Using F5 NGINX Plus as the Ingress Controller within Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)

Intro

Managing incoming traffic is a critical component of running applications efficiently within Kubernetes clusters. As organizations continue to deploy a growing number of microservices, the need for robust, flexible, and intelligent traffic management solutions becomes more apparent. In this article, we provide an overview of how F5 NGINX Plus, when used as the ingress controller in the Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP), offers a comprehensive approach to traffic optimization, application reliability, and security.

Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)

Nutanix Kubernetes Platform, or NKP, is more than a container orchestration system. It’s a robust, enterprise-grade solution designed for production environments. NKP streamlines the deployment, management, and scaling of Kubernetes clusters across on-premises data centers, edge locations, and public cloud infrastructures. With a unified management interface, it empowers IT teams and developers to accelerate application development while minimizing operational complexity and ensuring consistent performance across diverse environments.

Management cluster and workload clusters on Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)

NKP console with a demo workload cluster: nkp-demo-cluster-1

F5 NGINX Plus

F5 NGINX Plus is the commercial edition of the widely adopted open-source NGINX web server, reverse proxy, and load balancer. It builds on the core capabilities of NGINX with advanced features tailored for enterprise-grade performance, scalability, and security. Compared to the open-source version, NGINX Plus offers significant advantages for production environments. While open-source NGINX is powerful and flexible, it lacks built-in support for features such as advanced load balancing algorithms, native JWT authentication, and real-time traffic and performance monitoring. All these features are exclusive to F5 NGINX Plus. Additionally, NGINX Plus includes official support from F5, providing organizations with SLAs, timely security patches, and expert guidance. These enhancements make NGINX Plus a comprehensive solution for enterprises seeking to optimize application reliability, security, and operational efficiency.

F5 NGINX Plus built-in dashboard for real-time monitoring provides deep server visibility, enabling users to proactively identify bottlenecks, optimize traffic distribution, and troubleshoot with precision.

F5 NGINX Plus built-in dashboard provides instant updates with live metrics and highlights 503 response rejections, enabling real-time traffic control enforcement and monitoring.

Advanced “Least Time” load balancing method in F5 NGINX Plus optimizes performance by routing traffic to the server with the lowest response time and fewest active connections, ensuring minimal latency and faster user experiences.

Active health checks in F5 NGINX Plus proactively verify upstream server health, enabling immediate failure detection and traffic rerouting for improved reliability and high availability.

Nutanix and F5 Working Together

The collaboration between Nutanix and F5 brings together the strengths of a leading enterprise Kubernetes platform and a sophisticated application delivery solution. By integrating F5 NGINX Plus as the ingress controller within NKP, organizations unlock a seamless, unified approach to managing application traffic. This combination enables customizable routing, granular security policies, and robust load balancing tailored to modern workloads. Enterprises benefit not only from simplified deployment and scalability, but also from enhanced visibility and control over network flows. This ensures applications remain resilient and responsive as demand grows. Nutanix and F5 empower IT teams to deliver mission-critical services with agility and reliability across hybrid and multicloud environments.

F5 NGINX Plus as the ingress controller within Nutanix Kubernetes Platform (NKP)

Watch the short video below for an overview of how to optimize ingress traffic using F5 NGINX Plus as the ingress controller within Nutanix Kubernetes Platform: