The nginx ingress controller is a software component that acts as an interface between the Kubernetes cluster and external traffic. It is responsible for managing the incoming traffic to your Kubernetes services by routing them to the correct destination based on various rules defined in the Ingress resource.
The nginx ingress controller is implemented as a reverse proxy server that runs as a Pod in the Kubernetes cluster. It receives requests from the outside world and forwards them to the appropriate service within the cluster based on the rules defined in the Ingress resource.
The nginx ingress controller provides several features, such as SSL termination, load balancing, path-based routing, and session affinity. It also supports advanced features like rate limiting, request/response modification, and header manipulation.
Overall, the nginx ingress controller is an essential component of any Kubernetes deployment that requires external access to its services. It helps to simplify and streamline the management of incoming traffic and provides a reliable and scalable solution.