Kubernetes Networking Explained

Objectives:

1. How networking works in Kubernetes (flat networking and DNS).
2. Types of Kubernetes Service resources and their usage.
3. How Ingress works and integrates with your cluster.
4. Cross-namespace pod/service communication.
5. How to restrict communication with Network Policies.
6. Bonus tips for optimizing and securing your cluster's networking.

The Basics of Kubernetes Networking

Kubernetes networking is designed to be simple and flat:

• Any pod can communicate with any other pod in the cluster, regardless of which namespace they're in. This communication works out of the box without additional configuration.
• Pods and services use DNS for service discovery instead of hardcoding IP addresses.

Pod-to-Pod Networking

Every pod is assigned a unique IP address. All pods share a single, flat address space, so there’s no Network Address Translation (NAT) when pods communicate. However, pod IPs are ephemeral, they change if a pod is restarted.

Pod-to-Service Networking with DNS

Kubernetes provides a built-in DNS service that allows pods to resolve services using their names. For example:

• A service called nodejs-service in the default namespace can be resolved by other pods in the same namespace as:

http://nodejs-service

• From another namespace, it might look like:

http://nodejs-service.default.svc.cluster.local

This DNS-based service discovery simplifies communication between pods and services, especially in complex setups.

Key Networking Components in Kubernetes

A. Services

Services are used to expose a group of pods (selected using labels) over the network and provide a stable address for accessing them.

Three key types of services:

1. ClusterIP (default)

• Accessible within the cluster only.
• Provides internal networking between pods.
• Example: A backend service used by a frontend within the same application stack.

2. NodePort

• Exposes a service on a static port across all cluster nodes.
• Mostly used for development purposes but not ideal for production due to limited network flexibility.

3. LoadBalancer

• Requests an external IP to expose the service outside your cluster. In K3s, this integrates with MetalLB to assign an IP from your private pool.

Tip: Minimize LoadBalancer usage by routing external traffic via an Ingress Controller for better efficiency.

Ingress: The Gateway to Your Cluster

Ingress is responsible for routing external HTTP / HTTPS traffic to services within your cluster. It integrates seamlessly with Traefik, your Ingress Controller in K3s.

How It Works:

1. Create your services (e.g., ClusterIP services for Node.js, backends, etc.).
2. Define an Ingress resource:
   • Map hostnames (e.g., nodejs.example.com) or path prefixes (e.g., /api) to specific services.
3. Traefik manages incoming requests and routes them to the appropriate service.

Example Ingress Resource:

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

Benefits of Ingress:

• Reduces the need for multiple LoadBalancer services—only Traefik’s load balancer requires an external IP.
• Simplifies DNS-based routing for multiple services.

Cross-Namespace Networking

Default Behavior:

In K3s/Kubernetes, pods and services in one namespace can communicate with those in another by default. You can achieve this by:

1. Using DNS:

   • <service-name>.<namespace>.svc.cluster.local
   • Example: http://postgres-service.database.svc.cluster.local

2. Accessing services by IP/methods if service discovery is properly managed.

Restricting Cross-Namespace Communication

To prevent unrestricted communication between namespaces, use Network Policies (see below).

Network Policies: Restricting Internal Communication

By default, Kubernetes allows all traffic between pods and across namespaces. To secure your cluster, you can leverage Network Policies to restrict ingress (incoming) and/or egress (outgoing) traffic.

How Network Policies Work

Network Policies let you:

1. Define which pods are allowed to receive traffic (ingress).
2. Define which pods are allowed to send traffic (egress).
3. Use labels and selectors to control access between pods/services.

Examples:

Default-Deny All Traffic

The foundation of securing your cluster:

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: deny-all
  namespace: default
spec:
  podSelector: {}
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  - Egress

• Blocks all traffic to/from pods in the default namespace unless explicitly allowed.

Allow Specific Namespace Traffic

Allow only traffic originating from pods in a specific namespace (e.g., frontend namespace):

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-namespace-frontend
  namespace: backend
spec:
  podSelector: {}
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - namespaceSelector:
        matchLabels:
          role: frontend

• In the backend namespace, only pods from the frontend namespace (labeled role: frontend) can communicate.

Allow Specific Pod Communication

Allow only a specific pod to communicate with another (e.g., frontend → backend):

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: allow-frontend-backend
  namespace: default
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: backend
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: frontend

• Backend pods (app: backend) can only receive traffic from frontend pods (app: frontend).

Useful Tools for Debugging Networking in K3s

1. DNS Resolution

• Verify service discovery with DNS:

kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- nslookup <service-name>

2. Curl/HTTP Testing

• Use curl or similar tools to confirm connectivity between services:

kubectl exec -it <pod-name> -- curl <service-name>

3. Logs for Ingress

• Check Traefik logs to diagnose routing issues.

4. Network Policy Debugging

• Use tools like Cilium (if installed) or NetworkPolicy Viewer addons for better visualization of applied policies.

Best Practices for K3s Networking

• Use ClusterIP for internal services and restrict NodePort services.
• Depend on Ingress for external HTTP/S access—reduce the use of multiple LoadBalancer services.
• Enforce a default-deny policy and gradually allow necessary traffic.
• Use namespace labels and Network Policies to isolate and secure workloads.
• Monitor and audit your networking policies and Traefik configurations regularly.