NGINXaaS Load Balancer for Kubernetes
Overview
F5 NGINXaaS for Azure simplifies advanced Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing for Kubernetes clusters. With the NGINX Load Balancer for Kubernetes (NLK) feature, you can enable multi-cluster load balancing, failover, disaster recovery, and blue-green or canary deployments.
flowchart TB Users[웃 Users] -.-> |GET '/tea' | NGINXaaS{NGINXaaS} NGINXaaS -.-> P1 NLK --> |Update upstream 'tea'| NGINXaaS subgraph AK[Azure Kubernetes Cluster] TeaSvc{Tea svc} -.-> P2(Pod) TeaSvc -.-> P1(Pod) k8sapi[K8s API] --> |watch| NLK(NLK controller) end style Users color:orange,stroke:orange,fill:#faefd9 linkStyle 0,1 color:orange,stroke:orange style NLK color:green,stroke:green,stroke-width:4px,fill:#d9fade style NGINXaaS color:green,stroke:green,stroke-width:4px,fill:#d9fade linkStyle 2 color:green,stroke:green style AK fill:#9bb1de,color:# style k8sapi color:#3075ff,stroke:#3075ff,stroke-width:4px linkStyle 5 color:#3075ff,stroke:#3075ff accDescr: A diagram showing users sending GET requests to NGINXaaS, which proxies traffic to a Kubernetes-based service named "TeaSvc" running multiple pods in an Azure Kubernetes Cluster, with upstream configurations dynamically managed via an NLK controller watching the Kubernetes API.
The NLK controller monitors Kubernetes Services and updates an NGINX Upstream dynamically. NGINXaaS applies these updates immediately and keeps them in sync during scaling or upgrades.
Example use cases
- You can use NGINXaaS for Azure to enforce rate limiting and application security with NGINX App Protect, then forward all accepted traffic to your Kubernetes applications.
- You can use NGINXaaS for Azure to receive traffic on
api.example.com
and route requests by URL path - for example, forwarding/login
to a Kubernetes-based login service,/graph
to a Kubernetes-hosted graph service, and/process
to an application server on a standalone VM.
Getting Started
This guide explains how to integrate NGINXaaS with an Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) cluster. See Advanced Configuration for options to customize the installation..
Before following the steps in this guide, you must:
- Create an AKS cluster.
- Create an NGINXaaS deployment. See the documentation to deploy via the Azure portal.
- Ensure network connectivity between the subnet delegated to the NGINXaaS deployment and the subnet where AKS is deployed. For example, the AKS cluster and NGINXaaS deployment can run on the same Azure VNET or on peered VNETs.
Initial setup
The steps in this section must be completed once for each new setup. We will install the NLK controller in the Kubernetes cluster and authorize that to send updates to the NGINXaaS deployment.
- Create an NGINXaaS data plane API key.
- Look up the NGINXaaS data plane API endpoint.
- Install the NLK controller.
Create an NGINXaaS data plane API key
Note:
The data plane API key has the following requirements:
- The key should have an expiration date. The default expiration date is six months from the date of creation. The expiration date cannot be longer than two years from the date of creation.
- The key should be at least 12 characters long.
- The key requires three out of four of the following types of characters:
- lowercase characters.
- uppercase characters.
- symbols.
- numbers.
A good example of an API key that will satisfy the requirements is UUIDv4.
The data plane API key can be created using the Azure CLI or portal.
Create an NGINXaaS data plane API key using the Azure portal
- Go to your NGINXaaS for Azure deployment.
- Select NGINXaaS Loadbalancer for Kubernetes on the left blade.
- Select New API Key.
- Provide a name for the new API key in the right panel, and select an expiration date.
- Select the Add API Key button.
- Copy the value of the new API key.
Note:
Make sure to write down the key value in a safe location after creation, as you cannot retrieve it again. If you lose the generated value, delete the existing key and create a new one.
Create an NGINXaaS data plane API key using the Azure CLI
Set shell variables about the name of the NGINXaaS you’ve already created:
## Customize this to provide the details about my already created NGINXaaS deployment
nginxName=myNginx
nginxGroup=myNginxGroup
Generate a new random data plane API key:
# Generate a new random key or specify a value for it.
keyName=myKey
keyValue=$(uuidgen --random)
Create the key for your NGINXaaS deployment:
az nginx deployment api-key create --name $keyName --secret-text $keyValue --deployment-name $nginxName --resource-group $nginxGroup
NGINXaaS data plane API endpoint
The data plane API endpoint can be retrieved using the Azure CLI or portal.
View NGINXaaS data plane API endpoint using the Azure portal
- Go to your NGINXaaS for Azure deployment.
- Select NGINXaaS Loadbalancer for Kubernetes on the left blade.
- The data plane API endpoint associated with the deployment is available at the top of the screen.
View NGINXaaS data plane API endpoint using the Azure CLI
dataplaneAPIEndpoint=$(az nginx deployment show -g "$nginxGroup" -n "$nginxName" --query properties.dataplaneApiEndpoint -o tsv)
Install the NLK controller
The NLK controller can be installed in your Kubernetes cluster using either Helm or the official AKS Extension available on the Azure Marketplace.
Install the NLK controller using Helm
Install the NLK controller using helm install
. Be sure your kubectl context is pointed at the desired cluster.
helm install nlk oci://registry-1.docker.io/nginxcharts/nginxaas-loadbalancer-kubernetes --version 1.0.0 \
--set "nlk.dataplaneApiKey=${keyValue}" \
--set "nlk.config.nginxHosts=${dataplaneAPIEndpoint}nplus"
Install the AKS Extension using the Azure CLI
Install the NLK controller using az k8s-extension
.
## Customize this to provide the details about my already created AKS cluster
aksName=myCluster
aksGroup=myClusterGroup
az k8s-extension create \
--name nlk \
--extension-type "nginxinc.nginxaas-aks-extension" \
--scope cluster \
--cluster-name ${aksName} \
--resource-group ${aksGroup} \
--cluster-type managedClusters \
--plan-name f5-nginx-for-azure-aks-extension \
--plan-product f5-nginx-for-azure-aks-extension \
--plan-publisher f5-networks \
--release-namespace nlk \
--config nlk.dataplaneApiKey=${keyValue} \
--config nlk.config.nginxHosts=${dataplaneAPIEndpoint}nplus
Install the AKS Extension using the Azure portal
You can also install the NLK controller AKS extension by navigating to F5 NGINXaaS Loadbalancer for Kubernetes in the Azure Marketplace and following the installation steps.
-
Select Get it now.
-
Select Continue to proceed with the installation.
-
On the Basics tab, provide the following information:
Field Description Subscription Select the appropriate Azure subscription. Resource group Select the AKS cluster’s resource group. -
Select Cluster Details, and provide the AKS cluster name. You can select an existing AKS cluster or create a new one.
-
Select Application Details, and provide the following information:
Field Description Cluster extension resource name Provide a name for the NLK controller. Installation namespace Provide the AKS namespace for the NLK controller. Allow minor version upgrades of extension Select whether to allow the extension to be upgraded automatically to the latest minor version. NGINXaaS Dataplane API Key Provide the previously generated data plane API key value: {keyValue}
NGINXaaS Dataplane API Endpoint Provide the previously retrieved data plane API endpoint value: {dataplaneAPIEndpoint}nplus
-
Select Review + Create to continue.
-
Azure will validate the extension settings. This page will provide a summary of the provided information. Select Create.
Note:
The NGINXaaS data plane API that NLK uses is mounted at${dataplaneAPIEndpoint}nplus
. For example, if the data plane API endpoint ishttps://mynginx-75b3bf22a555.eastus2.nginxaas.net/
then the value fornlk.config.nginxHosts
should behttps://mynginx-75b3bf22a555.eastus2.nginxaas.net/nplus
.
Create an NGINX configuration with dynamic upstream
You must define an NGINX upstream that satisfies the following requirements for it to be managed by the NLK controller:
- The upstream cannot have any servers listed in it specified via the
server
directive. The controller will manage the servers dynamically. - The upstream must have a shared memory zone defined.
- The upstream must have a state file declared.
The following is an example NGINX Configuration that can be used:
http {
upstream my-service {
# NOTE: There are no servers defined here as they will be managed dynamically by the controller.
zone my-service 64K; # required
state /tmp/my-service.state; # required
}
server {
listen 80;
location / {
proxy_pass http://my-service;
}
}
}
Apply the NGINX configuration to your deployment after making the required changes.
Create a Kubernetes Service
Expose a Kubernetes Service
to route traffic to your workload. The Service
has the following requirements:
- Add the annotation:
nginx.com/nginxaas: nginxaas
to mark the service to be monitored by NLK. - Choose one of the following
Service
types:NodePort
: To route external traffic into the cluster using a well defined port exposed on each AKS worker node.ClusterIP
: To route traffic to pods directly if you are running an Azure Container Networking Interface (CNI) that lets you expose the pods on the Azure VNET.
- The port name must be formatted as
{{NGINX Context}}-{{NGINX upstream name}}
. For example:- If the upstream is in the
http
context and namedmy-service
then the name ishttp-my-service
- If the upstream is in the
stream
context and namedjet
then the port name isstream-jet
- If the upstream is in the
The following example uses a service of type NodePort
:
apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
name: my-service
annotations:
# Let the controller know to pay attention to this service.
# If you are connecting multiple controller the value can be used to distinguish them
nginx.com/nginxaas: nginxaas
spec:
# expose a port on the nodes
type: NodePort
ports:
- targetPort: http
protocol: TCP
# The port name helps connect to NGINXaaS. It must be prefixed with either `http-` or `stream-`
# and the rest of the name must match the name of an upstream in that context.
name: http-my-service
selector:
app: awesome
Advanced Configuration
Controller Configuration
Helm Value | Description | Value |
---|---|---|
nlk.config.logLevel |
How verbose should the NLK controller logs be. | Possible values are debug , info , warn , error . Default: info . |
nlk.config.nginxHosts |
The NGINX Plus APIs to send upstream updates to. | Should be set to {{dataplaneApiEndpoint}}nplus . |
nlk.config.serviceAnnotationMatch |
The value to match on a Service’s nginx.com/nginxaas annotation. Useful when configuring multiple NLK controllers to update separate NGINXaaS deployemnts. |
Default: nginxaas . |
nlk.dataplaneApiKey |
The NGINXaaS data plane API key that will authorize the controller to talk to your NGINXaaS deployment. |
Multiple AKS clusters
A single NGINXaaS deployment can direct trafifc to multiple AKS clusters. Each AKS cluster needs its own copy of NLK installed and connected to NGINXaaS.
flowchart TB TeaUsers[웃 Users] -.-> |GET /tea | NGINXaaS{NGINXaaS} CoffeeUsers[웃 Users] -.-> |GET /coffee | NGINXaaS NGINXaaS -.-> |GET /tea| E H --> |Update upstream 'tea'| NGINXaaS NGINXaaS -.-> |GET /coffee| K M --> |Update upstream 'coffee'| NGINXaaS subgraph SG2[Azure Kubernetes Cluster 2] k8sapi2[K8s API] --> |watch| M(NLK controller) I{Coffee svc} -.-> J(Pod) I -.-> K(Pod) end subgraph SG1[Azure Kubernetes Cluster 1] k8sapi1[K8s API] --> |watch| H(NLK controller) D{Tea svc} -.-> E(Pod) D -.-> F(Pod) end style TeaUsers color:red,stroke:red,fill:#faefd9 linkStyle 0,2 color:red,stroke:red style CoffeeUsers color:orange,stroke:orange,fill:#faefd9 linkStyle 1,4 color:orange,stroke:orange style NGINXaaS color:green,stroke:green,stroke-width:4px,fill:#d9fade linkStyle 3,5 color:green,stroke:green style SG1 fill:#9bb1de,color:# style SG2 fill:#9bb1de,color:# style k8sapi1 color:#3075ff,stroke:#3075ff,stroke-width:4px style k8sapi2 color:#3075ff,stroke:#3075ff,stroke-width:4px linkStyle 6,9 color:#3075ff,stroke:#3075ff style H color:green,stroke:green,stroke-width:4px,fill:#d9fade style M color:green,stroke:green,stroke-width:4px,fill:#d9fade accDescr:A diagram showing NGINXaaS directing separate user GET requests for `/tea` and `/coffee` to respective Kubernetes-based services "TeaSvc" and "CoffeeSvc" that are running in separate Azure Kubernetes Clusters. An NLK controller in each cluster is independently updating the NGINXaaS with dynamic upstream configuration.
Note:
- Configuring multiple NLK controllers to update the same upstream isn’t supported and will result in unpredictable behavior.
Multiple NGINXaaS deployments
Multiple NLK controllers can be installed in the same AKS cluster to update separate NGINXaaS deployments.
Each NLK needs a unique helm release name and needs a unique helm value for nlk.config.serviceAnnotationMatch
. Each NLK will only watch services that have the matching annotation.
Note:
- Consider using
helm
to install multiple NLK controllers on an AKS cluster. Installing multiple copies of the controller on the same AKS cluster is not supported via the AKS Extension.
Troubleshooting
NGINXaaS Loadbalancer for Kubernetes and NGINXaaS continually monitor and attempt to repair in case of error. However, if upstreams are not populated as expected, here are a few things you can look for.
NLK controller logs
The controller reports status information about the requests it is making to NGINXaaS. This is a good place to look to ensure that the controller has picked up your service and that it is communicating with NGINXaaS correctly.
Run the following command to view the controller logs: kubectl logs deployment/nlk-nginxaas-loadbalancer-kubernetes
.
The logs can be made more verbose by setting the Helm value nlk.config.logLevel
(see Controller Configuration).
Enable NGINX Upstream Update Logs
NGINXaaS supports exporting dynamic upstream update logs to an Azure Storage account or to a Log Analytics workspace.
To setup logging:
- Select Diagnostic settings under Monitoring.
- Select Add diagnostic setting.
- On the following panel, provide a Diagnostic setting name.
- Enable the NGINX Upstream Update Logs category.
- Select a destination.
For more information on logging, see Enable NGINX Logs.
Metrics
NGINXaaS has the following metrics that are useful to monitor upstream health:
plus.http.upstream.peers.state.up
– does the peer report being healthy.plus.http.upstream.peers.request.count
– which peers are handling requests.
See the metrics catalog for the entire list of NGINXaaS metrics.