Kubernetes Network Policies and Load Balancers

The cluster hums. Pods start, stop, and shift across nodes. Traffic moves fast, but without control, it’s unpredictable. Kubernetes Network Policies and Load Balancers are the tools to make it precise.

Network Policies define which pods talk to which. They enforce rules at Layer 3 and Layer 4. By default, in Kubernetes, all pods can connect to all others. With a policy, you can restrict this. You control ingress—what comes in—and egress—what goes out. Policies are applied using selectors, namespaces, and protocol ports.

Load Balancers work at the edge. They spread incoming traffic across multiple pods or services. In Kubernetes, a LoadBalancer service type provisions an external load balancer from your cloud provider. This links users outside the cluster to services inside it. When combined with Network Policies, you get both reach and security.

Consider a service that processes sensitive data. A Load Balancer ensures requests scale across healthy pods. A Network Policy ensures only trusted pods can connect internally. You can isolate namespaces. You can define rules for specific labels. The result is high availability with strict control.

Best practices:

• Start with a default deny policy to block all traffic.
• Whitelist only what’s needed for the service to function.
• Use Load Balancers with health checks to ensure traffic goes to ready pods.
• Split public-facing and internal services into separate namespaces.
• Audit policies regularly to track changes and catch misconfigurations.

Kubernetes Network Policies and Load Balancers are not competing tools. They complement each other. One shapes how traffic enters the cluster. The other decides how it moves inside it. Use them together to build systems that are both scalable and locked down.

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