--- title: Data Plane test: n/a --- The data plane is the part of the mesh that directly handles and routes traffic between workload instances. In {{< gloss >}}sidecar{{< /gloss >}} mode, Istio's data plane uses [Envoy](/docs/reference/glossary/#envoy) proxies deployed as sidecars to mediate and control all traffic that your mesh services send and receive. In {{< gloss >}}ambient{{< /gloss >}} mode, Istio's data plane uses node-level {{< gloss >}}ztunnel{{< /gloss >}} proxies deployed as a DaemonSet to mediate and control all traffic that your mesh services send and receive.