TIS1402 - Reference Does Not Have a Valid Service (Service Name Not Found)

References to non-existent services in your configuration can lead to failed routing, inaccessible services, and degraded performance within your Istio service mesh.

Recommendation: Update the backendRefs field to target an existing gateway.

Ensure that all references in your configurations, especially in backendRefs, point to valid and existing services or gateways to maintain proper traffic routing and service accessibility.

Examples

Here are common scenarios that trigger this error:

1. Invalid Service Reference in HTTPRoute

   apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
   kind: HTTPRoute
   metadata:
     name: backend
     namespace: default
   spec:
     parentRefs:
     - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
       kind: Gateway
       name: eg
     rules:
     - backendRefs:
       - group: ""
         kind: Service
         name: static-file-server  # Service does not exist
         port: 443
         weight: 1
       matches:
       - path:
           type: PathPrefix
           value: /

   Explanation: The HTTPRoute references a service named static-file-server that doesn't exist in the cluster, causing routing failures.

2. Missing Service in Namespace

   apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
   kind: HTTPRoute
   metadata:
     name: backend
     namespace: default
   spec:
     parentRefs:
     - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
       kind: Gateway
       name: eg
     rules:
     - backendRefs:
       - group: ""
         kind: Service
         name: static-file-server
         namespace: prod  # Service does not exist in this namespace
         port: 443
         weight: 1

   Explanation: The configuration references a service in the prod namespace, but the service doesn't exist in that namespace.

Recommendation

1. Verify Service Existence

   Ensure that the referenced service exists in the specified namespace or in the cluster.

   apiVersion: v1
   kind: Service
   metadata:
     name: static-file-server
     namespace: default
   spec:
     ports:
     - port: 443
       protocol: TCP
       targetPort: 8443
     selector:
       app: static-file-server
   ---
   apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
   kind: HTTPRoute
   metadata:
     name: backend
     namespace: default
   spec:
     parentRefs:
     - group: gateway.networking.k8s.io
       kind: Gateway
       name: eg
     rules:
     - backendRefs:
       - group: ""
         kind: Service
         name: static-file-server  # Service exists
         port: 443
         weight: 1
       matches:
       - path:
           type: PathPrefix
           value: /