How to force SSL for Kubernetes Ingress on GKE - kubernetes

To force SSL for Kubernetes Ingress on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), we need to set up our Ingress resource. This will redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS. We do this by adding some annotations and rules. This way, we make sure all incoming requests are safe. It helps to improve the security of our apps on GKE. When we use SSL redirection, we protect the data as it travels. It also makes our apps look more trustworthy because users will always connect over a secure link.

In this article, we will look at different ways to enforce SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE. We will show how to create a Kubernetes Ingress resource with SSL redirection. We will also explain how to use annotations to make SSL work. Plus, we will talk about how to set up a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress. We will cover how to set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection using custom middleware. We will help you troubleshoot common SSL problems. Lastly, we will answer some frequent questions about SSL in GKE.

  • How to create a Kubernetes Ingress resource with SSL redirection on GKE
  • How to use annotations to enforce SSL in GKE Ingress
  • How to configure a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE
  • How to set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection using a custom middleware in GKE
  • How to troubleshoot SSL issues with Kubernetes Ingress on GKE
  • Frequently Asked Questions

For more info on Kubernetes and how to manage its applications, we can check out articles like What is Kubernetes and how does it simplify container management? or How do I set up a Kubernetes cluster on Google Cloud GKE?.

How to create a Kubernetes Ingress resource with SSL redirection on GKE

To create a Kubernetes Ingress resource with SSL redirection on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), we need to define an Ingress resource in YAML. This will tell the system about the backend service and the SSL setup. Here is an example of how to set up SSL redirection.

  1. Prerequisites: First, we should have a valid SSL certificate stored in a Kubernetes secret.
kubectl create secret tls my-tls-secret \
  --cert=path/to/tls.crt \
  --key=path/to/tls.key
  1. Define the Ingress Resource: Now, we create a YAML file called ingress.yaml. This file will describe the Ingress resource and set up SSL redirection from HTTP to HTTPS.
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: my-ingress
  annotations:
    kubernetes.io/ingress.class: "gce" # Use the GCE Ingress
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/force-ssl-redirect: "true" # Force SSL redirection
spec:
  tls:
  - hosts:
    - yourdomain.com
    secretName: my-tls-secret # The secret that has the SSL certificate
  rules:
  - host: yourdomain.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: my-service
            port:
              number: 80
  1. Deploy the Ingress: Next, we apply the YAML file to create the Ingress resource.
kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml
  1. Verify the Ingress: Finally, we check if the Ingress was created successfully. We also want to make sure it is routing traffic properly.
kubectl get ingress my-ingress

This setup will redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS. It will also serve traffic securely using the SSL certificate we set up. We must ensure our DNS settings point to the Ingress IP for yourdomain.com. For more details on setting up Ingress in Kubernetes, we can look at the Kubernetes documentation on Ingress.

How to use annotations to enforce SSL in GKE Ingress

To enforce SSL in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) Ingress, we can use special annotations. These annotations help to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS. Let’s see how to do this.

Setting Up Annotations in Your Ingress Resource

We need to add annotations in our Ingress resource YAML file. Here is an example to enforce SSL redirection with annotations:

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: my-ingress
  annotations:
    kubernetes.io/ingress.class: "gce"
    networking.gke.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
spec:
  rules:
    - host: example.com
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: my-service
                port:
                  number: 80

Key Annotations Explained

  • kubernetes.io/ingress.class: This tells which Ingress controller we use. For GKE, we usually set it to gce.
  • networking.gke.io/ssl-redirect: When we set this to true, it makes sure to redirect from HTTP to HTTPS.

Deploying the Ingress Resource

After we add the right annotations, we apply the configuration with kubectl:

kubectl apply -f my-ingress.yaml

Verifying SSL Redirection

To check if SSL redirection is working, we try to access our service via HTTP (http://example.com). We should see it redirect to HTTPS (https://example.com). We can use tools like curl to confirm the redirection:

curl -I http://example.com

We should see an HTTP response with a 301 Moved Permanently status. The Location header should point to the HTTPS URL.

For more information on how to configure Ingress in Kubernetes, we can check this article on how to configure ingress for external access to applications.

How to configure a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE

We will show you how to set up a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE). Just follow these steps.

  1. Enable API: First, we need to make sure that the Google Cloud Load Balancing API is on in our Google Cloud project. We can do this by running:

    gcloud services enable compute.googleapis.com

  2. Create a Secret for SSL Certificate: Next, we will keep our SSL certificate and private key in a Kubernetes secret. We create it with:

    kubectl create secret tls my-tls-secret --cert=path/to/tls.crt --key=path/to/tls.key

  3. Define Ingress Resource: Now we create an Ingress resource that uses the Global Load Balancer. Here is an example of the YAML setup:

    apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: my-ingress
  annotations:
    kubernetes.io/ingress.class: "gce"
    networking.gke.io/managed-certificates: "my-managed-cert"
spec:
  tls:
    - secretName: my-tls-secret
  rules:
    - host: myapp.example.com
      http:
        paths:
          - path: /
            pathType: Prefix
            backend:
              service:
                name: my-service
                port:
                  number: 80

  4. Deploy Ingress: After that, we apply the Ingress resource to our cluster. We do this with:

    kubectl apply -f my-ingress.yaml

  5. Verify Load Balancer Creation: Now we check the status of our Ingress and the Load Balancer that is made. We run:

    kubectl get ingress my-ingress

  6. Configure Firewall Rules: Next, we need to make sure that the firewall rules let traffic go through on HTTPS (port 443) to our Load Balancer. We can create a rule like this:

    gcloud compute firewall-rules create allow-https --allow tcp:443 --target-tags=my-internal-tag --source-ranges=0.0.0.0/0

  7. Test SSL Configuration: When the Load Balancer is ready, we can test the SSL setup by going to our application using HTTPS:

    https://myapp.example.com

By doing these steps, we can set up a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE. This will help us keep our applications secure.

How to set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection using a custom middleware in GKE

We can set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection in Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) using custom middleware. We will use Kubernetes Ingress with an NGINX Ingress Controller. This setup lets us create middleware that will manage the redirection. Let’s follow these steps to do it.

  1. Install the NGINX Ingress Controller (if it is not installed yet):
kubectl apply -f https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kubernetes/ingress-nginx/main/deploy/static/provider/cloud/deploy.yaml
  1. Create an Ingress Resource with Middleware:

We need to make a YAML file (like ingress.yaml) for our Ingress resource. This file must include the right annotations for redirection.

apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: my-app-ingress
  annotations:
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true"
    nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/configuration-snippet: |
      if ($scheme = http) {
        return 301 https://$host$request_uri;
      }
spec:
  rules:
  - host: myapp.example.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: my-app-service
            port:
              number: 80
  tls:
  - hosts:
    - myapp.example.com
    secretName: my-tls-secret  # We assume your TLS secret is already created
  1. Apply the Ingress Resource:

Now we need to deploy the Ingress resource with this command:

kubectl apply -f ingress.yaml
  1. Configure TLS Secret:

We must have a TLS secret for our domain. If we need to create one, we can use this command:

kubectl create secret tls my-tls-secret --cert=path/to/tls.crt --key=path/to/tls.key
  1. Test the Configuration:

After we apply the Ingress, let’s test it. We can access http://myapp.example.com. We should see a redirection to https://myapp.example.com.

By following these steps, we can set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection with custom middleware in GKE. This way, all traffic to our application will be secured with SSL. For more details on Kubernetes Ingress, you can read this article.

How to troubleshoot SSL issues with Kubernetes Ingress on GKE

When we work with Kubernetes Ingress on Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), we can face SSL issues. These problems can happen for many reasons. Here are some steps to help us fix these problems.

  1. Check Ingress Resource Configuration:
    We need to make sure our Ingress resource is set up right for SSL. Check that we have the TLS section with the correct secret name and hosts.

    apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: Ingress
metadata:
  name: example-ingress
spec:
  tls:
  - hosts:
    - yourdomain.com
    secretName: your-tls-secret
  rules:
  - host: yourdomain.com
    http:
      paths:
      - path: /
        pathType: Prefix
        backend:
          service:
            name: your-service
            port:
              number: 80

  2. Verify TLS Secret:
    We should check if the TLS secret is there in the same namespace as the Ingress. The secret must have valid certificates.

    kubectl get secrets your-tls-secret -o yaml

  3. Check Load Balancer Configuration:
    We need to look at the Google Cloud Load Balancer settings related to our Ingress. Let’s ensure it is set up correctly and that the SSL certificate is applied the right way.

    gcloud compute ssl-certificates list

  4. Inspect Logs:
    We can check the logs of the Ingress controller for any error messages. These messages might help us understand the issue. If we are using NGINX Ingress Controller, we can get the logs like this:

    kubectl logs -n kube-system <nginx-ingress-controller-pod-name>

  5. Test SSL Configuration:
    We can use tools like openssl to test the SSL setup and check if the certificate is valid.

    openssl s_client -connect yourdomain.com:443

  6. Check Firewall Rules:
    We should make sure that the firewall rules in Google Cloud allow traffic on port 443 for our Ingress.

    gcloud compute firewall-rules list --filter="name~'your-firewall-rule'"

  7. DNS Configuration:
    We need to check if our DNS is set up right. It should point to the correct IP address of the Load Balancer.

  8. CORS Issues:
    If we see mixed content errors or blocked requests, we need to look at our CORS configuration. We should make sure the right headers are sent.

  9. Health Checks:
    We must check that the health checks for the Load Balancer are set up correctly. Our application should respond as expected.

These steps will help us troubleshoot and fix SSL issues with our Kubernetes Ingress on GKE. For more details about managing Kubernetes Ingress, we can check how to configure Ingress for external access to applications.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How do we force SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE?

To force SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE, we need to set up our Ingress resource with the right annotations and rules. We usually add an annotation like nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/force-ssl-redirect: "true" to our Ingress resource. This setup makes sure that all HTTP traffic goes to HTTPS. This helps keep our applications more secure.

2. What annotations do we need to enforce SSL in GKE Ingress?

In GKE, we can enforce SSL redirection by using annotations in our Ingress resource. The main annotation is nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/force-ssl-redirect: "true". This tells the Ingress controller to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS. We can also add nginx.ingress.kubernetes.io/ssl-redirect: "true" to make SSL redirection stronger.

3. How can we troubleshoot SSL issues with Kubernetes Ingress on GKE?

To troubleshoot SSL issues with Kubernetes Ingress on GKE, we start by checking the Ingress resource for the correct SSL setup. We can run kubectl describe ingress <ingress-name> to look for any errors or problems. We should also look at logs from the Ingress controller for more error details. We need to make sure our TLS certificates are valid and set up correctly.

4. How do we set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection using a custom middleware in GKE?

To set up HTTP to HTTPS redirection using custom middleware in GKE, we create an Ingress resource with the right rules and annotations. We need to make a middleware configuration that handles the redirection. This is usually done with a reverse proxy like NGINX. We must test our configuration to confirm that all traffic goes from HTTP to HTTPS.

5. How do we configure a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE?

Configuring a Global Load Balancer for SSL on Kubernetes Ingress in GKE means we create an Ingress resource that has backendConfig for SSL settings. We should have a valid SSL certificate in Google Cloud and attach it to our Ingress. We can use GKE’s built-in features to manage traffic routing and SSL termination well. This helps improve the security and performance of our applications.

By following these tips and looking at related articles, like how to configure ingress for external access to my applications, we can successfully set up and fix SSL for Kubernetes Ingress on GKE.