xDS Support in gRPC

Explore the integration of xDS support in gRPC in this 23-minute conference talk by Mark D. Roth from the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Delve into the evolution of xDS APIs from Envoy's control plane to a Universal Data Plane API (UDPA) for configuring various data plane clients. Discover the advantages of xDS support in gRPC, particularly for service mesh deployments, and learn about current and future xDS features in gRPC. Examine the changes made to the xDS data model to accommodate non-proxy clients like gRPC, and understand the edge cases addressed in the xDS transport protocol. Gain insights into how control plane operators and vendors can support gRPC xDS clients alongside Envoy, and explore topics such as API listeners, client caching behavior, resource unsubscription, and potential challenges. Conclude with a roadmap for future developments and key considerations for xDS server implementation to support RPC effectively.

Intro
Background
Envoy Service Mesh Deployment
Why Support xDS in RPC?
Proxyless Service Mesh Deployment
Changes in xDS to Support Non-Proxy Clients
What is an API Listener?
How Envoy Uses LDS and CDS
Client Caching Behavior
Unsubscribing from a Resource
Other Gotchas
What xDS Servers Need To Do To Support RPC
Things to Watch Out For
Roadmap
Final Thought