Managing Ingress and Egress traffic is essential for secure, efficient, and reliable communication within Kubernetes deployments. Ingress controls how external traffic enters the cluster, while Egress manages how internal services communicate with external resources. Together, they form the foundation of Kubernetes traffic flow, ensuring connectivity, security, and performance.
Managing Ingress Traffic in Kubernetes
Ingress and Egress work together to deliver the inward and outward traffic flow to and from a Kubernetes cluster. Ingress brings external requests into the cluster, while Egress ensures secure outbound communication. Together, they create a well-structured traffic flow, enhancing performance, security, and compliance.
Ingress in Kubernetes uses several components:
- Ingress Controllers – Manages external access by routing traffic based on domain names, paths, and protocols. Envoy Gateway is the modern standard for Kubernetes Ingress, providing advanced security, observability, and multi-tenancy support.
- TLS Termination – Ensures secure traffic by handling TLS/SSL encryption at the Ingress layer.
- Load Balancing & Traffic Shaping – Distributes incoming requests efficiently, supporting QA deployments and canary releases.
Managing Egress Traffic in Kubernetes
Egress in Kubernetes is built on several components:
- Egress Gateways – Enforce outbound traffic policies, ensuring controlled communication with external APIs or cloud services.
- Network Policies – Restrict Egress traffic to limit unauthorized data flows and prevent leaks.
- Service Mesh Integration – Istio’s Egress gateway provides fine-grained control over external connections, enforcing authentication and mutual TLS (mTLS).
Ingress vs. Egress – Understanding the Differences
The table below compares and contrasts Kubernetes Ingress and Egress for traffic routing.
| Ingress Traffic | Egress Traffic | |
| Definition | Traffic coming into the cluster from ExternalSources | Traffic leaving the cluster to Externaldestinations |
| Primary Purpose | Routes external HTTPS traffic to Kubernetes Services | Controls outbound communication from Pods to External clients and systems |
| Managed By | Ingress Controllers (such as Envoy Gateway or HAProxy) | Egress gateways, network policies, Kubernetes NAT configurations |
| Security Features | TLS termination, authentication, and access control | Preventing unauthorized data exfiltration, securing external dependencies |
Optimize Ingress & Egress Traffic with Tetrate
Misconfigurations in Ingress and Egress traffic can lead to security risks, performance bottlenecks, and compliance issues. Tetrate Consulting offers expert guidance on Kubernetes’ Ingress controllers, Egress gateways, and service mesh configurations. Tetrate’s Istio-based service mesh optimizes Ingress and Egress traffic, providing centralized control, monitoring, and security. Our experts can help you optimize your Kubernetes Ingress, service mesh, and traffic management strategies. Get expert guidance on all things Kubernetes-related by connecting with Tetrate’s consulting services.