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Ingress

An API object that manages external access to the services in a cluster, typically HTTP.

Ingress can provide load balancing, SSL termination and name-based virtual hosting.

Ingress exposes HTTP and HTTPS routes from outside the cluster to services within the cluster. Traffic routing is controlled by rules defined on the Ingress resource. An Ingress does nothing on its own: an ingress controller running in the cluster reads the Ingress objects and configures a proxy or load balancer.

Ingress on OpenShift

OpenShift's built-in router (the default IngressController) serves both Routes and standard Ingress objects. When you create an Ingress, OpenShift generates a matching Route automatically, so Ingress manifests from other Kubernetes distributions work unchanged. See Routes for the OpenShift-native API.

Ingress and Gateway API

The Ingress API is stable but frozen: it gets no new features. Its successor is Gateway API, which is more expressive (traffic splitting, header matching, multiple protocols) and separates the roles of cluster operators and app developers. The popular community Ingress NGINX controller was retired in 2026. For new work on upstream Kubernetes, prefer Gateway API. OpenShift supports Gateway API from version 4.19.

Resources

Ingress Operator

Using Ingress Controllers

Ingress

Ingress Controllers

Gateway API

References

Ingress
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: example-ingress
spec:
  # ingressClassName: openshift-default  # optional; the cluster default is used if omitted
  rules:
    - host: hello-world.apps.example.com
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: web
                port:
                  number: 8080
  tls:                      # optional: terminate TLS for this host
    - hosts:
        - hello-world.apps.example.com
The same route with Gateway API
apiVersion: gateway.networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: HTTPRoute
metadata:
  name: example-route
spec:
  parentRefs:
    - name: example-gateway        # a Gateway created by the platform team
      namespace: gateway-system
  hostnames:
    - hello-world.apps.example.com
  rules:
    - matches:
        - path:
            type: PathPrefix
            value: /
      backendRefs:
        - name: web
          port: 8080
Deploy an app and a Service for it
oc create deployment web --image=quay.io/nginx/nginx-unprivileged:1.29 --port=8080
oc expose deployment web --port=8080
Create the Ingress and see the Route generated from it
oc apply -f ingress.yaml
oc get ingress
oc get routes
View the ingress operator and default controller
oc describe clusteroperators/ingress
oc describe --namespace=openshift-ingress-operator ingresscontroller/default
Check which ingress controllers (IngressClasses) are installed
kubectl get ingressclass
Deploy an app and a Service for it
kubectl create deployment web --image=quay.io/nginx/nginx-unprivileged:1.29 --port=8080
kubectl expose deployment web --port=8080
Create and inspect the Ingress
kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml
kubectl get ingress
kubectl describe ingress example-ingress
Test it before DNS exists, using the ADDRESS from kubectl get ingress
curl http://hello-world.apps.example.com --resolve hello-world.apps.example.com:80:<ADDRESS>

Activities

Lab Description
Lab 11 - Routes & Ingress Publish an app with an OpenShift Route and a Kubernetes Ingress