We use the solution for managing microservices and in-built APIs.
Kong Gateway Enterprise
Kong | Kong Gateway EnterpriseLinux/Unix, Amazon Linux 2017.03.0 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)
External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
Used for managing microservices and in-built APIs, but the technical support team's response time could be improved
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Kong Enterprise has induced the API governance we need for our banking operations. It has increased the security and improved the gateway features such as rate limiting, throttling, and security.
The most valuable feature of Kong Enterprise is its capability to integrate with various security tools. For OAuth implementation, we connect it to the external OAuth providers. Some inbuilt out-of-the-box features of the solution, like API key generation and usage of client credentials, are also very good.
What needs improvement?
The technical support team's response time needs to be improved. Kong Enterprise should improve its resiliency when it comes to the active DR setup.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Kong Enterprise for more than six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Kong Enterprise is a stable solution.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Kong Enterprise has seamless scalability. Around 240 developers are working with the solution in our organization, and we are planning to increase our usage.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten for scalability.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support team's response time needs to be improved. The support engineer's capability should be improved because we have to induct them often regarding the problem. A lot of data needs to be provided before they start looking into the problem.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used TIBCO and MuleSoft.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup was easy.
What about the implementation team?
Since we are a financial institution, setting up and onboarding the solution took around one and a half months. It took some time to go through all the security and run through the different stakeholders.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Kong Enterprise's pricing is at par compared to the other technologies.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing Kong Enterprise, we evaluated Tyk. We chose Kong Enterprise because we felt it was more secure than Tyk.
What other advice do I have?
Kong Enterprise is a gateway that we leverage. From an API security perspective, it has excellent features. We have used a couple of plugins, such as the OIDC plugin and rate-limiting plugin, for our APIs. Our experience with the plugins has been pretty good, and they solve the purpose of security. Since Kong Enterprise is just a gateway, the onboarding services were very seamless. I rate the solution five out of ten for integration.
Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
An easy-to-integrate tool with good scalability features
What is our primary use case?
My company gave Kong Enterprise to only one company in the manufacturing sector, and now we are in talks with another manufacturing company.
Kong Enterprise is very useful, especially for IoT applications. Palo Alto Networks is also good for IoT applications. Kong Enterprise has a great licensing model. I am scanning capabilities, making it a good tool for infrastructures.
What needs improvement?
In comparison to Fortinet, Kong Enterprise fails to offer a huge number of ports in lower models of the solution. From an improvement perspective, the number of ports in lower models of the solution should be made available.
The GUI of the product is not very user-friendly, making it in areas where improvements are required. In Fortinet, the GUI allows users to deal directly with the configuration part.
The product's price is an area of concern where improvements are required.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience with Kong Enterprise.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
High-end models are available for large-scale businesses, but the same models are not available for small or medium-sized businesses.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The tool's scalability is good.
My company has around 300 to 500 users of the product.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with SonicWall and Fortinet. I chose Kong Enterprise since it is better in areas like throughput. The tool is also not easily vulnerable and provides patch updates.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was straightforward.
The deployment process was good. The product could be deployed in two to three hours.
Around seven to ten people, consisting of managers, engineers, managers, and developers, take care of the deployment and maintenance of the product.
What about the implementation team?
The product can be deployed with the help of our company's in-house members.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a need to pay towards the licensing charges. My company also needs to make payments to use SD-WAN, which is usually an in-built feature in other products. In some areas, the functionalities are available free of charge.
What other advice do I have?
In our organization's workflow, we use Kong Enterprise since it helps the research and development team to check for certain updates, send patches, and scan for viruses, making it a good product.
Kong Enterprise's plug-in systems have enhanced our company's API management solution since they allow users to generate reports easily. My company hasn't worked to a great extent with the API management part of the tool.
The full-fledged features of the product are only available in the high-end models. For small and medium-sized businesses, not many ports are available for use. In SonicWall, if you take one box with the full software subscription and get another box with no software subscription, it would still offer HA, but in Palo Alto Networks, both boxes have to be the same.
I recommended the product to those who plan to use it.
I rate the ability of Kong Enterprise to match our organizational demands in terms of performance and scalability at a seven to eight out of ten.
It is easy to integrate Kong Enterprise with existing systems and infrastructures.
The benefit of using the solution is that I feel my network is more secure.
I rate the overall tool a seven out of ten.
It's great & reliable to use
Best Cloud Native API Platform
Robust API management solution offering scalability, resilience, cloud-agnostic deployment capabilities and powerful and adaptable gateway services
What is our primary use case?
It serves as an API gateway and microservices management platform, facilitating the creation, deployment, and oversight of APIs and microservices. It serves as a solution for measuring requests, managing upstreams, and handling internal APIs within the bank.
What is most valuable?
It is an excellent tool for managing data. It boasts remarkable speed and stability, and these qualities, particularly the gateway's resilience, are standout features for me. The shared features are also commendable. One of the aspects I appreciate is the effective rate limiting, achieved through the use of the throttling plugin for our APIs. Additionally, the straightforward automated deployment process for the gateway makes it exceptionally easy for everyone on the team to adapt without complications.
What needs improvement?
I find that expressing information can be a bit challenging, especially for those who are new to installing email configs or using it for the first time. Understanding the configurations and knowing what needs to be done can be a bit difficult initially.
For how long have I used the solution?
It is a crucial part of my daily workflow.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I encounter no issues with deployments, and it reliably performs its duties on a daily basis. It proves to be both resilient and stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's scalable to your needs, and if you have the financial resources, you can scale it as much as you want.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before adopting Kong, I utilized X-ray, which is another API gateway. I believe the strength of Kong lies in its agnostic nature. It allows deployment across various cloud environments, providing flexibility for implementation in any infrastructure. It is inherently cloud-native, enabling deployment and maintenance on platforms such as AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. This sets it apart from other gateways that may not offer the same level of versatility.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is relatively easy, but it requires a clear idea of your objectives.
What about the implementation team?
When it comes to deployment, my team and I handle the entire process. We are responsible for managing all aspects of it. It is possible to deploy it within ten minutes in a cloud-native environment using our current CI process.
What other advice do I have?
My advice is to approach it with careful consideration. While it is a powerful tool, gaining expertise is crucial. It's essential to try it out firsthand, build confidence that Kong aligns with your requirements, and recognize its reliability as a gateway. In my experience, it has proven to be a top choice. If you encounter challenges, I recommend visiting the website and delving into the documentation, as it often holds solutions for various scenarios. Overall, I would rate it eight out of ten.
I use kong for production applications
Common API Gateway
Unlocking Seamless API Management
Its scalability features enables us to handle large API traffic volumes, which ensures optimal performance of our api services. It's load balancing capabilities contribute to our improved system scalability and resilience.
Kong API - A great tool for API Gateway
DevOps and Cloud Native API Gateway
The hybrid installation via Kong Konnect is very quick and powerful and allows you to outsource all management except for the dataplanes which are installed on-premise and managed remotely. The on-premise version is easy to install. It can eb configured both via web interface and through a declarative configuration as well. In terms of support, the Enterprise version offers very fast and efficient support.
It supports native CLI tools to launch test and deploy configuration in your CI/CD pipelines
For the Enterprise version the licensing model is a bit complicated because it depends on the number of invocations but also on the concept of gateway service, which is not always easy to keep under control.