Istio is a game-changer in managing connectivity and operational efficiency of microservices, but implementing and using it in applications can be challenging. This book will help you overcome these challenges and gain insights into Istio's features and functionality layer by layer with the help of easy-to-follow examples. It will let you focus on implementing and deploying Istio on the cloud and in production environments instead of dealing with the complexity of demo apps.  You'll learn the installation, architecture, and components of Istio Service Mesh, perform multi-cluster installation, and integrate legacy workloads deployed on virtual machines. As you advance, you'll understand how to secure microservices from threats, perform multi-cluster deployments on Kubernetes, use load balancing, monitor application traffic, implement service discovery and management, and much more. You’ll also explore other Service Mesh technologies such as Linkerd, Consul, Kuma, and Gloo Mesh. In addition to observing and operating Istio using Kiali, Prometheus, Grafana and Jaeger, you'll perform zero-trust security and reliable communication between distributed applications. After reading this book, you'll be equipped with the practical knowledge and skills needed to use and operate Istio effectively.