# Envoy Proxy and xDS Protocol
## Envoy Proxy
- [Envoy](https://www.envoyproxy.io/)
- [Examining Load Balancing Algorithms with Envoy](https://blog.envoyproxy.io/examining-load-balancing-algorithms-with-envoy-1be643ea121c)

## xDS protocol (Envoy's Discovery Service Protocol)
- [xDS REST and gRPC protocol](https://www.envoyproxy.io/docs/envoy/latest/api-docs/xds_protocol)
- "The [gRPC project](https://grpc.io/faq/) is adding support for the **xDS protocol**, think Envoy Proxy as a library, which will provide a subset of functionality without an external proxy. 🤯 The best part, xDS based control planes such as Istio, Traffic Director, and Consul Connect should just work." Kelsey Hightower