Addons

Kubernetes Add-Ons¶

Networking, Ingress, Gateways, and Traffic Management

🧭 Overview¶

Kubernetes Add-Ons extend the capabilities of a cluster. They are optional components that enable:

• Traffic routing
• Load balancing
• Ingress management
• Gateway API support
• Service mesh integrations
• L7 traffic control
• North-south and east-west networking

This page covers the add-ons installed by infra-bootstrap, including:

1. Gateway API CRDs
2. NGINX Gateway Fabric
3. NGINX Ingress Controller (optional)
4. Traefik (NodePort)

These tools provide a complete ingress and API gateway layer for small clusters, labs, and learning environments.

🧩 What Are Kubernetes Add-Ons?¶

Add-Ons are not required for the control-plane or worker nodes to function, but they are essential when you want:

• Exposing applications to the outside world
• Managing HTTP/HTTPS routing
• Applying networking rules
• Running production-like routing in a lab environment
• Testing real application traffic

The add-ons below provide:

🚀 Automatic Installation Script¶

To install all add-ons:

curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ibtisam-iq/infra-bootstrap/main/scripts/kubernetes/gateway-stack-installation.sh | bash

(The script name is assumed; rename accordingly if needed.)

The script installs:

• Gateway API CRDs
• NGINX Gateway Fabric
• NGINX Ingress Controller
• Traefik Ingress Controller (NodePort)
• Helm (required for Traefik)

🧱 Add-Ons Installed by infra-bootstrap¶

Below is exactly what your script does and why it matters.

🧊 1. Gateway API CRDs¶

Gateway API is the next-generation networking API for Kubernetes (successor to Ingress).

Your script installs the official CRDs:

kubectl kustomize "https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/config/crd/gateway-api/standard?ref=v1.5.1" \
| kubectl apply -f -

Why this matters¶

• Enables GatewayClass, Gateway, HTTPRoute, TCPRoute, etc.
• Required for NGINX Gateway Fabric
• Modern L4/L7 routing model
• More flexible than old Ingress resources

🌐 2. NGINX Gateway Fabric (NodePort)¶

CRDs first:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/v1.6.1/deploy/crds.yaml

Main deployment:

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric/v1.6.1/deploy/nodeport/deploy.yaml

What it provides¶

• Gateway API implementation by NGINX
• NodePort-based external access
• High-performance routing engine
• Easy HTTP/HTTPS traffic management

🌐 3. NGINX Ingress Controller (Optional)¶

kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/controller-v1.13.0/deploy/static/provider/cloud/deploy.yaml

What it provides¶

• Traditional Kubernetes Ingress
• Stable and widely used in production
• Works with simple Ingress YAML manifests
• Good for basic routing workloads

This is optional and not required if you plan to use Gateway API exclusively.

⚡ 4. Traefik (NodePort 32080/32443)¶

Before Traefik can be installed, your script:

• Installs Helm v4
• Adds the Traefik chart repo
• Updates Helm repository cache

Then installs Traefik:

helm upgrade --install traefik traefik/traefik \
  --namespace traefik \
  --set ports.web.nodePort=32080 \
  --set ports.websecure.nodePort=32443 \
  --set service.type=NodePort \
  --create-namespace \
  --skip-crds

What Traefik provides¶

• Ingress Controller
• Gateway API support
• HTTPS termination
• Automatic certificate management (if enabled)
• Dashboard support
• NodePort access on:

🧪 Verification Steps¶

After installation:

Check all namespaces:¶

kubectl get ns

Check add-on pods:¶

kubectl get pods -A | grep -E "gateway|nginx|traefik"

Check Gateway API CRDs:¶

kubectl get crd | grep gateway

Check Traefik dashboard (if enabled):¶

http://<node-ip>:32080

Check NGINX Fabric resources:¶

kubectl get gatewayclass
kubectl get gateways
kubectl get httproutes

🐛 Troubleshooting¶

Add-on pods stuck in CrashLoop¶

kubectl logs -n <namespace> <pod-name>

Gateway API not working¶

Check CRDs:

kubectl get crd | grep gateway

NodePort not reachable¶

Check firewall or cloud provider security groups.

Traefik not installing¶

Ensure Helm is installed correctly:

helm version

📘 Official Documentation¶

• Gateway API: https://gateway-api.sigs.k8s.io
• NGINX Gateway Fabric: https://github.com/nginx/nginx-gateway-fabric
• Ingress-NGINX: https://kubernetes.github.io/ingress-nginx
• Traefik: https://doc.traefik.io/traefik