feat(console): Add Gateway API HTTPRoute support #1722
Description
Summary
Add Kubernetes Gateway API HTTPRoute support as an alternative to traditional Ingress for exposing Redpanda Console.
Background
- Gateway API reached GA status (v1.0+) in October 2023
- Kubernetes Ingress NGINX is retiring in March 2026
- Gateway API provides vendor-neutral, portable ingress configuration with more flexible routing capabilities
- Many Helm charts are adding HTTPRoute support (e.g., open-webui, kubernetes-dashboard)
Proposed Implementation
Add a new `route` section to `values.yaml` (disabled by default for backwards compatibility):
```yaml
route:
enabled: false
-- API version for the route resource
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
-- Route kind (HTTPRoute, GRPCRoute, etc.)
kind: HTTPRoute
-- Additional labels
labels: {}
-- Additional annotations
annotations: {}
-- Hostnames for the route
hostnames: []
# - console.example.com
-- Parent gateway references
parentRefs: []
# - name: my-gateway
# namespace: istio-system
-- Path matching rules
matches:
- path:
type: PathPrefix
value: /
```
And create a new template `templates/httproute.yaml`.
Benefits
- Vendor-neutral ingress configuration
- Works with Istio, Envoy Gateway, Cilium, Traefik, Kong, and other Gateway API implementations
- More expressive routing rules than Ingress
- Future-proof as Ingress is being deprecated