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version: "1.0.2" name: linkerd-patterns description: Implement Linkerd service mesh patterns for lightweight, security-focused service mesh deployments. Use when setting up Linkerd, configuring traffic policies, or implementing zero-trust networking with minimal overhead.

Linkerd Patterns

Production patterns for Linkerd service mesh - the lightweight, security-first service mesh for Kubernetes.

Do not use this skill when

The task is unrelated to linkerd patterns
You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
Provide actionable steps and verification.

Use this skill when

Setting up a lightweight service mesh
Implementing automatic mTLS
Configuring traffic splits for canary deployments
Setting up service profiles for per-route metrics
Implementing retries and timeouts
Multi-cluster service mesh

Core Concepts

1. Linkerd Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                Control Plane                 │
│  ┌─────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ │
│  │ destiny │ │ identity │ │ proxy-inject │ │
│  └─────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                      │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 Data Plane                   │
│  ┌─────┐    ┌─────┐    ┌─────┐             │
│  │proxy│────│proxy│────│proxy│             │
│  └─────┘    └─────┘    └─────┘             │
│     │           │           │               │
│  ┌──┴──┐    ┌──┴──┐    ┌──┴──┐            │
│  │ app │    │ app │    │ app │            │
│  └─────┘    └─────┘    └─────┘            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘

2. Key Resources

Resource	Purpose
ServiceProfile	Per-route metrics, retries, timeouts
TrafficSplit	Canary deployments, A/B testing
Server	Define server-side policies
ServerAuthorization	Access control policies

Templates

Template 1: Mesh Installation

bash

# Install CLI
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSfL https://run.linkerd.io/install | sh
 
# Validate cluster
linkerd check --pre
 
# Install CRDs
linkerd install --crds | kubectl apply -f -
 
# Install control plane
linkerd install | kubectl apply -f -
 
# Verify installation
linkerd check
 
# Install viz extension (optional)
linkerd viz install | kubectl apply -f -

Template 2: Inject Namespace

yaml

# Automatic injection for namespace
apiVersion: v1
kind: Namespace
metadata:
  name: my-app
  annotations:
    linkerd.io/inject: enabled
---
# Or inject specific deployment
apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: my-app
  annotations:
    linkerd.io/inject: enabled
spec:
  template:
    metadata:
      annotations:
        linkerd.io/inject: enabled

Template 3: Service Profile with Retries

yaml

apiVersion: linkerd.io/v1alpha2
kind: ServiceProfile
metadata:
  name: my-service.my-namespace.svc.cluster.local
  namespace: my-namespace
spec:
  routes:
    - name: GET /api/users
      condition:
        method: GET
        pathRegex: /api/users
      responseClasses:
        - condition:
            status:
              min: 500
              max: 599
          isFailure: true
      isRetryable: true
    - name: POST /api/users
      condition:
        method: POST
        pathRegex: /api/users
      # POST not retryable by default
      isRetryable: false
    - name: GET /api/users/{id}
      condition:
        method: GET
        pathRegex: /api/users/[^/]+
      timeout: 5s
      isRetryable: true
  retryBudget:
    retryRatio: 0.2
    minRetriesPerSecond: 10
    ttl: 10s

Template 4: Traffic Split (Canary)

yaml

apiVersion: split.smi-spec.io/v1alpha1
kind: TrafficSplit
metadata:
  name: my-service-canary
  namespace: my-namespace
spec:
  service: my-service
  backends:
    - service: my-service-stable
      weight: 900m  # 90%
    - service: my-service-canary
      weight: 100m  # 10%

Template 5: Server Authorization Policy

yaml

# Define the server
apiVersion: policy.linkerd.io/v1beta1
kind: Server
metadata:
  name: my-service-http
  namespace: my-namespace
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: my-service
  port: http
  proxyProtocol: HTTP/1
---
# Allow traffic from specific clients
apiVersion: policy.linkerd.io/v1beta1
kind: ServerAuthorization
metadata:
  name: allow-frontend
  namespace: my-namespace
spec:
  server:
    name: my-service-http
  client:
    meshTLS:
      serviceAccounts:
        - name: frontend
          namespace: my-namespace
---
# Allow unauthenticated traffic (e.g., from ingress)
apiVersion: policy.linkerd.io/v1beta1
kind: ServerAuthorization
metadata:
  name: allow-ingress
  namespace: my-namespace
spec:
  server:
    name: my-service-http
  client:
    unauthenticated: true
    networks:
      - cidr: 10.0.0.0/8

Template 6: HTTPRoute for Advanced Routing

yaml

apiVersion: policy.linkerd.io/v1beta2
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: my-route
  namespace: my-namespace
spec:
  parentRefs:
    - name: my-service
      kind: Service
      group: core
      port: 8080
  rules:
    - matches:
        - path:
            type: PathPrefix
            value: /api/v2
        - headers:
            - name: x-api-version
              value: v2
      backendRefs:
        - name: my-service-v2
          port: 8080
    - matches:
        - path:
            type: PathPrefix
            value: /api
      backendRefs:
        - name: my-service-v1
          port: 8080

Template 7: Multi-cluster Setup

bash

# On each cluster, install with cluster credentials
linkerd multicluster install | kubectl apply -f -
 
# Link clusters
linkerd multicluster link --cluster-name west \
  --api-server-address https://west.example.com:6443 \
  | kubectl apply -f -
 
# Export a service to other clusters
kubectl label svc/my-service mirror.linkerd.io/exported=true
 
# Verify cross-cluster connectivity
linkerd multicluster check
linkerd multicluster gateways

Monitoring Commands

bash

# Live traffic view
linkerd viz top deploy/my-app
 
# Per-route metrics
linkerd viz routes deploy/my-app
 
# Check proxy status
linkerd viz stat deploy -n my-namespace
 
# View service dependencies
linkerd viz edges deploy -n my-namespace
 
# Dashboard
linkerd viz dashboard

Debugging

bash

# Check injection status
linkerd check --proxy -n my-namespace
 
# View proxy logs
kubectl logs deploy/my-app -c linkerd-proxy
 
# Debug identity/TLS
linkerd identity -n my-namespace
 
# Tap traffic (live)
linkerd viz tap deploy/my-app --to deploy/my-backend

Best Practices

Do's

Enable mTLS everywhere - It's automatic with Linkerd
Use ServiceProfiles - Get per-route metrics and retries
Set retry budgets - Prevent retry storms
Monitor golden metrics - Success rate, latency, throughput

Don'ts

Don't skip check - Always run linkerd check after changes
Don't over-configure - Linkerd defaults are sensible
Don't ignore ServiceProfiles - They unlock advanced features
Don't forget timeouts - Set appropriate values per route

Resources

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