# Kong Operator integration with cloud-provider Gateway API / AWS ALB

**URL:** <https://discuss.konghq.com/t/kong-operator-integration-with-cloud-provider-gateway-api-aws-alb/14101>\
**Category:** Feature Requests & Feedback\
**Created:** [August 26, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://discuss.konghq.com/t/kong-operator-integration-with-cloud-provider-gateway-api-aws-alb/14101 "2026-08-26T14:11:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ravi\_Ranjan](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex036/user_avatar/discuss.konghq.com/ravi_ranjan/32/5236_2.png) [@Ravi\_Ranjan](https://discuss.konghq.com/u/Ravi_Ranjan)\
**Post date:** [August 26, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://discuss.konghq.com/t/kong-operator-integration-with-cloud-provider-gateway-api-aws-alb/14101/1 "2026-08-26T14:11:49Z")

</div>

We successfully validated Kong Operator + Konnect behind an AWS ALB using Gateway API. Today this requires two Gateway controllers:

- `konghq.com/gateway-operator` to manage the Kong Gateway/DataPlane and application `HTTPRoute`s.
- `gateway.k8s.aws/alb` via AWS Load Balancer Controller to provision the ALB and forward traffic to the Kong Service.

Would Kong consider supporting a model where `konghq.com/gateway-operator` can also orchestrate the external cloud load balancer associated with a Kong Gateway, either directly or through a provider integration?

For example, we would ideally like a `GatewayConfiguration` to express an AWS ALB/WAF frontend and have Kong Operator reconcile the complete lifecycle:

`ALB + WAF → Kong DataPlane → developer HTTPRoutes`

This would be especially valuable on EKS Auto Mode because otherwise adopting ALB through Gateway API introduces AWS Load Balancer Controller as an additional self-managed platform component.

Is this type of cloud-provider integration on the Kong Operator roadmap, or is the intended long-term architecture always to compose Kong Operator with a separate cloud-provider Gateway controller such as AWS LBC?