Comparing TIS Plus and TSB

Focused Observability Solution

Tetrate Istio Subscription Plus (TIS Plus) is a focused, hosted observability solution built on some of the observability components of Tetrate's Service Bridge (TSB) product. TIS Plus is designed to provide a streamlined, easy-to-use observability experience for existing Istio deployments.

For a detailed explanation of the full range of service mesh management capabilities, you can refer to the TSB documentation.

Comparing Tetrate Istio Subscription Plus and Tetrate Service Bridge

Tetrate Istio Subscription Plus (TIS Plus) utilizes the observability components of the Tetrate Service Bridge (TSB) product, but is tailored for a specific use case: providing hosted observability for Istio-enabled environments.

TIS Plus is an ideal starting point for teams looking to enhance their Istio observability with a managed, easy-to-use solution. It provides valuable insights into your Istio deployments without requiring extensive service mesh expertise.

As your service mesh needs grow and become more complex, TSB offers a natural upgrade path. TSB is a comprehensive, multi-cloud service mesh management solution that scales across large teams and organizational hierarchies, providing advanced capabilities for complex service mesh operations and management.

Why is this important to know?

Understanding the relationship between TIS Plus and TSB is crucial for several reasons:

1. Scalable Solution: Start with TIS Plus for observability, and seamlessly upgrade to TSB when you need more advanced service mesh management capabilities.
2. Future-Proofing: As your Istio deployment grows in complexity, TSB provides the tools and features to manage and optimize your service mesh at scale.
3. Comprehensive Platform: While TIS Plus focuses on observability, TSB offers a complete platform for service mesh management, including advanced traffic routing, security features, and multi-tenancy support.

How does TIS Plus differ from TSB?

TIS Plus is essentially a focused subset of TSB features with the following characteristics:

• Hosted Platform: TIS Plus is a fully managed, cloud-based solution, eliminating the need for users to deploy and manage their own observability infrastructure.
• Focus on Existing Istio Deployments: Unlike TSB, TIS Plus does not manage or modify your Istio configuration. It works with your existing Istio setups to enhance observability.
• Simplified Onboarding: TIS Plus offers a streamlined process to connect your Istio-enabled clusters to the hosted platform.
• Observability-Centric Interface: The user interface is specifically designed for visualizing and analyzing Istio-generated observability data.
• Multi-Cluster Visibility: TIS Plus automatically aggregates data from multiple clusters, providing a unified view.

Tetrate Service Bridge includes all TIS Plus features and additionally offers:

• Comprehensive Mesh Management: TSB offers full lifecycle management for Istio, including deployment, configuration, and upgrades.
• Traffic Management: TSB provides advanced traffic routing and shaping capabilities.
• Security Features: TSB includes features for mTLS, authorization policies, and more.
• Rich Organizational Hierarchy: TSB supports complex multi-tenant scenarios with granular access controls.

In essence, TIS Plus provides a focused, hosted observability solution, while TSB offers a complete, self-manageable service mesh platform that includes all TIS Plus capabilities along with additional features for traffic management, security, and multi-tenancy.