Terminology

This page is the authority for reader-facing product terms in the v0.6 documentation. Configuration keys, API fields, metric names, and code identifiers retain their exact spelling even when they differ from prose terms.

Quick Lookup

Need	Term
configured downstream ingress identity	listener
primary UDP/QUIC and HTTP/3 ingress	native QUIC listener
compatibility TCP/TLS ingress for HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2	bootstrap listener
named routing target	upstream
single origin endpoint inside an upstream	backend
request match conditions	route
request policy gate before backend execution	admission
contract-style request limiting	quota
runtime self-protection under pressure	overload
privileged admin HTTP surface	Control API
operator-facing history of admin actions	audit
atomically swapped active runtime version	runtime generation
publishing a candidate runtime generation	activation
legacy direct-apply operation	reload
restoring a retained runtime generation	rollback
stopping new admission while work completes	drain

Use these definitions and preferred phrases consistently across product-reference pages.

Term	Meaning
Listener	A configured downstream ingress identity. It owns an address, port, protocol settings, and certificate set and provides the settings from which ingress sockets are created.
Native QUIC listener	The primary UDP/QUIC ingress for downstream HTTP/3 traffic. Use this term instead of “QUIC path” when referring to the concrete listener.
Bootstrap listener	The automatically paired TCP/TLS compatibility ingress for downstream HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2. It uses the configured listener identity and is not a separately configured listener.
Upstream	A named routing target consisting of route rules, optional TLS policy, load-balancing policy, and one or more backends.
Backend	A single origin endpoint inside an upstream.
Route	The match conditions that decide which upstream handles a request.
Admission	The shared request-policy gate that evaluates route-level rejection, scoped rate limits, quota, brownout, overload, and permit checks before backend execution.
Auth	Request-path authentication and authorization decisions, including local auth and external auth integration.
Quota	Contract-style request limiting based on explicit selectors and windows. Quota is separate from overload control.
Overload	Runtime protection behavior that sheds or delays work to keep the system stable under pressure.
Brownout	A specific overload mode in which non-core or lower-priority traffic is shed to preserve core traffic.
Control API	The privileged operator-facing admin HTTP surface.
Control plane	The broader operator-facing management layer around the Control API, runtime views, watchdog, metrics endpoint, and related admin services.
Audit	The operator-facing record of control API actions and runtime-management events.
Runtime generation	An immutable version of normalized runtime state. One generation is active, while eligible older generations may be retained for history and rollback.
Activation	Preparing and atomically publishing a compatible candidate runtime generation. The staged Control API operation is POST /admin/runtime/activate.
Reload	The legacy shortcut exposed by POST /admin/runtime/reload, which validates and directly applies a compatible candidate without the separate staged workflow. Do not use reload as a generic synonym for activation, certificate reload, restart, or drain.
Rollback	Restoring an eligible retained runtime generation through POST /admin/runtime/rollback. Rollback changes the active generation; it is not a process restart.
Metrics endpoint	The Prometheus exposition endpoint.
Drain	The process of stopping new admissions while allowing existing work to complete or time out.
Certificate reload	Reloading listener certificate material for new handshakes through POST /admin/runtime/reload-certs. This is not activation or full config reload.

Preferred Usage

Use these phrases consistently unless a page is quoting a metric name, config key, or code identifier.

Prefer	Avoid when possible	Reason
listener	proxy listener, socket listener	listener is the canonical runtime term.
native QUIC listener	QUIC path when the concrete listener is meant	distinguishes the UDP/HTTP/3 ingress from the shared request path.
bootstrap listener	bootstrap TLS listener, TCP bootstrap listener	TLS and TCP are properties of the compatibility listener, not part of its preferred name.
route	routing rule for the main noun	route is shorter and already defined.
upstream	upstream pool as the default term	upstream is the canonical routing target; mention its backends when needed.
backend	origin server unless external comparison requires it	backend matches config, metrics, and runtime views.
admission	admission control everywhere	use admission as the general subsystem name; use admission control only when the longer phrase materially helps.
auth	mixed authentication / authorization wording for shared request-path decisions	auth is the shortest shared label for the request-path decision layer.
quota	rate limiting when the feature is specifically quota	quota has different semantics from scoped rate limiting.
overload	rate limiting or quota when the meaning is runtime protection	keep contract failure and runtime protection separate.
brownout	vague phrases like degraded mode when the specific overload mode is meant	brownout is a distinct runtime behavior.
Control API	admin API as the primary product term	Control API is the canonical product surface.
control plane	control-plane services for the general system every time	use control plane for the broader management layer; use Control API for the HTTP admin surface.
audit	audit log as the only term	audit covers the event stream and operator history more cleanly.
runtime generation	generation alone on first mention	spell out the full phrase on first mention for clarity.
activation	reload for the staged generation workflow	activation is the preferred atomic generation change; reload names the legacy shortcut.
rollback	revert when referring to the Control API operation	rollback names the retained-generation operation.
drain	shutdown when work is still being allowed to finish	drain is a lifecycle phase; shutdown is the final process outcome.

Search Aliases

These aliases are common search terms, but they are not the preferred product wording:

Search term	Canonical term
admin API	Control API
origin server	backend
routing rule	route
QUIC path, when referring to ingress	native QUIC listener
bootstrap TLS listener	bootstrap listener
rate limiting, when the meaning is contract exhaustion	quota
degraded mode, when the meaning is selective overload shedding	brownout
config version swap	runtime generation
config apply	activation
revert generation	rollback

Writing Style

Use these style rules across product-reference pages:

• Prefer short, direct sentences.
• Use the canonical term on first mention, then keep using the same term.
• Separate request-path policy concepts from runtime protection concepts.
• Use Control API for the admin HTTP surface and control plane for the broader operator layer.
• Use upstream for the named routing target and backend for individual endpoints inside it.
• Use native QUIC listener and bootstrap listener for the two concrete ingress listeners.
• Use activation, reload, rollback, and drain only for the distinct lifecycle operations defined above.
• Avoid mixing code names, config keys, and reader-facing terms in ordinary prose unless needed for precision.

Related Pages

• Architecture Overview
• Configuration Reference
• Runtime Generation and Configuration Lifecycle
• Status and Limitations