Ingress — ingressClassName & Common Mistakes¶

Reference: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/services-networking/ingress/

See also: ingress.md.md for full Ingress reference, pathType, routing patterns, TLS.

The ingressClassName Mistake¶

From the exercise — what was written:

spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx-ingress-resource   # WRONG — this is YOUR resource's name

What it should be:

spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx                    # must match the installed controller class

ingressClassName is not a name you make up. It tells Kubernetes which Ingress controller is responsible for processing this resource. The controller watches for Ingress objects with a matching class name. Use the wrong value → controller ignores the resource → no routing, ever.

Always check what's installed first:

kubectl get ingressclass

NAME    CONTROLLER
nginx   k8s.io/ingress-nginx

Use the value from the NAME column — nginx here.

Why KillerCoda Passed Anyway¶

KillerCoda's checker validated: - Ingress resource exists with the right name - path: /shop, pathType: Prefix, backend nginx-service:80 are correct - Annotation ssl-redirect: "false" is present

It did NOT test actual traffic routing. Wrong ingressClassName still passes the checker — but in a real cluster the ingress controller ignores the resource entirely.

This is the gap between KillerCoda and real-world: the checker validates YAML structure, not behaviour.

The ssl-redirect Annotation¶

annotations:
  nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "false"

By default nginx ingress redirects all HTTP → HTTPS. Without a TLS cert configured, this causes redirect loops. "false" disables it.

Value must be the string "false", not the boolean false. All annotation values in Kubernetes are strings — booleans must be quoted.

Full Correct YAML for the Exercise¶

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: nginx-ingress-resource
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "false"
spec:
  ingressClassName: nginx
  rules:
  - http:
      paths:
      - path: /shop
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: nginx-service
            port:
              number: 80

kubectl apply -f nginx-ingress-resource.yml
kubectl describe ingress nginx-ingress-resource

Common Ingress Mistakes¶

Mistake	Symptom	Fix
Wrong `ingressClassName`	Resource created, no routing	`kubectl get ingressclass`, use NAME column value
No ingress controller installed	Resource created, nothing happens	Install nginx ingress controller
`ssl-redirect: false` without quotes	Ignored or parse error	Use `"false"` (string)
`port: number` missing, using `name`	Backend unreachable	Use `number: 80` unless you explicitly defined named ports on the Service
Missing `pathType`	Validation error on apply	Always include — `Prefix` is the safe default
Service in different namespace	502/503	Ingress and Service must be in the same namespace