What is an Ingress Controller in Kubernetes?

An Ingress Controller manages external access to services in a Kubernetes cluster. It reads the rules defined in Ingress resources and routes incoming traffic to the correct internal services, handling path-based, host-based, and TLS-encrypted traffic.

What is the difference between Ingress and Ingress Controller?

An Ingress is a Kubernetes resource that defines traffic routing rules, like a blueprint. The Ingress Controller is the engine that makes those rules work by processing them and routing real traffic through the cluster accordingly.

Can you use multiple Ingress Controllers in one cluster?

Yes. Kubernetes supports multiple Ingress Controllers using IngressClass. Each Ingress rule can be assigned to a specific controller, allowing different types of traffic (e.g., HTTP and SIP) to be handled by different systems.

What is the best Ingress Controller for SIP or VoIP traffic?

Ecosmob’s SIP Ingress Controller is the only Kubernetes-native solution designed specifically for SIP. It supports session-aware SIP routing, load balancing, dynamic pod discovery, and failover—features that general-purpose controllers lack.

How to deploy an Ingress Controller in Kubernetes?

You can deploy most Ingress Controllers using Helm charts or kubectl manifests. The process involves creating a dedicated namespace, installing the controller, and then defining Ingress resources that it will monitor.