Kubernetes
Kubernetes Ingress: Configure NGINX, TLS, and Traffic Routing
Ingress is the standard way to expose HTTP and HTTPS services running inside a Kubernetes cluster to the outside world. An Ingress resource defines routing rules, and an Ingress controller (like NGINX) implements them. Combined with cert-manager for automatic TLS certificates, you get production-grade traffic management without managing load balancers manually.
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Installing the NGINX Ingress Controller
Deploy the NGINX Ingress Controller via Helm: `helm install ingress-nginx ingress-nginx/ingress-nginx --namespace ingress-nginx --create-namespace`. This creates a Deployment running the NGINX reverse proxy and a LoadBalancer Service that provisions a cloud load balancer (ELB on AWS, Cloud Load Balancer on GCP). Verify with `kubectl get svc -n ingress-nginx` and note the external IP. Point your DNS records to this IP. For bare-metal clusters, use `hostNetwork: true` or MetalLB to provide LoadBalancer functionality.
Defining Ingress Resources with Routing Rules
An Ingress resource maps hostnames and paths to backend Services. Use `spec.rules` to define host-based routing: `api.example.com` routes to your API service, `app.example.com` routes to your frontend. Path-based routing splits traffic within a single host: `/api` goes to one service, `/` to another. Set `pathType: Prefix` for prefix matching or `ImplementationSpecific` for regex support. NGINX-specific annotations like `nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target` let you strip path prefixes before forwarding to the backend.
Automatic TLS with cert-manager and Let's Encrypt
Install cert-manager via Helm and create a ClusterIssuer resource pointing to Let's Encrypt. In your Ingress resource, add the annotation `cert-manager.io/cluster-issuer: letsencrypt-prod` and define a `tls` section with your hostname and a secret name. cert-manager will automatically request a certificate, complete the ACME HTTP-01 challenge, store the certificate in a Kubernetes Secret, and renew it before expiration. This eliminates all manual certificate management. For wildcard certificates, use DNS-01 challenges with your DNS provider's API.
Advanced Ingress Configuration
NGINX Ingress supports annotations for rate limiting (`nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/limit-rps`), IP whitelisting (`nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/whitelist-source-range`), custom timeouts, proxy buffer sizes, and WebSocket support. For sticky sessions, use `nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/affinity: cookie`. For large file uploads, increase `proxy-body-size`. You can also define a default backend that serves a custom 404 page when no Ingress rule matches. Monitor Ingress performance using the built-in Prometheus metrics endpoint exposed by the controller.
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