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March 23, 2023|
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Introduction
An ingress controller is a component of Kubernetes that manages external access to the services in a cluster. It acts as a gateway or entry point to the cluster, routing traffic to the appropriate service based on rules defined in an ingress resource. In other words, an ingress controller allows you to expose multiple services running in a Kubernetes cluster to the outside world using a single IP address.
Ingress controllers are essential for building modern, cloud-native applications that are scalable and highly available. They provide a way to route traffic to different applications and services within a Kubernetes cluster and external resources, such as databases or other APIs.
In this blog post, we will explore the concept of ingress controllers in more detail, including how they work, what benefits they provide, and how to set up and configure them in a Kubernetes environment. We will also discuss some of the most popular ingress controllers and compare their features and performance.
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NGINX Ingress Controller
NGINX Ingress Controller is an open-source tool to manage ingress for Kubernetes applications. Ingress is a Kubernetes resource that defines rules for routing external traffic to internal services. NGINX Ingress Controller is built on top of NGINX, a popular web server and reverse proxy. It is designed to be highly scalable and flexible, supporting various configurations.
NGINX Ingress Controller works by creating a set of NGINX configuration files based on the Ingress resources in the Kubernetes cluster. These configuration files are then used to route traffic to the appropriate services. NGINX Ingress Controller supports a variety of load balancing algorithms, including round-robin, least connections, and IP hash. It also supports SSL termination and can manage multiple SSL certificates.
One of the key advantages of the NGINX Ingress Controller is its flexibility. Because it is built on top of NGINX, it supports various configurations and can be customized to meet specific needs. NGINX Ingress Controller also supports a number of third-party plugins that can be used to add additional functionality, such as rate limiting and authentication.
How to install and configure NGINX Ingress Controller in a Kubernetes environment
In this blog, we install the Nginx ingress controller on EKS (Elastic Kubernetes service).
Create namespace
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$ kubectl create ns nginx |
Installing nginx ingress controller
Here is the nginx ingress GitHub repo where we can find the charts and values.yaml,
(https://github.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/tree/main/charts/ingress-nginx) we can download the values.yaml file from this repo, and we can customize the values like adding Domain SSL certificate, annotations, etc. Here, I have downloaded values.yaml and added SSL certificate.
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$ helm install nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx –values values-beta.yaml -n nginx |
Note: I have changed the values file name
To Verify the installation, we can list out the resources in nginx namespace
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$ kubectl get all -n nginx |
Deploying sample nginx image and exposing through ingress
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$ kubectl create deployment nginx --image=nginx |
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$ kubectl get deploy |
To verify the deployment status
Creating service for the nginx deployment
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$ kubectl expose deployment nginx --port=80 --target-port=80 --name=nginx-service --type=ClusterIP |
Exposing through ingress
Here is the ingress rule (resource) to expose nginx service through ingress
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apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1 kind: Ingress metadata: name: nginx annotations: nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-connect-timeout: "360s" nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-send-timeout: "360s" nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/proxy-read-timeout: "360s" spec: ingressClassName: nginx rules: - host: “hostname” http: paths: - path: / pathType: Prefix backend: service: name: nginx-service port: number: 80 |
AWS Load balancer Controller
The AWS Load Balancer Controller is a managed solution provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) that enables users to deploy and manage AWS load balancers directly from their Kubernetes cluster. It supports both Application Load Balancers (ALB) and Network Load Balancers (NLB), allowing users to balance traffic at the application or network layers.
One of the main benefits of the AWS Load Balancer Controller is its tight integration with AWS services. It automatically configures load balancers based on Kubernetes annotations, making it easy to manage and scale load balancing resources alongside Kubernetes resources. Additionally, it supports advanced features such as SSL offloading and sticky sessions, making it a powerful tool for managing application traffic in the cloud.
Installation and configuration of NGINX Ingress Controller
To download an IAM policy that allows the AWS Load Balancer Controller to make calls to AWS APIs on your behalf, run the following command:
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$ curl -o iam_policy.json https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes-sigs/aws-load-balancer-controller/v2.4.4/docs/install/iam_policy.json |
Create IAM policy
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$ aws iam create-policy \ --policy-name AWSLoadBalancerControllerIAMPolicy \ --policy-document file://iam_policy.json |
Create service account
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eksctl create iamserviceaccount \ --cluster=demo-eks \ --namespace=kube-system \ --name=aws-load-balancer-controller \ --attach-policy-arn=arn:aws:iam::<AWS Account ID>:policy/AWSLoadBalancerControllerIAMPolicy \ --override-existing-serviceaccounts \ --approve |
To verify that the new service role has been created, run one of the following commands:
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eksctl get iamserviceaccount --cluster demo-eks --name aws-load-balancer-controller --namespace kube-system |
Install the AWS Load Balancer Controller using Helm
To add the Amazon EKS chart repo to Helm, run the following command:
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$ helm repo add eks https://aws.github.io/eks-charts |
To install the TargetGroupBinding custom resource definitions (CRDs), run the following command:
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$ kubectl apply -k "github.com/aws/eks-charts/stable/aws-load-balancer-controller//crds?ref=master" |
To install the Helm chart, run the following command:
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$ helm install aws-load-balancer-controller eks/aws-load-balancer-controller \ --set clusterName=YOUR_CLUSTER_NAME \ --set serviceAccount.create=false \ --set region=YOUR_REGION_CODE \ --set vpcId=<VPC_ID> \ --set serviceAccount.name=aws-load-balancer-controller \ -n kube-system |
To Verify the deployment status
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$ kubectl get deploy -n kube-system |
To deploy the sample app and verify the AWS Load Balancer Controller functionality.
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--- apiVersion: v1 kind: Namespace metadata: name: game-2048 --- apiVersion: apps/v1 kind: Deployment metadata: namespace: game-2048 name: deployment-2048 spec: selector: matchLabels: app.kubernetes.io/name: app-2048 replicas: 5 template: metadata: labels: app.kubernetes.io/name: app-2048 spec: containers: - image: public.ecr.aws/l6m2t8p7/docker-2048:latest imagePullPolicy: Always name: app-2048 ports: - containerPort: 80 --- apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: namespace: game-2048 name: service-2048 annotations: service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-nlb-target-type: "ip" service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-type: external service.beta.kubernetes.io/aws-load-balancer-scheme: internet-facing spec: ports: - port: 80 targetPort: 80 protocol: TCP type: LoadBalancer selector: app.kubernetes.io/name: app-2048 |
Verify in browser
NGINX Ingress Controller vs. AWS Load Balancer Controller
Ingress Controllers and Load Balancers are essential tools that provide scalability, availability, and performance when deploying and managing applications on the cloud. NGINX Ingress Controller and AWS Load Balancer Controller are popular solutions offering similar functionalities but differ in architecture, features, and cost-effectiveness. This blog will compare NGINX Ingress Controller and AWS Load Balancer Controller and highlight their strengths and weaknesses.
- Performance and scalability: NGINX Ingress Controller is based on the NGINX web server, known for its high performance and low latency. NGINX Ingress Controller can handle thousands of requests per second and supports HTTP, HTTPS, and TCP protocols. It also has advanced load balancing algorithms such as round-robin, least connections, and IP hash, enabling it to distribute traffic across multiple backend services efficiently. NGINX Ingress Controller is suitable for medium to large-scale applications that require high availability and scalability.
AWS Load Balancer Controller is a managed service that integrates with AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB) service. It supports four types of load balancers: Application Load Balancer (ALB), Network Load Balancer (NLB), Classic Load Balancer (CLB), and Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB). AWS Load Balancer Controller can automatically scale up or down based on the backend services’ traffic load and health status. It also supports SSL termination, session persistence, and routing based on HTTP headers and query parameters. AWS Load Balancer Controller is suitable for applications that require high availability, fault tolerance, and global reach.
2. Flexibility and customization: NGINX Ingress Controller provides a flexible and customizable configuration that allows developers to define their own routing rules, rewrite rules, and authentication mechanisms. NGINX Ingress Controller supports Kubernetes annotations, which enable developers to specify advanced options such as SSL certificates, connection timeouts, and rate limiting policies. NGINX Ingress Controller also supports plugins such as Lua scripting, WebSockets, and OpenTracing, which extend its functionality and enable developers to customize their applications.
AWS Load Balancer Controller provides a less flexible and customizable configuration based on AWS CloudFormation templates. Developers must define their routing rules, listeners, and target groups in the templates, which can be challenging for complex applications. AWS Load Balancer Controller also has limited support for third-party plugins and extensions, which can limit the customization options for developers.
3. Cost-effectiveness: NGINX Ingress Controller is open-source software that is free to use and deploy. However, the cost of hosting NGINX Ingress Controller on a cloud platform such as AWS, GCP, or Azure can vary depending on the size and complexity of the application. Developers must consider the compute resources, storage, and network traffic cost when deploying NGINX Ingress Controller on a cloud platform.
AWS Load Balancer Controller is a managed service billed based on the usage and configuration of the load balancers. AWS Load Balancer Controller provides a cost-effective solution for small to medium-scale applications that require basic load balancing features. However, the cost can significantly increase for large-scale applications requiring advanced features and global reach.
4. Integration with other services and platforms: NGINX Ingress Controller strongly integrates with Kubernetes and supports other container orchestration platforms such as Docker Swarm and OpenShift. NGINX Ingress Controller can also integrate with services such as Prometheus, Grafana, and Fluentd, which provide advanced monitoring and logging capabilities. NGINX Ingress Controller can be deployed on any cloud platform or on-premises infrastructure, which provides flexibility and portability.
AWS Load Balancer Controller is tightly integrated with the AWS ecosystem and provides seamlessly.
Conclusion
NGINX Ingress Controller and AWS Load Balancer Controller are powerful tools for load balancing and traffic management in the cloud. The best solution for your deployment will depend on your specific requirements, workload, and infrastructure. NGINX Ingress Controller is a flexible and customizable open-source solution designed specifically for Kubernetes, while AWS Load Balancer Controller is a managed solution tightly integrated with the AWS ecosystem. Careful evaluation of each solution’s features and capabilities will help you choose the right tool.
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FAQs
1. Which is better for performance and scalability, NGINX Ingress Controller or AWS Load Balancer Controller?
ANS: – NGINX Ingress Controller is based on the high-performance NGINX web server and supports advanced load balancing algorithms. It is suitable for medium to large-scale applications that require high availability and scalability. AWS Load Balancer Controller, on the other hand, is a managed service that can automatically scale up or down based on the traffic load and health status of the backend services, making it suitable for applications that require high availability, fault tolerance, and global reach.
2. Which is more flexible and customizable, NGINX Ingress Controller or AWS Load Balancer Controller?
ANS: – NGINX Ingress Controller provides a flexible and customizable configuration that allows developers to define their own routing rules, rewrite rules, and authentication mechanisms. NGINX Ingress Controller also supports plugins such as Lua scripting, WebSockets, and OpenTracing, which extend its functionality and enable developers to customize their applications. AWS Load Balancer Controller, on the other hand, provides a less flexible and customizable configuration based on AWS CloudFormation templates.
3. Which is more cost-effective, NGINX Ingress Controller or AWS Load Balancer Controller?
ANS: – NGINX Ingress Controller is open-source software that is free to use and deploy. However, the cost of hosting NGINX Ingress Controller on a cloud platform such as AWS, GCP, or Azure can vary depending on the size and complexity of the application. AWS Load Balancer Controller, on the other hand, is a managed service that is billed based on the usage and configuration of the load balancers. AWS Load Balancer Controller provides a cost-effective solution for small to medium-scale applications that require basic load balancing features.
WRITTEN BY Harikrishnan S
Harikrishnan Seetharaman is a Research Associate (DevOps) at CloudThat. He completed his Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Communication, and he achieved AWS solution architect-Associate certification. His area of interest is implementing a cloud-native solution for customers and helping them by proving robust and reliable solutions for their complex problems, DevOps, and SaaS. Apart from his professional interest he likes to spend time in farming and learning new DevOps tools.
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