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Apache APISIX on Kubernetes with Redis

Apache APISIX is a high-performance, cloud-native API gateway built on Nginx + LuaJIT. Unlike plain Nginx, APISIX has a live Admin API — you add routes, plugins, and upstreams at runtime with no reloads and no restarts.

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Architecture

Browser / curl
  │
  ├──► Dashboard UI  :30900   ← manage routes & plugins visually
  │
  ▼
┌──────────────────────────────────┐
│  APISIX Gateway  :30080          │  ← proxy (all client traffic)
│  + Redis cache Lua plugin        │  ← checks Redis before hitting upstream
│  + rate-limit plugin             │  ← counts per-IP in Redis
└───────────┬──────────────────────┘
            │
      ┌─────┴──────┐
      │            │
    Redis        etcd
  (cache +      (config
  rate limit)    store)
      │            │
      └─────┬──────┘
            │
   ┌────────┴────────┐
   │                 │
dotnet-api        web-api
 :5050             :8888
ComponentRoleNodePort
APISIX GatewayProxies all traffic, runs plugins30080
APISIX Admin APIConfigure routes/upstreams at runtime30180
APISIX DashboardWeb UI — manage everything visually30900
Prometheus MetricsPer-route metrics scraped by Prometheus30091
RedisCache + rate-limit counter storecluster-internal
etcdAPISIX config store (watched live)cluster-internal

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Access Points

WhatURL
Gatewayhttp://109.199.120.120:30080
Admin APIhttp://109.199.120.120:30180
Dashboard UIhttp://109.199.120.120:30900
Metricshttp://109.199.120.120:30091/apisix/prometheus/metrics
Dashboard login: admin / coderz123

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File Structure

All manifests live in /opt/coderz/k8s/apisix/: 
k8s/apisix/
├── 00-namespace.yaml          # namespace: apisix
├── 01-redis.yaml              # Redis deployment + service
├── 02-etcd.yaml               # etcd deployment + service + configmap
├── 03-apisix-configmap.yaml   # APISIX config.yaml
├── 04-apisix.yaml             # APISIX deployment + NodePort services
├── 05-redis-exporter.yaml     # Redis Prometheus exporter
├── 06-dashboard.yaml          # APISIX Dashboard UI
├── 07-smoke-test-job.yaml     # Automated smoke test Job
├── configure-routes.py        # Python script — registers routes via Admin API
└── deploy.sh                  # One-command full deploy

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Deploy

cd /opt/coderz/k8s/apisix
bash deploy.sh
This will:
  1. Apply all manifests in order
  2. Wait for every pod to be ready
  3. Run configure-routes.py to register upstreams and routes via the Admin API
  4. Print all access URLs
Expected final output: 
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  Access Points                                       ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║  Gateway    http://109.199.120.120:30080             ║
║  Admin API  http://109.199.120.120:30180             ║
║  Dashboard  http://109.199.120.120:30900             ║
║  Metrics    http://109.199.120.120:30091/apisix/...  ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Dashboard login: admin / coderz123

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Routes Configured

configure-routes.py registers these routes automatically:
RouteUpstreamCache
GET /dotnet/*.NET API :5050Redis (1 hour TTL)
GET /webapi/*Web API :8888Redis (1 hour TTL)
GET /web/*coderz-web k3s serviceRedis (1 hour TTL)
GET /cache/keys—Lists all Redis cache keys

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Global Plugins (on every route)

PluginWhat it does
loki-loggerSends structured JSON access logs to Loki
prometheusPer-route metrics exposed on :30091
request-idInjects X-Request-Id on every request and response

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Per-Route Plugins

PluginWhat it does
serverless-pre-functionChecks Redis before proxying — returns cached response on HIT
serverless-post-functionStores upstream 200 responses in Redis (TTL 1 hour)
response-rewriteAdds X-Gateway: APISIX and X-Cache-Backend: Redis headers
corsOpens CORS for all origins

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Redis Cache Behavior

Request → APISIX pre-function Lua
               │
        Check Redis key
         "cache:GET:/dotnet/items"
               │
        ┌──────┴──────┐
        │             │
       HIT           MISS
        │             │
  Return cached   Forward to upstream
  response        → Store 200 response in Redis
  (< 1ms)         → Return to client
  Works even if   (~50–500ms)
  backend is DOWN
Cache key format: cache:<METHOD>:<URI> Inspect live cache: 
# List all cached keys + TTL
curl http://109.199.120.120:30080/cache/keys

# Output:
# {
#   "total": 3,
#   "keys": [
#     {"key": "cache:GET:/dotnet/api/items", "ttl": 3412},
#     {"key": "cache:GET:/webapi/products",  "ttl": 2891}
#   ]
# }

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Dashboard UI

Open http://109.199.120.120:30900 and log in with admin / coderz123. From the Dashboard you can:
SectionWhat you can do
RouteCreate/edit routes, attach plugins, set URI patterns
UpstreamAdd backend services, configure load balancing
ServiceReusable upstream + plugin bundles
ConsumerCreate API key or JWT users with per-user rate limits
PluginEnable/disable plugins globally or per-route
SSLUpload TLS certificates
No curl or kubectl required — all changes apply instantly via the Admin API.

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Smoke Tests

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Run the test job

kubectl apply -f /opt/coderz/k8s/apisix/07-smoke-test-job.yaml
kubectl logs -f job/apisix-smoke-test -n apisix

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What it tests

TestChecks
Admin API reachableGET /apisix/admin/routes returns 200
Route registrationPUT /routes/999 returns 200 or 201
Proxy requestRequest through gateway returns 200
Custom headersX-Gateway: APISIX header present
Rate limiting429 fires after 5 requests in 60s window
Cache inspectorGET /cache/keys returns 200
Prometheus metricsMetrics endpoint returns 200

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Expected output

============================================
 APISIX Smoke Tests
============================================

Test 1: Admin API reachable
  PASS: Admin API returns 200

Test 2: Register test route
  PASS: Route registered (200 or 201)

Test 3: Proxy request through gateway
  PASS: Proxy request returns 200

Test 4: Custom header X-Gateway injected
  PASS: X-Gateway: APISIX header present

Test 5: Rate limiting (5 req limit)
  PASS: rate limiter fired (3 × 429)

Test 6: Cache inspector endpoint
  PASS: Cache inspector returns 200

Test 7: Prometheus metrics endpoint
  PASS: Metrics endpoint returns 200

============================================
 Results: 7 passed, 0 failed
============================================

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Cleanup test job

kubectl delete job apisix-smoke-test -n apisix

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Manual Tests

# First request — cache MISS (goes to upstream)
curl -i http://109.199.120.120:30080/dotnet/api/items
# X-Cache-Status: MISS
# X-Gateway: APISIX

# Second request — cache HIT (served from Redis, < 1ms)
curl -i http://109.199.120.120:30080/dotnet/api/items
# X-Cache-Status: HIT

# Inspect what's cached in Redis
curl http://109.199.120.120:30080/cache/keys

# Test rate limiting (fires after 5 requests in 60s)
for i in $(seq 1 8); do
  echo -n "Request $i: "
  curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code}\n" http://109.199.120.120:30080/dotnet/api/items
done
# 200 200 200 200 200 429 429 429

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Teardown

# Remove just APISIX stack
kubectl delete namespace apisix

# Re-deploy fresh
bash /opt/coderz/k8s/apisix/deploy.sh