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53 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
# Introduction
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Welcome to the introduction guide to Kube-router! This guide is the best place to start with Kube-router. We cover what
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kube-router is, what problems it can solve, how it compares to existing software, and how you can get started using it.
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If you are familiar with the basics of Kube-router, head over to the next sections that provide a more detailed
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reference of available features.
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## What is Kube-router
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If you are not familiar with Kubernetes networking model it is recommended to familiarize with Kubernetes
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[networking model](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/cluster-administration/networking/#kubernetes-model). So
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essentially Kubernetes expects:
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- all containers can communicate with all other containers without NAT
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- all nodes can communicate with all containers (and vice-versa) without NAT
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- the IP that a container sees itself as is the same IP that others see it as
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Kubernetes only prescribes the requirements for the networking model but does not provide any default implementation.
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For a functional Kubernetes cluster one has to deploy what is called as CNI or pod networking solution that provides
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the above functionality.
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Any non-trivial containerized application will end up running multiple pods and exposing different services.
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[Service](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/service/) abstraction in Kubernetes is an essential
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building block that helps in service discovery and load balancing. A layer-4 service proxy must be deployed to
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the Kubernetes cluster that provides the load-balancing for the services exposed by the pods.
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Once you have pod-to-pod networking established and have a service proxy that provides load-balancing, you need a way to
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secure your pods. Kubernetes
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[Network Policies](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/network-policies/) provide a specfication to
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secure pods. You need to deploy a solution that implements network policy specification and provides security for your
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pods.
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If you utilize [LoadBalancer](https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/service/#loadbalancer) services in
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your cluster, then you need to deploy a solution that will allocate and manage your LoadBalancer IP address space.
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Kube-router is a turnkey solution for Kubernetes networking that provides all the above essential functionality in one
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single elegant package.
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## Why Kube-router
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Network is hard. You have multiple Kubernetes networking solutions that provide pod networking or network policy etc.
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But when you deploy indiviudal solution for each functionality you end up with lot of moving parts making it difficult
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to operate and troubleshoot.
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Kube-router is a lean yet powerful all-in-one alternative to several network components used in typical Kubernetes
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clusters. All this from a single DaemonSet/Binary. It doesn't get any easier.
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Kube-router also uses best-of-breed low-level kernel solutions for maximum performance. Kube-router uses IPVS/LVS for
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service proxying and provides direct routing between the nodes.
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Kube-router also provides very unique and advanced functionalities like DSR (Direct Server Return), ECMP based network
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load balancing etc.
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