Bart
In today’s episode, The Landscape focuses on Meshery, an open-source project in the CNCF ecosystem. Meshery is a cloud-native management plane that provides a streamlined, extensible approach for managing Kubernetes clusters, service meshes, and cloud-native infrastructure. It simplifies complex deployments, offers powerful visualization tools, and integrates with over 300 cloud-native technologies, whether it’s automating performance tests or enabling collaborative infrastructure design.

Meshery bridges the gap between YAML-driven workflows and a modern visual experience. To understand the challenges it solves and its growing adoption, I’m joined today by Yash Sharma, a core maintainer of the Meshery project. Let’s dive in.

Bart
All right, Yash, first question: What problem or problems does Meshery solve?

Yash
Meshery provides an extensible platform and a better user experience for managing multi-cluster, cloud-native infrastructure. For years, YAML has been the go-to for configuring and managing infrastructure, but it can be challenging to visualize and track how everything connects. Meshery allows users to visualize and design their infrastructure collaboratively—teammates can review configurations, provide feedback, and troubleshoot together.

Meshery eliminates the need to write YAML directly, offering a visual representation of Kubernetes clusters and infrastructure. One of its standout features is its integration with over 320 cloud-native technologies. If you’re new to the CNCF landscape, Meshery provides a canvas to explore projects and deploy them directly to your cluster.

Bart
Fantastic. Of all its features, which one is your favorite?

Yash
My favorite feature is the Meshery Canvas. It provides a visual representation of your Kubernetes cluster, enabling collaboration and infrastructure design. Another favorite is the GitHub integration. Meshery can connect with existing infrastructure, importing it seamlessly without a steep learning curve. This makes it easy for teams to adopt Meshery while working with their current setups.

Bart
Can you share any end-user success stories about Meshery?

Yash
Although Meshery is in beta, many users have shared success stories. For example, members of the Dapr community and others in the CNCF ecosystem have used Meshery for deploying and connecting their infrastructure. Some users find the templates particularly useful—they can clone and adapt them to their own needs, significantly speeding up their workflows.

Bart
What about integrations? Can you give some examples of how Meshery works with other CNCF tools?

Yash
Meshery integrates seamlessly with over 320 CNCF projects, such as Prometheus, Argo CD, and LitmusChaos. Each project typically provides its own Kubernetes controller, packaged as a custom resource definition (CRD). Meshery consumes these CRDs through APIs and presents them visually in the Meshery Canvas. This allows users to explore, deploy, and manage CNCF projects directly.

Bart
When is Meshery not the right choice?

Yash
Meshery is best suited for modular, containerized applications. If your application still uses a monolithic architecture, it might be challenging to take full advantage of Meshery’s features. The tool shines in modern, distributed environments.

Bart
How does Meshery integrate with AI workflows?

Yash
Meshery supports load-balancing features, which are useful for testing AI workloads. If your organization uses AI-based applications, you can use Meshery to ensure performance and scalability under varying loads. While we’re not specifically focused on AI, this capability makes Meshery a helpful tool for AI engineers.

Bart
Which companies are currently supporting or using Meshery?

Yash
Intel has been a key supporter of Meshery, and I’ve also worked with other organizations, including Red Hat and VMware. These companies use Meshery to manage and optimize their infrastructure.

Bart
Do you have any shoutouts for contributors?

Yash
I want to recognize a few contributors who’ve made significant efforts: Telco, Abhishek, and a few others whose contributions over the years have been incredible. They ensure every pull request is reviewed, and their work has been instrumental in Meshery’s growth.

Bart
What’s the “special sauce” in Meshery? Any fun facts?

Yash
Right now, we’re working on a Meshery Playground hosted by CNCF. This will allow users to explore Meshery directly from their browsers, without needing to install it locally. It’s a cloud-native playground to explore and manage CNCF projects. We’re very excited about this upcoming feature.

Bart
What’s next on the roadmap?

Yash
Meshery is currently in beta (v0.8), but we’re preparing for the 1.0 release. This will include new features and a focus on security and stability to ensure broad adoption. The team is working hard to deliver this milestone soon.

Bart
For anyone interested in contributing, how can they get started?

Yash
Meshery offers many ways to contribute. Whether you’re a graphic designer, video editor, programmer, or community manager, you’re welcome! Join the Layer5 Slack channel, introduce yourself, and we’ll help you get started. Community meetings happen weekly, so there are plenty of opportunities to engage.

Bart
Thank you so much, Yash, for all the work you’re doing on Meshery. This episode provided great insights into how it integrates with other CNCF projects and its potential to simplify cloud-native infrastructure management. I’m sure the community will benefit greatly from your efforts.

Yash
Thank you!

Bart
Take care. Cheers!