Edge Lite
Status: DESIGN_PARTNER_EVAL — Design-partner evaluation only. Not production-ready. Not customer-ready.
What Is Edge Lite
Edge Lite is a lightweight non-Kubernetes runtime path for the Zen Mesh edge plane. It uses a Docker-based installation with the same enrollment bundle contract as the Kubernetes Edge Plane.
Do not use Edge Lite for production workloads. Edge Lite is for evaluation, design partners, and low-traffic scenarios where full Kubernetes infrastructure is not available.
Who Is It For
- Developers who want to evaluate Zen Mesh without Kubernetes
- Design partners exploring the platform
- Low-traffic or free-tier use cases
See use cases for examples of when Edge Lite fits your workflow.
What It Provides
- Same enrollment bundle model as Kubernetes Edge Plane
- Docker-based single-container installation
- Outbound connection to control plane
- Basic event delivery capability (where supported)
Limitations
| Area | Limitation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Throughput | Lower than Kubernetes Edge Plane | Not benchmarked |
| Availability | Single-container, no HA | Design-partner eval |
| Provider support | Limited provider validation | Not production-live |
| Security model | Reduced isolation vs Kubernetes | Zero-trust not complete |
| Secrets management | zen-lock deployment dependent | Per install path |
Install (Design Partner Access)
curl -fsSL https://get.zen-mesh.io | bash
The script will:
- Create a short-lived install session
- Open your browser for signup/login
- Configure a basic edge plane
- Print your webhook URL and management URL
When to Use Kubernetes Edge Plane Instead
Use the Kubernetes Edge Plane when you need:
- Production-grade availability and scalability
- Full Kubernetes security model (network policies, RBAC, secrets)
- zen-ingester or zen-egress for local event processing
- Multi-tenant or high-throughput workloads
Relationship to the Full Edge Plane
Edge Lite is a variant of the edge plane. It shares the same enrollment contract, trust anchors, and outbound-only connection model. The difference is the runtime substrate: Docker vs. Kubernetes.
Current Status
| Capability | Status |
|---|---|
| Enrollment bundle contract | Contract-level support (runtime pending S171) |
| Heartbeat | Pending S171 runtime implementation |
| Delivery | Pending S172 runtime implementation |
| Operator visibility | Fixture/demo data only |
| Signing/provenance | Pending keyless identity |
Non-Claims
- launch_ready = false
- customer_ready = false
- prod_live = false
- free_tier_ready = false
- zero_trust_complete = false
- Not a replacement for Kubernetes Edge Plane for production