MetalLB

The MetalLB is a load-balancer implementation for Kubernetes that provides external network connectivity to services running inside a Kubernetes cluster. It allows developers to expose their services using standard Layer 2 (ARP/NDP) or BGP protocols, enabling traffic routing from outside the cluster to the pods. MetalLB is lightweight, easy to configure, and ideal for bare-metal, on-premise, and cloud environments where built-in cloud load balancers are unavailable.

Features of MetalLB:

• Provides Kubernetes LoadBalancer services on bare-metal clusters.
• Supports Layer 2 (ARP/NDP) and BGP routing modes.
• Integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes Service objects.
• Automatic IP address assignment from a configurable pool.
• High availability using multiple speaker nodes.
• Works with existing network infrastructure without requiring changes.

Common MetalLB Commands:

# Check MetalLB speaker pods
$ kubectl get pods -n metallb-system

# View MetalLB ConfigMap
$ kubectl get configmap -n metallb-system config -o yaml

# Describe MetalLB pod
$ kubectl describe pod  -n metallb-system

# Apply or update configuration
$ kubectl apply -f metallb-config.yaml
  

Disclaimer: MetalLB is open-source software distributed under the Apache 2.0 License. It is maintained by the MetalLB community. The software is provided "as is" without any warranties or guarantees. Users are responsible for proper configuratin, network security, high availability, and compliance with best practices.