What is Kubernetes Ingress? How does it differ from a LoadBalancer Service?

What Ingress Does

Ingress is an API object that manages external HTTP/HTTPS traffic entering the cluster, providing:

• URL path-based routing (/api → backend service, / → frontend service)
• Host-based routing (api.example.com vs app.example.com)
• TLS termination (SSL offloading)
• A unified external entry point (single LoadBalancer serving multiple apps)

Ingress vs LoadBalancer Service

Approach	Best For	Cost
LoadBalancer Service	Non-HTTP services, single app	One cloud LB per Service (expensive)
Ingress	Multiple HTTP/HTTPS services	One LB for multiple backends (cost-effective)

Configuration Example

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1 kind: Ingress metadata: name: my-ingress spec: rules:

• host: api.example.com http: paths:
  • path: /users pathType: Prefix backend: service: name: user-service port: number: 80

Ingress Controller

Ingress is just a rule definition — you need an Ingress Controller to actually process traffic. Common options:

• nginx-ingress: Most widely used
• Traefik: Native support for dynamic configuration
• AWS ALB Ingress: Native integration for AWS environments