[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$ff6aud7igvwhk":3},{"_id":4,"slug":5,"title":6,"subtitle":7,"kind":8,"cards":9,"tags":56,"categories":58,"source":60,"lang":63,"author":64,"audioState":67,"stats":68,"publishedAt":71,"renderer":72},"6abbbb37ca21c797c7e9d474","understanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c","Understanding Kubernetes Networking with Cilium","Kubernetes networking can look simple when a cluster is small.","news",[10,12,17,22,27,32,37,42,47,52],{"headline":6,"body":7,"imageUrl":11,"sourceImageUrl":11},"https:\u002F\u002Fmedia2.dev.to\u002Fdynamic\u002Fimage\u002Fwidth=1200,height=627,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto\u002Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fm6qbvrb7xlbn5gdudmu7.png",{"headline":13,"body":14,"imageUrl":15,"images":16},"A Pod can communicate with another Pod, an","A Pod can communicate with another Pod, an application can expose a Service, and clients can connect to the application. However as the cluster grows, networking becomes more than just connecting one Pod to another.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F1.webp",{"local":15},{"headline":18,"body":19,"imageUrl":20,"images":21},"For example, consider a simple application running inside","For example, consider a simple application running inside Kubernetes. A request may start from one Pod and reach another Pod through a Kubernetes Service. Now consider a request coming from outside the cluster.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F2.webp",{"local":20},{"headline":23,"body":24,"imageUrl":25,"images":26},"The traffic needs to enter the cluster, reach","The traffic needs to enter the cluster, reach a LoadBalancer address, be handled by the networking layer, and eventually reach the application Pod. This raises an important question:","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F3.webp",{"local":25},{"headline":28,"body":29,"imageUrl":30,"images":31},"What actually happens to a packet as it","What actually happens to a packet as it travels from one Pod, through a Kubernetes Service, and eventually reaches an application from outside the cluster?","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F4.webp",{"local":30},{"headline":33,"body":34,"imageUrl":35,"images":36},"Answering this question requires looking beyond Kubernetes objects","Answering this question requires looking beyond Kubernetes objects such as Pods and SFervices. We also need to understand the components responsible for turning those objects into actual network traffic.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F5.webp",{"local":35},{"headline":38,"body":39,"imageUrl":40,"images":41},"Traditionally, Kubernetes networking relies on multiple components working","Traditionally, Kubernetes networking relies on multiple components working together to provide service connectivity and traffic forwarding. In this lab, we explore what changes when Cilium becomes the networking layer.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F6.webp",{"local":40},{"headline":43,"body":44,"imageUrl":45,"images":46},"Rather than treating Cilium simply as a CNI","Rather than treating Cilium simply as a CNI plugin, we will look at how it participates in the Kubernetes networking datapath and how its components work together to handle different types of traffic. This article will cover several topics: Cilium's networking model Cilium's networking model eBPF based service handling eBPF based service handling LoadBalancer IP allocation with LB-IPAM LoadBalancer IP allocation with LB-IPAM","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F7.webp",{"local":45},{"headline":48,"body":49,"imageUrl":50,"images":51},"Kubernetes networking is not just about assigning IP","Kubernetes networking is not just about assigning IP addresses to Pods. It is about building a datapath that determines how packets move between workloads, Services, nodes, and external networks.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F8.webp",{"local":50},{"headline":48,"body":53,"imageUrl":54,"images":55},"Kubernetes networking is not just about assigning IP addresses to Pods. It is about building a datapath that determines how packets move between workloads, Services, nodes, and external networks. Before looking at the datapath, it is useful to establish the environment in which the experiments are performed.","\u002Fapi\u002Fmedia\u002Fposts\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-39d7298c\u002F9.webp",{"local":54},[57],"dev",[59],"Technology",{"name":61,"url":62},"Dev.to","https:\u002F\u002Fdev.to\u002Fmorizal\u002Funderstanding-kubernetes-networking-with-cilium-4be","en",{"handle":65,"displayName":66},"spots","Spots","queued",{"views":69,"likes":70,"saves":70,"shares":70,"completions":70,"opens":70,"skips":70,"depthSum":70},3,0,"2026-09-29T13:20:55.377Z","local"]