configure-ingress-networking

Configure Ingress Networking

Set up production-grade Kubernetes Ingress with NGINX controller, automated TLS certificates, and advanced routing capabilities.

When to Use

• Exposing multiple Kubernetes services via single load balancer
• Implementing path-based or host-based routing for microservices
• Automating TLS certificate issuance and renewal with Let's Encrypt
• Implementing rate limiting, authentication, and WAF policies
• Setting up blue-green or canary deployments with traffic splitting
• Configuring custom error pages and request/response modification

Inputs

• Required: Kubernetes cluster with LoadBalancer support or MetalLB
• Required: DNS records pointing to cluster LoadBalancer IP
• Optional: Existing TLS certificates or Let's Encrypt account
• Optional: OAuth2 provider for authentication
• Optional: WAF rules (ModSecurity)
• Optional: Prometheus for metrics collection

Procedure

See Extended Examples for complete configuration files and templates.

Step 1: Install NGINX Ingress Controller

Deploy NGINX Ingress Controller with Helm and configure cloud provider integration.

# Add NGINX Ingress Helm repository
helm repo add ingress-nginx https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx
helm repo update

# Create namespace
kubectl create namespace ingress-nginx

# Install for cloud providers (AWS, GCP, Azure)
helm install ingress-nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx \
  --namespace ingress-nginx \
  --set controller.service.type=LoadBalancer \
  --set controller.metrics.enabled=true \
  --set controller.metrics.serviceMonitor.enabled=true \
  --set controller.podAnnotations."prometheus\.io/scrape"=true \
  --set controller.podAnnotations."prometheus\.io/port"=10254

# Or install for bare-metal with NodePort
helm install ingress-nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx \
  --namespace ingress-nginx \
  --set controller.service.type=NodePort \
  --set controller.service.nodePorts.http=30080 \
  --set controller.service.nodePorts.https=30443

# AWS-specific configuration with NLB
helm install ingress-nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx \
  --namespace ingress-nginx \
  --set controller.service.annotations."service\.beta\.kubernetes\.io/aws-load-balancer-type"=nlb \
  --set controller.service.annotations."service\.beta\.kubernetes\.io/aws-load-balancer-backend-protocol"=tcp \
  --set controller.service.annotations."service\.beta\.kubernetes\.io/aws-load-balancer-cross-zone-load-balancing-enabled"=true

# Verify installation
kubectl get pods -n ingress-nginx
kubectl get svc -n ingress-nginx

# Wait for LoadBalancer external IP
kubectl get svc ingress-nginx-controller -n ingress-nginx -w

# Get external IP/hostname
INGRESS_IP=$(kubectl get svc ingress-nginx-controller -n ingress-nginx -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].ip}')
INGRESS_HOST=$(kubectl get svc ingress-nginx-controller -n ingress-nginx -o jsonpath='{.status.loadBalancer.ingress[0].hostname}')

echo "Ingress IP: $INGRESS_IP"
echo "Ingress Hostname: $INGRESS_HOST"

# Test controller
curl http://$INGRESS_IP
# Should return 404 (no backend configured yet)