eg-rate-limit

Configure rate limiting for Envoy Gateway using BackendTrafficPolicy. Rate limits protect backend services from overload, prevent abuse, and enforce usage quotas. Envoy Gateway supports local (per-instance) and global (shared across all instances) rate limiting, and both can be used simultaneously.

Important: Rate limits are applied per route, even if the BackendTrafficPolicy targets a Gateway. For example, if the limit is 100r/s and a Gateway has 3 routes, each route has its own 100r/s bucket.

Instructions

Step 1: Choose rate limiting type

Local rate limiting (default) -- Independent limits per Envoy Proxy instance. No external dependencies. If you have 3 Envoy replicas with a 100r/s local limit, the effective cluster-wide limit is up to 300r/s.

Global rate limiting -- Shared limits across all Envoy Proxy instances via an external rate limit service backed by Redis. If you set a 100r/s global limit, that limit applies regardless of how many Envoy replicas exist. Requires Redis deployment.