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An Ingress lets you route external HTTP/HTTPS traffic to multiple services within your cluster using host-based or path-based rules — similar in concept to an Nginx reverse proxy, but managed declaratively within Kubernetes itself.

Why Use Ingress Instead of Multiple NodePort Services

NodePort services each need a distinct port, which becomes unwieldy with many services. Ingress lets you route based on domain name or URL path through a single entry point, much closer to how you'd typically want to expose a real production application.

Step 1 — Install the Nginx Ingress Controller

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/main/deploy/static/provider/baremetal/deploy.yaml

The "baremetal" provider variant is appropriate for a self-managed VPS cluster, as opposed to cloud-specific variants that expect a cloud load balancer.

Step 2 — Verify the Ingress Controller Is Running

kubectl get pods -n ingress-nginx

Step 3 — Find the Ingress Controller's Exposed Port

kubectl get svc -n ingress-nginx

On a bare-metal/VPS setup, this typically exposes via NodePort — note the ports shown for HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443).

Step 4 — Create an Ingress Resource

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: my-app-ingress
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/rewrite-target: /
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
  - host: myapp.example.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: my-app-service
            port:
              number: 80

kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml

Step 5 — Point DNS to Your Node's IP

Add an A record for myapp.example.com pointing to your VPS's public IP — see How to Point a Domain to Your VPS (A/AAAA Records).

Step 6 — Route the Firewall to the Ingress Ports

sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

If the Ingress controller uses non-standard NodePort values instead of 80/443 directly, forward those specific ports, or configure the service to use hostNetwork for direct binding (more advanced).

Adding TLS/HTTPS to an Ingress

spec:
  tls:
  - hosts:
    - myapp.example.com
    secretName: myapp-tls
  rules:
  - host: myapp.example.com
    ...

The referenced secretName must contain a valid TLS certificate and key, stored as a Kubernetes Secret — commonly automated with cert-manager for Let's Encrypt integration.

Routing Multiple Services by Path

rules:
- host: myapp.example.com
  http:
    paths:
    - path: /api
      pathType: Prefix
      backend:
        service:
          name: api-service
          port:
            number: 80
    - path: /
      pathType: Prefix
      backend:
        service:
          name: frontend-service
          port:
            number: 80

Common Errors

404 from the Ingress controller itself (not your app) — verify the host field exactly matches the domain you're testing with, and that ingressClassName is correctly set.

Ingress applied but traffic doesn't reach the service — verify the backend service name and port in the Ingress spec exactly match an existing Service.

FAQ

Can one Ingress controller handle multiple domains?
Yes — define multiple host rules within one or more Ingress resources; a single controller can route for many different domains simultaneously.

Continue Reading

• Kubernetes Pods, Deployments & Services Explained
• How to Deploy a Stateless Web App to Kubernetes (Step-by-Step)
• How to Point a Domain to Your VPS (A/AAAA Records)

Browse more articles in Kubernetes & Container Orchestration.