How to Govern the MCP Gateway and MCP Server Layer: Enterprise Agent Control Plane Series, Part 3

This is Part 3 of a series on enterprise agent control planes, detailing how to govern the MCP gateway and MCP server layer. It covers the gateway's role as a governed capability-access layer beneath the trusted agent controller, including admitting approved servers, exposing permitted tools, validating schemas, enforcing identity and routing rules, isolating credentials, detecting capability changes, and preserving trace evidence. The article emphasizes that the gateway should not be the only security control; each MCP server must still enforce domain authorization, validate business rules, and protect credentials. It discusses the division of responsibilities: controller authorizes workflow, gateway governs connection, server enforces domain, and enterprise system protects records. It also addresses challenges in production environments with many servers and the need for an admission pipeline, private catalog, and runtime verification.