Version: 3.2

Deployment modes

APISIX has three different deployment modes for different production use cases. The table below summarises the deployment modes:

Deployment mode	Roles	Description
traditional	traditional	Data plane and control plane are deployed together. `enable_admin` attribute should be disabled manually.
decoupled	data_plane / control_plane	Data plane and control plane are deployed independently.
standalone	data_plane	Only `data_plane` is deployed and the configurations are loaded from a local YAML file.

Each of these deployment modes are explained in detail below.

Traditional#

In the traditional deployment mode, one instance of APISIX will be both the data_plane and the control_plane.

There will be a conf server that listens on the UNIX socket and acts as a proxy between APISIX and etcd. Both the data and the control planes connect to this conf server via HTTP.

An example configuration of the traditional deployment mode is shown below:

conf/config.yaml

apisix:
    node_listen:
        - port: 9080
deployment:
    role: traditional
    role_traditional:
        config_provider: etcd
    admin:
        admin_listen:
            port: 9180
    etcd:
       host:
           - http://${etcd_IP}:${etcd_Port}
       prefix: /apisix
       timeout: 30
#END

The instance of APISIX deployed as the traditional role will:

Listen on port 9080 to handle user requests, controlled by node_listen.
Listen on port 9180 to handle Admin API requests, controlled by admin_listen.

Decoupled#

In the decoupled deployment mode the data_plane and control_plane instances of APISIX are deployed separately, i.e., one instance of APISIX is configured to be a data plane and the other to be a control plane.

The instance of APISIX deployed as the data plane will:

Fetch the configuration from the control plane. The default port is 9280.
Performs a health check on all configured control plane addresses before starting the service.
1. If the control plane addresses are unavailable, the startup fails and an exception is thrown.
2. If at least one control plane address is available, it prints the unhealthy control planes logs, and starts the APISIX service.
3. If all control planes are normal, APISIX service is started normally.
Once the service is started, it will handle the user requests.

The example below shows the configuration of an APISIX instance as data plane in the decoupled mode:

conf/config.yaml

deployment:
    role: data_plane
    role_data_plane:
       config_provider: control_plane
       control_plane:
           host:
               - https://${Control_Plane_IP}:9280
           prefix: /apisix
           timeout: 30
    certs:
        cert: /path/to/ca-cert
        cert_key: /path/to/ca-cert
        trusted_ca_cert: /path/to/ca-cert
#END

The instance of APISIX deployed as the control plane will:

Listen on port 9180 and handle Admin API requests.
Provide the conf server which will listen on port 9280. Both the control plane and the data plane will connect to this via HTTPS enforced by mTLS.

The example below shows the configuration of an APISIX instance as control plane in the decoupled mode:

conf/config.yaml

deployment:
    role: control_plane
    role_control_plane:
        config_provider: etcd
        conf_server:
            listen: 0.0.0.0:9280
            cert: /path/to/ca-cert
            cert_key: /path/to/ca-cert
            client_ca_cert: /path/to/ca-cert
    etcd:
       host:
           - https://${etcd_IP}:${etcd_Port}
       prefix: /apisix
       timeout: 30
    certs:
        cert: /path/to/ca-cert
        cert_key: /path/to/ca-cert
        trusted_ca_cert: /path/to/ca-cert
#END

tip

As OpenResty <= 1.21.4 does not support sending mTLS requests, to accept connections from APISIX running on these OpenResty versions, you need to disable the client certificate verification in the control plane instance as shown below:

conf/config.yaml

deployment:
    role: control_plane
    role_control_plane:
        config_provider: etcd
        conf_server:
            listen: 0.0.0.0:9280
            cert: /path/to/ca-cert
            cert_key: /path/to/ca-cert
    etcd:
       host:
           - https://${etcd_IP}:${etcd_Port}
       prefix: /apisix
       timeout: 30
    certs:
        trusted_ca_cert: /path/to/ca-cert
#END

Standalone#

Turning on the APISIX node in Stand-alone mode will no longer use the default etcd as the configuration center.

This method is more suitable for two types of users:

Kubernetes(k8s)：Declarative API that dynamically updates the routing rules with a full yaml configuration.
Different configuration centers: There are many implementations of the configuration center, such as Consul, etc., using the full yaml file for intermediate conversion.

The routing rules in the conf/apisix.yaml file are loaded into memory immediately after the APISIX node service starts. And every time interval (default 1 second), will try to detect whether the file content is updated, if there is an update, reload the rule.

Note: Reloading and updating routing rules are all hot memory updates. There is no replacement of working processes, since it's a hot update.

Since the current Admin API is based on the etcd configuration center solution, enable Admin API is not allowed when the Stand-alone mode is enabled.

Standalone mode can only be enabled when we set the role of APISIX as data plane. We set deployment.role to data_plane and deployment.role_data_plane.config_provider to yaml.

Refer to the example below:

deployment:
  role: data_plane
  role_data_plane:
    config_provider: yaml
#END

How to configure rules#

All of the rules are stored in one file which named conf/apisix.yaml, APISIX checks if this file has any change every second. If the file is changed & it ends with #END, APISIX loads the rules from this file and updates its memory.

Here is a mini example:

routes:
  -
    uri: /hello
    upstream:
        nodes:
            "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
        type: roundrobin
#END

WARNING: APISIX will not load the rules into memory from file conf/apisix.yaml if there is no #END at the end.

How to configure Router#

Single Router：

routes:
  -
    uri: /hello
    upstream:
        nodes:
            "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
        type: roundrobin
#END

Multiple Router：

routes:
  -
    uri: /hello
    upstream:
        nodes:
            "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
        type: roundrobin
  -
    uri: /hello2
    upstream:
        nodes:
            "127.0.0.1:1981": 1
        type: roundrobin
#END

How to configure Router + Service#

routes:
    -
        uri: /hello
        service_id: 1
services:
    -
        id: 1
        upstream:
            nodes:
                "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
            type: roundrobin
#END

How to configure Router + Upstream#

routes:
    -
        uri: /hello
        upstream_id: 1
upstreams:
    -
        id: 1
        nodes:
            "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
        type: roundrobin
#END

How to configure Router + Service + Upstream#

routes:
    -
        uri: /hello
        service_id: 1
services:
    -
        id: 1
        upstream_id: 2
upstreams:
    -
        id: 2
        nodes:
            "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
        type: roundrobin
#END

How to configure Plugins#

# plugins listed here will be hot reloaded and override the boot configuration
plugins:
  - name: ip-restriction
  - name: jwt-auth
  - name: mqtt-proxy
    stream: true # set 'stream' to true for stream plugins
#END

How to enable SSL#

ssls:
    -
        cert: |
            -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
            MIIDrzCCApegAwIBAgIJAI3Meu/gJVTLMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBCwUAMG4xCzAJBgNV
            BAYTAkNOMREwDwYDVQQIDAhaaGVqaWFuZzERMA8GA1UEBwwISGFuZ3pob3UxDTAL
            BgNVBAoMBHRlc3QxDTALBgNVBAsMBHRlc3QxGzAZBgNVBAMMEmV0Y2QuY2x1c3Rl
            ci5sb2NhbDAeFw0yMDEwMjgwMzMzMDJaFw0yMTEwMjgwMzMzMDJaMG4xCzAJBgNV
            BAYTAkNOMREwDwYDVQQIDAhaaGVqaWFuZzERMA8GA1UEBwwISGFuZ3pob3UxDTAL
            BgNVBAoMBHRlc3QxDTALBgNVBAsMBHRlc3QxGzAZBgNVBAMMEmV0Y2QuY2x1c3Rl
            ci5sb2NhbDCCASIwDQYJKoZIhvcNAQEBBQADggEPADCCAQoCggEBAJ/qwxCR7g5S
            s9+VleopkLi5pAszEkHYOBpwF/hDeRdxU0I0e1zZTdTlwwPy2vf8m3kwoq6fmNCt
            tdUUXh5Wvgi/2OA8HBBzaQFQL1Av9qWwyES5cx6p0ZBwIrcXQIsl1XfNSUpQNTSS
            D44TGduXUIdeshukPvMvLWLezynf2/WlgVh/haWtDG99r/Gj3uBdjl0m/xGvKvIv
            NFy6EdgG9fkwcIalutjrUnGl9moGjwKYu4eXW2Zt5el0d1AHXUsqK4voe0p+U2Nz
            quDmvxteXWdlsz8o5kQT6a4DUtWhpPIfNj9oZfPRs3LhBFQ74N70kVxMOCdec1lU
            bnFzLIMGlz0CAwEAAaNQME4wHQYDVR0OBBYEFFHeljijrr+SPxlH5fjHRPcC7bv2
            MB8GA1UdIwQYMBaAFFHeljijrr+SPxlH5fjHRPcC7bv2MAwGA1UdEwQFMAMBAf8w
            DQYJKoZIhvcNAQELBQADggEBAG6NNTK7sl9nJxeewVuogCdMtkcdnx9onGtCOeiQ
            qvh5Xwn9akZtoLMVEdceU0ihO4wILlcom3OqHs9WOd6VbgW5a19Thh2toxKidHz5
            rAaBMyZsQbFb6+vFshZwoCtOLZI/eIZfUUMFqMXlEPrKru1nSddNdai2+zi5rEnM
            HCot43+3XYuqkvWlOjoi9cP+C4epFYrxpykVbcrtbd7TK+wZNiK3xtDPnVzjdNWL
            geAEl9xrrk0ss4nO/EreTQgS46gVU+tLC+b23m2dU7dcKZ7RDoiA9bdVc4a2IsaS
            2MvLL4NZ2nUh8hAEHiLtGMAV3C6xNbEyM07hEpDW6vk6tqk=
            -----END CERTIFICATE-----
        key: |
            -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
            MIIEvgIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCBKgwggSkAgEAAoIBAQCf6sMQke4OUrPf
            lZXqKZC4uaQLMxJB2DgacBf4Q3kXcVNCNHtc2U3U5cMD8tr3/Jt5MKKun5jQrbXV
            FF4eVr4Iv9jgPBwQc2kBUC9QL/alsMhEuXMeqdGQcCK3F0CLJdV3zUlKUDU0kg+O
            Exnbl1CHXrIbpD7zLy1i3s8p39v1pYFYf4WlrQxvfa/xo97gXY5dJv8RryryLzRc
            uhHYBvX5MHCGpbrY61JxpfZqBo8CmLuHl1tmbeXpdHdQB11LKiuL6HtKflNjc6rg
            5r8bXl1nZbM/KOZEE+muA1LVoaTyHzY/aGXz0bNy4QRUO+De9JFcTDgnXnNZVG5x
            cyyDBpc9AgMBAAECggEAatcEtehZPJaCeClPPF/Cwbe9YoIfe4BCk186lHI3z7K1
            5nB7zt+bwVY0AUpagv3wvXoB5lrYVOsJpa9y5iAb3GqYMc/XDCKfD/KLea5hwfcn
            BctEn0LjsPVKLDrLs2t2gBDWG2EU+udunwQh7XTdp2Nb6V3FdOGbGAg2LgrSwP1g
            0r4z14F70oWGYyTQ5N8UGuyryVrzQH525OYl38Yt7R6zJ/44FVi/2TvdfHM5ss39
            SXWi00Q30fzaBEf4AdHVwVCRKctwSbrIOyM53kiScFDmBGRblCWOxXbiFV+d3bjX
            gf2zxs7QYZrFOzOO7kLtHGua4itEB02497v+1oKDwQKBgQDOBvCVGRe2WpItOLnj
            SF8iz7Sm+jJGQz0D9FhWyGPvrN7IXGrsXavA1kKRz22dsU8xdKk0yciOB13Wb5y6
            yLsr/fPBjAhPb4h543VHFjpAQcxpsH51DE0b2oYOWMmz+rXGB5Jy8EkP7Q4njIsc
            2wLod1dps8OT8zFx1jX3Us6iUQKBgQDGtKkfsvWi3HkwjFTR+/Y0oMz7bSruE5Z8
            g0VOHPkSr4XiYgLpQxjbNjq8fwsa/jTt1B57+By4xLpZYD0BTFuf5po+igSZhH8s
            QS5XnUnbM7d6Xr/da7ZkhSmUbEaMeHONSIVpYNgtRo4bB9Mh0l1HWdoevw/w5Ryt
            L/OQiPhfLQKBgQCh1iG1fPh7bbnVe/HI71iL58xoPbCwMLEFIjMiOFcINirqCG6V
            LR91Ytj34JCihl1G4/TmWnsH1hGIGDRtJLCiZeHL70u32kzCMkI1jOhFAWqoutMa
            7obDkmwraONIVW/kFp6bWtSJhhTQTD4adI9cPCKWDXdcCHSWj0Xk+U8HgQKBgBng
            t1HYhaLzIZlP/U/nh3XtJyTrX7bnuCZ5FhKJNWrYjxAfgY+NXHRYCKg5x2F5j70V
            be7pLhxmCnrPTMKZhik56AaTBOxVVBaYWoewhUjV4GRAaK5Wc8d9jB+3RizPFwVk
            V3OU2DJ1SNZ+W2HBOsKrEfwFF/dgby6i2w6MuAP1AoGBAIxvxUygeT/6P0fHN22P
            zAHFI4v2925wYdb7H//D8DIADyBwv18N6YH8uH7L+USZN7e4p2k8MGGyvTXeC6aX
            IeVtU6fH57Ddn59VPbF20m8RCSkmBvSdcbyBmqlZSBE+fKwCliKl6u/GH0BNAWKz
            r8yiEiskqRmy7P7MY9hDmEbG
            -----END PRIVATE KEY-----
        snis:
            - "yourdomain.com"
#END

How to configure global rule#

global_rules:
    -
        id: 1
        plugins:
            response-rewrite:
                body: "hello\n"
#END

How to configure consumer#

consumers:
  - username: jwt
    plugins:
        jwt-auth:
            key: user-key
            secret: my-secret-key
#END

How to configure plugin metadata#

upstreams:
  - id: 1
    nodes:
      "127.0.0.1:1980": 1
    type: roundrobin
routes:
  -
    uri: /hello
    upstream_id: 1
    plugins:
        http-logger:
            batch_max_size: 1
            uri: http://127.0.0.1:1980/log
plugin_metadata:
  - id: http-logger # note the id is the plugin name
    log_format:
        host: "$host",
        remote_addr: "$remote_addr"
#END

How to configure stream route#

stream_routes:
  - server_addr: 127.0.0.1
    server_port: 1985
    id: 1
    upstream_id: 1
    plugins:
      mqtt-proxy:
        protocol_name: "MQTT"
        protocol_level: 4
upstreams:
  - nodes:
      "127.0.0.1:1995": 1
    type: roundrobin
    id: 1
#END