums for RAM and processor are not universally published, the system is optimized for high throughput and low latency, suggesting that production environments benefit from robust compute resources. The ability to separate control and data planes in hybrid mode further enhances its scalability and resilience across diverse infrastructure.

Support & Compatibility

• Latest Version: Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.4.x.x is the current recommended Long-Term Support (LTS) version.
• OS Support: Supports major Linux distributions including Amazon Linux, Debian, Red Hat, and Ubuntu. It also offers native support for Kubernetes deployments.
• End of Support Date: LTS versions receive technical support for up to three years. For Kong Gateway Enterprise 3.4.x.x, full support is available until August 2026. Non-LTS minor versions receive 12 months of full support, followed by a 12-month sunset support period.
• Localization: English is an available language for the platform and support.
• Available Drivers: As an API Gateway and management platform, Kong Enterprise does not use traditional hardware drivers. Its compatibility extends through a rich plugin ecosystem and integrations with various cloud services and infrastructure components.

Analysis of Overall Support & Compatibility Status

Kong Enterprise demonstrates robust support and broad compatibility, crucial for enterprise-grade deployments. The provision of LTS versions with extended support periods allows organizations to plan upgrades effectively and maintain stability. Its platform-agnostic design ensures compatibility across diverse operating systems and cloud environments, including hybrid and multi-cloud setups. The extensive plugin architecture further enhances its compatibility, allowing integration with a wide array of authentication systems, monitoring tools, and security policies. Enterprise-grade support services, including 24/7 production-ready support and training, are part of the subscription.

Security Status

• Security Features: Includes API Gateway, Service Mesh, Threat Protection, Access Control, FIPS 140-2 compliance, mutual TLS (mTLS), OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, and support for third-party secrets managers (AWS Secrets Manager, GCP Secret Manager, Hashicorp Vault, Azure Key Vault). It also features Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and encryption-at-rest for sensitive data.
• Known Vulnerabilities: Kong maintains a documented vulnerability management program. Past vulnerabilities include CVE-2023-44487 (HTTP/2 Denial of Service), improper access control in the JWT plugin, and template injection in Insomnia. Kong provides patches for identified vulnerabilities.
• Blacklist Status: No information found regarding a general blacklist status.
• Certifications: Kong's information security program complies with applicable data protection laws and SSAE / SOC 2 frameworks. Kong Enterprise is certified against SOC 2 Type II and assessed against CSA STAR Level 1. It also supports GDPR, CCPA, and can aid in achieving PCI DSS compliance depending on configuration.
• Encryption Support: Utilizes 256-bit AES encryption in GCM mode for data-at-rest, with cryptographic nonce values derived from the kernel CSPRNG. It offers FIPS 140-2 compliant gateway builds, encrypted API keys via the Key Authentication Encrypted plugin, and mTLS for secure communication.
• Authentication Methods: Supports various authentication methods including API Key, JWT, OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, Basic Auth, and mutual TLS.
• General Recommendations: Secure configuration of the Admin API and database is paramount. Regular patching and upgrades to supported versions are crucial for addressing known vulnerabilities. Employing encrypted key authentication and adhering to security best practices for deployment environments are also recommended.

Analysis on the Overall Security Rating

Kong Enterprise exhibits a strong overall security rating, underpinned by a comprehensive suite of security features and adherence to industry compliance standards. Its FIPS 140-2 compliance, robust encryption capabilities for data at rest and in transit (mTLS), and extensive authentication options provide a solid foundation for securing APIs and microservices. The platform's integration with leading secrets managers enhances credential security. Kong actively manages vulnerabilities, providing patches and advisories. However, as with any complex enterprise software, the ultimate security posture heavily relies on proper implementation and ongoing configuration management by the user to mitigate potential misconfigurations and ensure continuous protection.

Performance & Benchmarks

• Benchmark Scores:
  • A basic Kong Gateway proxy configuration can achieve up to 137,850.4 requests per second (RPS) with a latency of 3.82ms at the 95th percentile.
  • With rate limiting and key authentication applied to 100 routes and 100 consumers, Kong Gateway sustains 96,289.6 RPS.
  • In a 2020 GigaOm benchmark comparing NGINX Plus and Kong Enterprise, Kong attained real-time performance at the 99th percentile, but its latency spiked significantly at higher percentiles (99.9th and 99.99th). NGINX sustained 50% higher RPS (30,000 vs 20,000) in one test scenario.
• Real-World Performance Metrics: Users report Kong Gateway as reliable, with solid performance, managing high traffic with minimal latency.
• Power Consumption: Not explicitly detailed in available public data.
• Carbon Footprint: Not explicitly detailed in available public data.
• Comparison with Similar Assets: While generally high-performing, some benchmarks indicate that Kong Enterprise may exhibit higher latency spikes at very high percentiles compared to highly optimized alternatives like NGINX in specific scenarios. However, Kong excels in throughput and overall performance in many high-demand environments.

Analysis of the Overall Performance Status

Kong Enterprise is a high-performance API gateway designed for demanding enterprise environments. It demonstrates excellent throughput and low latency, capable of handling hundreds of thousands of requests per second, even with security and traffic management plugins enabled. Its architecture is optimized for microservices and distributed systems, ensuring scalability across hybrid and multi-cloud deployments. While some comparative benchmarks suggest potential latency increases at extreme percentiles, its overall real-world performance is consistently praised by users. Kong provides open-source testing frameworks and published benchmarks, allowing organizations to validate performance in their specific environments.

User Reviews & Feedback

User reviews for Kong Enterprise consistently highlight its strengths as a powerful and flexible API management solution.

• Strengths:
  • Performance and Scalability: Frequently praised for its high performance, ability to manage high traffic loads efficiently, and minimal latency. It is built for hybrid and multi-cloud environments and optimized for microservices.
  • Flexibility and Extensibility: Users appreciate its modular plugin system, which allows for extensive customization with features like authentication, logging, rate limiting, and data transformation without altering the core system.
  • Ease of Use (once set up): Many users find it lightweight, easy to install, and manage, especially for daily API development tasks. The intuitive user interface is also noted.
  • Security Features: Strong security features, including authentication and rate-limiting, are highly valued for enhancing safety and ease of implementation.
  • Community and Documentation: The active open-source community and comprehensive documentation are often cited as helpful resources for learning and troubleshooting.
  • Deployment Flexibility: The hybrid deployment model and cloud-agnostic nature are seen as significant advantages for managing diverse environments.
• Weaknesses:
  • Setup Complexity: Some users, particularly new ones, find the initial setup and implementation challenging.
  • Configuration for Large Deployments: Managing and configuring Kong Gateway can become complex for very large-scale deployments.
  • Feature Gaps: A few users suggest improvements in specific areas, such as more advanced transformation features for integration.
  • Customer Support: While generally supportive, some feedback indicates that customer support might not always resolve all issues, especially for complex, unique problems.
• Recommended Use Cases: Kong Enterprise is recommended for API management, service mesh, ingress control, securing and governing APIs/services, transitioning to microservices, creating developer ecosystems, and managing APIs across hybrid and multi-cloud deployments.

Summary

Kong Enterprise is a robust, scalable, and feature-rich API management and service connectivity platform designed for modern, distributed architectures. It excels in providing a unified solution for API Gateway, service mesh, and ingress control, boosting developer productivity and security across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Strengths: The platform's core strengths lie in its exceptional performance, capable of handling high request volumes with low latency, and its extensive extensibility through a rich plugin ecosystem. It offers comprehensive security features, including FIPS 140-2 compliance, strong encryption, and diverse authentication methods, backed by industry certifications like SOC 2 Type II and CSA STAR Level 1. The flexibility in deployment models (traditional, DB-less, hybrid, Kubernetes) and broad OS compatibility make it highly adaptable to various enterprise needs. Users frequently praise its reliability, scalability, and the value it brings to API lifecycle management.

Weaknesses: Despite its strengths, Kong Enterprise can present a steep learning curve for new users, and managing complex, large-scale deployments may require significant expertise. Some users also point to areas for feature enhancement, such as advanced data transformation capabilities, and occasional limitations in customer support for highly specific issues.

Recommendations: Kong Enterprise is highly recommended for organizations seeking a powerful, scalable, and secure API management solution, particularly those operating in microservices, hybrid-cloud, or multi-cloud environments. Its LTS versions provide stable, long-term support, making it suitable for critical infrastructure. Prospective users should be prepared for an initial learning investment, especially for complex configurations, and leverage Kong's extensive documentation and community resources. For optimal security, strict adherence to configuration best practices and regular patching are essential.

The information provided is based on publicly available data and may vary depending on specific device configurations. For up-to-date information, please consult official manufacturer resources.