Kong Interview Preparation Guide [2025]

Core Kong Concepts

1. What is Kong's primary function as an API gateway?

Kong is a lightweight API gateway that manages microservices traffic, routes requests to upstream services, and applies plugins for security and monitoring. Built on OpenResty and Lua, it ensures high throughput. Logs track requests, CI/CD automates configs, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API management.

2. How does Kong handle request routing?

Kong routes requests using services and routes defined in its database, matching hosts, paths, or methods. Lua code customizes routing logic. Real-time logs monitor routes, CI/CD deploys updates, and DevSecOps ensures flexible, reliable routing for microservices in dynamic production environments.

3. When is Kong suitable for microservices?

Kong is ideal for microservices needing centralized API management, authentication, and rate limiting, but less suited for simple monoliths. Kubernetes integration enables declarative configs, logs monitor performance, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable deployments for high-traffic API ecosystems.

4. Where does Kong store configuration data?

• PostgreSQL or Cassandra for declarative configs.
• Etcd for distributed storage in clusters.
• Logs configuration changes for auditing.
• CI/CD automates config migrations.
• DevSecOps ensures secure storage.
• Supports hybrid deployments.
• Ensures consistent API management.

5. Who manages Kong deployments?

DevOps engineers deploy Kong using Helm charts for Kubernetes, SREs monitor performance, and security teams enforce plugin policies. Logs track deployments, CI/CD automates rollouts, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways for reliable microservices management in production.

6. Which databases does Kong support?

• PostgreSQL for relational storage.
• Cassandra for distributed NoSQL.
• Etcd for Kubernetes-native configs.
• Logs database operations for analysis.
• CI/CD migrates schema changes.
• Aligns with Sysdig monitoring.
• Supports high availability.

7. How does Kong integrate with Kubernetes?

Kong integrates with Kubernetes via the Ingress Controller, using CRDs for declarative routing and plugins. Logs track ingress events, CI/CD deploys manifests, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways, enabling dynamic service discovery for containerized microservices. Learn incident management.

8. What is Kong's plugin architecture?

• Lua-based plugins for extensibility.
• Pre-built plugins for auth, rate limiting.
• Custom plugins for business logic.
• Logs plugin execution for monitoring.
• CI/CD deploys plugin updates.
• DevSecOps ensures secure extensions.
• Enhances API gateway flexibility.

Routing and Services Questions

9. How do you configure Kong routes?

Configure routes by defining services and matching hosts/paths/methods via Admin API or YAML. Logs track routing events, CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures secure, flexible routing, supporting dynamic microservices discovery and traffic management in production.

10. Why do Kong routes fail to match?

• Misconfigured host or path matchers.
• Incorrect method or header conditions.
• Log unmatched requests for analysis.
• CI/CD validates route configs.
• Test with curl for matching.
• DevSecOps ensures reliable routing.
• Ensures accurate request handling.

11. What is Kong's upstream service?

Kong's upstream service groups backend targets for load balancing and health checks, supporting weighted routing. Logs track performance, CI/CD deploys configs, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable service discovery for microservices in high-traffic environments.

12. How do you enable load balancing in Kong?

• Define upstreams with target hosts.
• Configure health checks for availability.
• Log balancing events for monitoring.
• CI/CD automates upstream updates.
• Test with simulated traffic loads.
• DevSecOps ensures scalability.
• Ensures high-availability services.

13. Where do you define Kong plugins?

• Admin API for runtime plugin attachment.
• Declarative YAML for Kubernetes.
• Log plugin configs for auditing.
• CI/CD deploys plugin updates.
• Test plugins with curl requests.
• DevSecOps ensures secure plugins.
• Supports dynamic plugin management.

14. Who manages Kong plugin configurations?

DevOps engineers manage plugins via Admin API or YAML, SREs monitor performance, and security teams enforce policies. Logs track changes, CI/CD automates deployments, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateway extensions for microservices.

15. Which plugins are critical for API security?

• Key-Auth for API key validation.
• Rate-Limiting for traffic control.
• OAuth2 for secure authorization.
• Logs plugin events for analysis.
• CI/CD deploys plugin configs.
• Align with Spacelift CI/CD.
• Ensures secure API access.

Discover Spacelift automation for plugins.

Plugin and Security Questions

16. How do you configure the rate limiting plugin?

Configure the rate limiting plugin via Admin API or YAML, setting limits per consumer or IP. Log limit hits, automate with CI/CD, and test with curl. This DevSecOps-aligned setup prevents abuse, ensuring scalable API protection in production environments.

17. Why does the OAuth2 plugin fail authentication?

• Misconfigured client credentials or scopes.
• Invalid token validation endpoints.
• Log auth failures for analysis.
• CI/CD validates plugin configs.
• Test with curl for token flow.
• DevSecOps ensures secure auth.
• Ensures reliable OAuth2 integration.

18. What is Kong's JWT plugin?

Kong's JWT plugin validates JSON Web Tokens for stateless authentication, supporting issuer and claim checks. Logs track token events, CI/CD deploys configs, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API access control for microservices architectures.

19. How do you enable CORS in Kong?

• Attach CORS plugin to services/routes.
• Configure allowed origins and methods.
• Log CORS requests for monitoring.
• CI/CD automates plugin updates.
• Test with cross-origin requests.
• DevSecOps ensures secure access.
• Enables secure API consumption.

20. Where do you attach Kong plugins?

• Services or routes via Admin API.
• Global plugins for all traffic.
• Log plugin attachments for auditing.
• CI/CD deploys plugin configs.
• Test with curl for functionality.
• DevSecOps ensures extensibility.
• Supports dynamic API enhancement.

21. Who manages Kong plugin updates?

DevOps engineers update plugins via Admin API or YAML, SREs monitor performance, and security teams review policies. Logs track changes, CI/CD automates deployments, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateway extensions for microservices.

22. Which plugins support Kong monitoring?

• File-Log for custom logging.
• Prometheus for metrics export.
• HTTP-Log for request logging.
• Logs plugin events for analysis.
• CI/CD deploys monitoring configs.
• Align with Sysdig monitoring.
• Enhances API observability.

Explore Sysdig certification for monitoring.

Integration and Kubernetes Questions

23. How does Kong integrate with Kubernetes?

Kong integrates with Kubernetes via the Ingress Controller, using CRDs for declarative routing and plugins. Logs track ingress events, CI/CD deploys manifests, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways for containerized microservices in production.

24. Why does Kong Ingress Controller fail?

• Misconfigured CRDs or service selectors.
• Pod scheduling or network policy issues.
• Log ingress events for analysis.
• CI/CD validates ingress configs.
• Test with kubectl for functionality.
• DevSecOps ensures reliability.
• Ensures Kubernetes API management.

25. What is Kong's DB-less mode?

Kong's DB-less mode uses YAML configs for stateless deployments, ideal for Kubernetes. Logs track config loads, CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways without database dependencies for microservices.

26. How do you enable Kong hybrid mode?

• Configure hybrid mode in kong.conf.
• Use Admin API for real-time updates.
• Log hybrid events for monitoring.
• CI/CD deploys hybrid configs.
• Test with curl for functionality.
• DevSecOps ensures flexibility.
• Supports mixed declarative setups.

27. Where do you store Kong configs in Kubernetes?

• ConfigMaps for YAML declarative configs.
• CRDs for Ingress Controller management.
• Logs config loads for auditing.
• CI/CD automates config migrations.
• Test with kubectl for validation.
• DevSecOps ensures security.
• Ensures consistent API management.

28. Who manages Kong in Kubernetes clusters?

DevOps engineers deploy Kong via Helm, SREs monitor cluster performance, and security teams enforce RBAC. Logs track pod events, CI/CD automates rollouts, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways for containerized microservices.

29. Which plugins work with Kubernetes?

• Rate-Limiting for traffic control.
• OAuth2 for Kubernetes auth.
• Prometheus for metrics export.
• Logs plugin events for analysis.
• CI/CD deploys plugin configs.
• Align with Spacelift CI/CD.
• Enhances Kubernetes API security.

Security and Authentication Questions

30. How do you configure Kong's Key-Auth plugin?

Configure Key-Auth via Admin API or YAML, defining consumers and keys for validation. Log auth attempts, automate with CI/CD, and test with curl. This DevSecOps-aligned setup prevents unauthorized access, ensuring scalable security for microservices in production.

31. Why does OAuth2 plugin fail token validation?

• Misconfigured issuer or introspection endpoints.
• Invalid client credentials or scopes.
• Log token failures for analysis.
• CI/CD validates plugin configs.
• Test with curl for token flow.
• DevSecOps ensures secure auth.
• Ensures reliable OAuth2 integration.

32. What is Kong's JWT plugin?

Kong's JWT plugin validates JSON Web Tokens for stateless authentication, supporting issuer and claim checks. Logs track token events, CI/CD deploys configs, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API access control for microservices architectures.

33. How do you enable CORS in Kong?

• Attach CORS plugin to services/routes.
• Configure allowed origins and methods.
• Log CORS requests for monitoring.
• CI/CD automates plugin updates.
• Test with cross-origin requests.
• DevSecOps ensures secure access.
• Enables secure API consumption.

34. Where do you monitor Kong performance?

Monitor Kong performance with Prometheus for metrics, Grafana for visualization, and logs for request tracking. CI/CD validates monitoring configs, and DevSecOps ensures observability, enabling rapid issue detection and resolution for reliable API gateway performance in production.

35. Who troubleshoots Kong authentication issues?

Security engineers troubleshoot OAuth2/JWT issues, DevOps validate plugin configs, and SREs monitor logs. CI/CD automates tests, and DevSecOps ensures secure, rapid resolution, maintaining reliable authentication for microservices. Explore cloud security.

System Design Questions

36. How do you design a scalable Kong system?

Design a scalable Kong system with clustered nodes, load balancing, and PostgreSQL/Cassandra for high availability. Use Kubernetes for orchestration, logs for monitoring, and CI/CD for configs. DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways, supporting high-traffic microservices in production.

37. What is the system design for Kong authentication?

• Use OAuth2/JWT plugins for auth.
• Integrate with external IdPs.
• Log auth events for auditing.
• CI/CD automates plugin updates.
• Test with curl for token flows.
• DevSecOps ensures secure access.
• Supports scalable auth mechanisms.

38. How do you architect Kong for high availability?

Architect Kong with clustered nodes, health checks, and load balancing across regions. Use DB-less mode for Kubernetes, logs for monitoring, and CI/CD for updates. DevSecOps ensures resilient, scalable API gateways, minimizing downtime for microservices in production.

39. Why design load balancing for Kong?

Load balancing distributes traffic across Kong nodes, ensuring high availability and performance. Health checks monitor upstreams, logs track balancing, and CI/CD automates configs. DevSecOps alignment prevents single points of failure, optimizing microservices traffic in production environments.

40. How do you design a secure Kong system?

• Use Key-Auth, OAuth2, JWT plugins.
• Enable RBAC for admin access.
• Log security events for analysis.
• CI/CD automates security configs.
• Test with simulated attacks.
• DevSecOps ensures robust protection.
• Secures microservices APIs.

41. What is the architecture for Kong in Kubernetes?

Kong in Kubernetes uses the Ingress Controller with CRDs for routing and plugins, ConfigMaps for DB-less configs, and Helm for deployments. Logs track events, CI/CD automates rollouts, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable API gateways for containerized microservices.

42. How do you design Kong for rate limiting?

• Use rate-limiting plugin for control.
• Store counters in Redis for scale.
• Log limit hits for analysis.
• CI/CD automates plugin updates.
• Test with simulated traffic.
• DevSecOps ensures secure limits.
• Prevents API abuse effectively.

Learn cloud security engineering for Kong.

Troubleshooting Questions

43. What causes a Kong route failure?

Route failures occur due to misconfigured matchers, upstream errors, or plugin conflicts. Validate routes with curl, log unmatched requests, and test via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, restoring reliable API routing for microservices in production environments.

44. How do you troubleshoot a Kong plugin issue?

• Check plugin configs in Admin API.
• Log plugin errors for analysis.
• Test with curl for functionality.
• CI/CD validates plugin updates.
• Reproduce issues in staging.
• DevSecOps ensures quick fixes.
• Restores plugin functionality.

45. Why does Kong's load balancer fail?

Load balancer failures stem from misconfigured upstreams, health check errors, or network issues. Validate targets, log balancing events, and test with simulated traffic. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures reliable traffic distribution for microservices in production.

46. How do you debug a Kong authentication failure?

Debug authentication failures by validating OAuth2/JWT configs, logging token errors, and testing with curl. CI/CD automates tests, and DevSecOps ensures secure resolution, restoring reliable authentication for microservices in production environments.

47. What causes Kong to drop requests?

• Rate-limiting thresholds exceeded.
• Misconfigured plugins or routes.
• Log dropped requests for analysis.
• CI/CD validates config updates.
• Test with curl for drops.
• DevSecOps ensures reliability.
• Restores request handling.

48. Where do you monitor Kong issues?

Monitor issues in Prometheus for metrics, Grafana for visualization, and logs for request tracking. CI/CD validates configs, and DevSecOps ensures observability, enabling rapid issue detection and resolution for reliable API gateway performance in production.

49. Who handles Kong production incidents?

SREs handle incidents, DevOps validate configs, and security teams review policies. Logs track events, CI/CD automates fixes, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, minimizing downtime for microservices. Explore PagerDuty.

Coding and Implementation Questions

50. How do you implement a custom Kong plugin?

Implement a custom plugin in Lua, defining handlers for access, header, or body phases. Test in a sandbox, log execution, and deploy via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable extensions, enhancing Kong’s functionality for specific microservices requirements.

51. What is the complexity of Kong's routing?

• Trie-based matching for O(log n).
• Path and host lookups optimized.
• Logs capture routing performance.
• CI/CD validates routing code.
• Test with simulated requests.
• DevSecOps ensures efficient routing.
• Delivers fast API handling.

52. How do you code a rate limiter in Kong?

Code a rate limiter in Lua using Redis for distributed counters, handling burst traffic. Log limit hits, test with simulated requests via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures scalable, secure API protection, preventing abuse in production environments.

53. Why use Lua for Kong plugins?

Lua’s lightweight, embeddable nature suits Kong’s OpenResty core, enabling fast plugin execution. Logs track performance, CI/CD automates deployments, and DevSecOps ensures secure extensions, supporting high-throughput, scalable API gateways for microservices in production.

54. How do you implement a Kong health check?

• Configure health checks in upstreams.
• Define active/passive check intervals.
• Log health status for analysis.
• CI/CD automates check configs.
• Test with simulated failures.
• DevSecOps ensures reliable checks.
• Ensures upstream availability.

55. How do you code a Kong logging plugin?

Code a logging plugin in Lua to capture request/response data, sending to external systems like ELK. Log events, test with curl via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This enhances observability, ensuring reliable monitoring for microservices APIs.

56. How do you implement a consistent hash balancer?

Implement a consistent hash balancer in Lua, using a hash ring for upstream distribution. Log balancing events, test with simulated traffic via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures scalable, reliable load balancing for Kong’s microservices infrastructure.

Explore SRE FAQs for coding prep.

Production Questions

57. What causes a Kong outage in production?

Outages result from misconfigured routes, plugin errors, or database failures. Validate configs with curl, log errors, and test via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures rapid recovery, restoring reliable API routing for microservices in production environments.

58. How do you troubleshoot a production route failure?

• Validate route matchers with curl.
• Check upstream health in logs.
• Test configs in staging environment.
• CI/CD automates route updates.
• Reproduce issues with simulated traffic.
• DevSecOps ensures quick fixes.
• Restores reliable routing.

59. Why does a plugin cause downtime?

Plugins cause downtime due to misconfigured logic, resource exhaustion, or conflicts. Review configs, log errors, and test with curl. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, restoring reliable API functionality for microservices in production.

60. How do you handle a production auth failure?

Handle auth failures by validating OAuth2/JWT configs, logging token errors, and testing with curl. CI/CD automates tests, and DevSecOps ensures secure resolution, restoring reliable authentication for microservices in production environments.

61. What causes Kong to drop requests?

• Rate-limiting thresholds exceeded.
• Misconfigured plugins or routes.
• Log dropped requests for analysis.
• CI/CD validates config updates.
• Test with curl for drops.
• DevSecOps ensures reliability.
• Restores request handling.

62. How do you manage a database failure?

Manage database failures by switching to DB-less mode or failover replicas. Log errors, test failovers via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures minimal downtime, maintaining reliable API gateway operations for microservices in production.

63. Where do you monitor production issues?

Monitor issues in Prometheus for metrics, Grafana for visualization, and logs for request tracking. CI/CD validates configs, and DevSecOps ensures observability, enabling rapid issue detection and resolution. Learn GitLab practices.

Advanced Questions

64. What causes a Kong cluster failure?

Cluster failures stem from node sync issues, database inconsistencies, or network partitions. Validate configs, log sync errors, and test via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures rapid recovery, restoring reliable, scalable API gateways for microservices in production.

65. How do you configure Kong for zero trust?

• Use JWT/OAuth2 for auth verification.
• Enable RBAC for admin access.
• Log auth events for auditing.
• CI/CD automates security configs.
• Test with simulated attacks.
• DevSecOps ensures secure access.
• Enforces zero trust principles.

66. Why does Kong show high latency?

High latency results from inefficient plugins, upstream delays, or database bottlenecks. Optimize plugins, log latency metrics, and test via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures low-latency API gateways, enhancing performance for microservices in production environments.

67. How do you debug a plugin failure?

Debug plugin failures by analyzing logs, validating Lua code, and testing with curl. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, restoring reliable plugin functionality for microservices APIs in production environments.

68. What causes a health check failure?

• Misconfigured upstream targets.
• Network or service outages.
• Log health status for analysis.
• CI/CD validates check configs.
• Test with simulated failures.
• DevSecOps ensures reliable checks.
• Restores upstream availability.

69. Where do you validate Kong configs?

Validate configs in staging using Admin API, YAML, or Helm charts. Log errors, automate tests with CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures reliable, secure configurations, preventing production issues and maintaining consistent API gateway performance.

70. Who manages Kong production incidents?

SREs handle incidents, DevOps validate configs, and security teams review policies. Logs track events, CI/CD automates fixes, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, minimizing downtime for microservices. Learn cloud security.

Advanced Coding Questions

71. How do you code a custom Kong plugin?

Code a custom plugin in Lua, defining handlers for access or response phases. Test in a sandbox, log execution, and deploy via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable extensions, enhancing Kong’s functionality for microservices requirements in production.

72. What is the complexity of Kong's load balancing?

• Consistent hashing for O(1) lookups.
• Weighted routing optimizes traffic.
• Logs capture balancing performance.
• CI/CD validates balancer code.
• Test with simulated traffic.
• DevSecOps ensures efficient balancing.
• Delivers scalable traffic handling.

73. How do you implement a rate limiter?

Implement a rate limiter in Lua with Redis for distributed counters, handling burst traffic. Log limit hits, test with simulated requests via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures scalable, secure API protection, preventing abuse in production.

74. Why use OpenResty for Kong?

OpenResty’s Nginx core and LuaJIT enable high-performance, low-latency API gateways. Logs track performance, CI/CD automates deployments, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable operations, supporting efficient microservices traffic management in production environments.

75. How do you code a Kong monitoring plugin?

Code a monitoring plugin in Lua to export metrics to Prometheus or ELK. Log events, test with curl via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This enhances observability, ensuring reliable monitoring for microservices APIs in production.

76. How do you implement a traffic shaper?

• Use Lua to shape request rates.
• Store state in Redis for scale.
• Log shaping events for analysis.
• CI/CD automates shaper configs.
• Test with simulated traffic.
• DevSecOps ensures reliable shaping.
• Controls API traffic effectively.

Learn GitLab CI/CD for automation.

Advanced Production Questions

77. What causes a Kong database outage?

Database outages result from connection failures, schema issues, or replication errors. Switch to DB-less mode, log errors, and test failovers via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures rapid recovery, maintaining reliable API gateway operations for microservices in production.

78. How do you mitigate a production auth failure?

• Validate OAuth2/JWT plugin configs.
• Log token errors for analysis.
• Test with curl for token flows.
• CI/CD automates auth updates.
• Reproduce issues in staging.
• DevSecOps ensures secure fixes.
• Restores reliable authentication.

79. Why does Kong show high latency?

High latency stems from inefficient plugins, upstream delays, or database bottlenecks. Optimize plugins, log latency metrics, and test via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures low-latency API gateways, enhancing performance for microservices in production environments.

80. How do you troubleshoot a load balancer failure?

Troubleshoot load balancer failures by validating upstreams, logging health check errors, and testing with simulated traffic. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures reliable traffic distribution, restoring high availability for microservices in production.

81. What causes a plugin to consume excessive resources?

• Complex Lua logic or loops.
• Log resource usage for analysis.
• Optimize code in sandbox.
• CI/CD validates plugin updates.
• Test with high traffic loads.
• DevSecOps ensures efficiency.
• Restores plugin performance.

82. How do you manage a Kong node failure?

Manage node failures by enabling clustering, logging sync errors, and testing failovers via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures rapid recovery with health checks and load balancing, maintaining reliable API gateway operations for microservices in production.

83. Where do you monitor real-time metrics?

Monitor metrics in Prometheus, Grafana for visualization, and logs for request tracking. CI/CD validates configs, and DevSecOps ensures observability, enabling rapid issue detection. Explore ArgoCD for deployments.

Interview Preparation Questions

84. What should you study for a Kong interview?

Study Kong Gateway, plugins, Kubernetes integration, Lua coding, and Prometheus monitoring. Practice Admin API, YAML configs, and CI/CD workflows. Understand DevSecOps principles for secure, scalable API management, preparing for real-world Kong scenarios in interviews.

85. How do you configure Kong for high traffic?

• Use clustered nodes for scale.
• Enable rate-limiting for control.
• Log traffic metrics for analysis.
• CI/CD automates config updates.
• Test with simulated high loads.
• DevSecOps ensures scalability.
• Supports high-traffic APIs.

86. Why does a Kong route cause errors?

Route errors occur due to misconfigured matchers, upstream failures, or plugin conflicts. Validate with curl, log errors, and test via CI/CD. DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, restoring reliable API routing for microservices in production environments.

87. How do you debug a Kong plugin failure?

Debug plugin failures by analyzing logs, validating Lua code, and testing with curl. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, restoring reliable plugin functionality for microservices APIs in production environments.

88. What causes a Kong auth failure?

• Misconfigured OAuth2/JWT plugins.
• Invalid token or issuer settings.
• Log auth errors for analysis.
• CI/CD validates auth configs.
• Test with curl for token flows.
• DevSecOps ensures secure auth.
• Restores reliable authentication.

89. How do you troubleshoot a Kubernetes integration?

Troubleshoot Kubernetes integration by validating CRDs, logging ingress events, and testing with kubectl. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures reliable API gateway operations, resolving issues for containerized microservices in production.

90. Where do you test Kong configs?

Test configs in staging using Admin API, YAML, or Helm charts. Log errors, automate tests with CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures reliable, secure configurations, preventing production issues and maintaining consistent API gateway performance.

91. Who handles Kong security incidents?

Security engineers handle incidents, DevOps validate configs, and SREs monitor logs. CI/CD automates fixes, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, minimizing downtime for microservices. Explore cloud security.

92. How do you code a Kong rate limiter?

Code a rate limiter in Lua with Redis for distributed counters, handling burst traffic. Log limit hits, test with simulated requests via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures scalable, secure API protection, preventing abuse in production.

93. What causes a Kong cluster sync issue?

• Network partitions or node failures.
• Misconfigured database replication.
• Log sync errors for analysis.
• CI/CD validates cluster configs.
• Test with simulated node failures.
• DevSecOps ensures reliable sync.
• Restores cluster consistency.

94. How do you optimize Kong for low latency?

Optimize Kong by minimizing plugin overhead, caching responses in Redis, and logging latency metrics. Test with curl, automate updates via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures low-latency API gateways, enhancing performance for microservices in production.

95. How do you simulate a high-traffic scenario?

Simulate high traffic with Locust to test Kong’s routing and plugins. Log performance metrics, validate configs via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures scalable, reliable API gateways, confirming performance under load for microservices in production.

96. What is the role of Lua in Kong?

Lua enables lightweight, high-performance plugins and routing logic in Kong’s OpenResty core. Logs track execution, CI/CD automates deployments, and DevSecOps ensures secure, scalable extensions, supporting efficient microservices API management in production environments.

97. How do you configure Kong for zero trust?

• Use JWT/OAuth2 for auth verification.
• Enable RBAC for admin access.
• Log auth events for auditing.
• CI/CD automates security configs.
• Test with simulated attacks.
• DevSecOps ensures secure access.
• Enforces zero trust principles.

98. Why does Kong drop requests in production?

Requests drop due to rate-limiting, plugin errors, or upstream failures. Validate configs, log drops, and test with curl. CI/CD automates updates, and DevSecOps ensures rapid resolution, restoring reliable request handling for microservices in production.

99. How do you troubleshoot a Kong database issue?

Troubleshoot database issues by validating connections, logging errors, and testing failovers. Switch to DB-less mode if needed, automate updates via CI/CD, and align with DevSecOps. This ensures minimal downtime, maintaining reliable API gateway operations.

100. What causes a Kong health check failure?

• Misconfigured upstream targets.
• Network or service outages.
• Log health status for analysis.
• CI/CD validates check configs.
• Test with simulated failures.
• DevSecOps ensures reliable checks.
• Restores upstream availability.

101. How do you prepare for a Kong SRE interview?

Study Kong Gateway, plugins, Kubernetes integration, Lua coding, and Prometheus monitoring. Practice Admin API, YAML configs, and CI/CD workflows. Master DevSecOps principles for secure, scalable API management, preparing for complex, real-world SRE scenarios in Kong interviews.