Path-based routing in Kubernetes - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Path-based routing with Kubernetes Ingress

📖 Scenario: You are managing a Kubernetes cluster that hosts multiple web services. You want to route incoming HTTP requests to different services based on the URL path. For example, requests to /app1 should go to service-app1, and requests to /app2 should go to service-app2.

🎯 Goal: Create a Kubernetes Ingress resource that uses path-based routing to send traffic to the correct backend services based on the request path.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a basic Ingress resource with metadata and spec

Add a default backend service for unmatched paths

Add path rules to route /app1 to service-app1 and /app2 to service-app2

Use the networking.k8s.io/v1 API version and proper pathType

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Path-based routing is common in Kubernetes to host multiple applications on the same IP and port, directing users to the right service based on URL paths.

💼 Career

Understanding Ingress and path-based routing is essential for Kubernetes administrators and DevOps engineers managing multi-service applications.

1

Create the basic Ingress resource skeleton

Create a Kubernetes Ingress resource named example-ingress in the default namespace. Use the API version networking.k8s.io/v1. Include metadata with the name and namespace, and an empty spec section.

Kubernetes

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: example-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  # Your code here

Need a hint?

Start with the basic Ingress YAML structure including apiVersion, kind, metadata, and an empty spec.

2

Add a default backend service

Inside the spec section, add a defaultBackend that points to the service named default-service on port 80. Use the correct structure for service and port fields.

Kubernetes

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: example-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  # Add defaultBackend here
  # Your code here

Need a hint?

The defaultBackend routes requests that don't match any path rules. Use the service and port keys properly.

3

Add path-based routing rules

Inside the spec, add an ingressClassName set to nginx. Then add a rules list with one rule for host example.com. Under this rule, add an http section with paths that route /app1 to service service-app1 port 80 and /app2 to service service-app2 port 80. Use pathType: Prefix for both paths.

Kubernetes

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: example-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  defaultBackend:
    service:
      name: default-service
      port:
        number: 80
  # Add ingressClassName and rules with path-based routing below
  # Your code here

Need a hint?

Use ingressClassName to specify the Ingress controller. Define rules with host and http.paths for routing.

4

Display the complete Ingress YAML

Print the complete Ingress YAML manifest to verify the configuration. Use a command like cat ingress.yaml assuming the file is named ingress.yaml.

Kubernetes

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: example-ingress
  namespace: default
spec:
  defaultBackend:
    service:
      name: default-service
      port:
        number: 80
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
  - host: example.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /app1
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: service-app1
            port:
              number: 80
      - path: /app2
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: service-app2
            port:
              number: 80

# Print the ingress.yaml content below
# Your code here

Need a hint?

Use cat ingress.yaml to display the full YAML manifest content.