Medium10 minContainer Orchestration
UpdatedAug 2, 2026
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Ingress vs. LoadBalancer Service

CONCEPTS:Kubernetes Ingress and Ingress ControllersKubernetes Architecture

Question Variations

  • "When would you use an Ingress resource instead of a Service of type `LoadBalancer`?"
  • "What is an Ingress Controller, and why is it necessary to have one in the cluster?"
  • "How does an Ingress handle SSL/TLS termination?"
  • "Explain the difference between Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing in the context of Kubernetes."

Why This Is Asked

Cost and complexity management are key in Kubernetes. This question tests if a candidate understands how to efficiently expose multiple services to the internet using a single entry point rather than provisioning expensive cloud resources for every microservice.

Key Concepts

  • L4 vs L7: LoadBalancer (TCP/UDP) vs. Ingress (HTTP/HTTPS).
  • Consolidation: Using one IP for many services.
  • SSL Termination: Handling certificates in one place.
  • Ingress Controllers: The “engine” that powers the Ingress rules.

Question Variations

  • “When would you use an Ingress resource instead of a Service of type LoadBalancer?”
  • “What is an Ingress Controller, and why is it necessary to have one in the cluster?”
  • “How does an Ingress handle SSL/TLS termination?”
  • “Explain the difference between Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing in the context of Kubernetes.”

Answers by Technology

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Expected Answer

The main difference is scope and cost.

  • A LoadBalancer Service is a Layer 4 (TCP/UDP) construct. Every time you create one, your cloud provider provisions a new, expensive external Load Balancer with its own IP. It just forwards traffic directly to your service.
  • An Ingress is a Layer 7 (HTTP/HTTPS) construct. It acts as a smart router. You typically have one Ingress Controller (which itself is backed by a single LoadBalancer service) that uses rules to route traffic to many different internal services based on the URL path or hostname.

Summary: Use a LoadBalancer service for non-HTTP traffic or for a single simple app. Use an Ingress for web applications with multiple services to save money and gain advanced routing features like SSL termination and path-based routing.

Why It Matters

In a microservices architecture with 50 services, creating 50 LoadBalancer services would cost thousands of dollars per month in cloud fees. An Ingress allows you to run all 50 services behind a single Cloud Load Balancer, significantly reducing costs and simplifying DNS management.

Example Code

An Ingress Resource (Routing to two services)

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

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the Ingress Controller: Creating an Ingress resource and wondering why it has no “Address.” You must install a controller (like NGINX) first.
  • Path matching confusion: Not understanding the difference between Exact and Prefix path matching, leading to 404s.
  • SSL Misconfiguration: Forgetting to define a TLS secret in the Ingress, resulting in “Not Secure” browser warnings even if the backend supports HTTPS.

Follow-up Questions

  • What is an Ingress Controller? (Answer: A Pod (usually NGINX or HAProxy) that watches the Kubernetes API for Ingress resources and updates its configuration to route traffic accordingly).
  • Can an Ingress handle non-HTTP traffic (like databases)? (Answer: Generally no. Ingress is designed for HTTP/S. For TCP/UDP, you should use a LoadBalancer service or specialized controller features).
  • What is a “Default Backend”? (Answer: A service that handles all requests that don’t match any rule in the Ingress).

References