Master Kubernetes networking concepts including pods, services, ingress controllers, and network policies. Complete guide with practical examples.

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Kubernetes Networking Deep Dive: Understanding Pods, Services, and Ingress

Kubernetes networking can be complex. This guide explains how pods communicate, how services work, and how to configure ingress controllers.

Pod Networking #

Every pod gets its own IP address and can communicate with other pods directly.

yaml.yaml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Pod
metadata:
  name: web-pod
spec:
  containers:
  - name: web
    image: nginx
    ports:
    - containerPort: 80

Services #

Services provide stable networking for pods.

ClusterIP (Default)#

yaml.yaml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: web-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: web
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 80
  type: ClusterIP

NodePort #

yaml.yaml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: web-service
spec:
  type: NodePort
  selector:
    app: web
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 80
    nodePort: 30080

LoadBalancer #

yaml.yaml

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: web-service
spec:
  type: LoadBalancer
  selector:
    app: web
  ports:
  - port: 80
    targetPort: 80

Ingress Controllers #

Ingress provides HTTP/HTTPS routing to services.

yaml.yaml

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: web-ingress
spec:
  rules:
  - host: example.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: web-service
            port:
              number: 80

Network Policies #

Control traffic between pods:

yaml.yaml

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: web-policy
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: web
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: frontend
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 80
  egress:
  - to:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: database
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 5432

DNS in Kubernetes #

Services are accessible via DNS:

bash.bash

# Service DNS format
<service-name>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local

# Example
web-service.default.svc.cluster.local

Best Practices #

Use Services for pod discovery
Implement Network Policies for security
Use Ingress for external access
Monitor network performance
Document network architecture

Conclusion #

Understanding Kubernetes networking is essential for building reliable applications. Start with Services and gradually add Ingress and Network Policies as needed.

For Kubernetes Networking Deep Dive: Understanding Pods, Services, and Ingress, define pre-deploy checks, rollout gates, and rollback triggers before release. Track p95 latency, error rate, and cost per request for at least 24 hours after deployment. If the trend regresses from baseline, revert quickly and document the decision in the runbook.

Keep the operating model simple under pressure: one owner per change, one decision channel, and clear stop conditions. Review alert quality regularly to remove noise and ensure on-call engineers can distinguish urgent failures from routine variance.

Repeatability is the goal. Convert successful interventions into standard operating procedures and version them in the repository so future responders can execute the same flow without ambiguity.