Bridging the Gap: Kubernetes Networking for Network and Platform Engineers
A Journey in Learning: Introducing a New Hands-on Lab
Over the past 3 years, since the launch of the Isovalent Labs, we have taught the Isovalent Platform including Cilium, Hubble, Tetragon, and eBPF to nearly 30,000 of you. You have collectively spent over 30,000 hours in the labs and earned close to 18,000 badges, and we truly hope we have helped you on your journey to learning and even mastering Cilium technologies. We read every single piece of feedback you leave to us and we constantly strive to make the labs better.
Since the end of last year, we have started publishing some of the labs to the Cisco dCloud platform, as the interest from the networking community has been steadily growing.
One frequent observation was that some of the labs were out of reach or too complex for people who are not already deeply invested in Kubernetes. As useful as the labs might have been to some, we realized that we lacked a more entry-level lab; a lab that would take you through some of the underlying principles and concepts of cloud-native and Kubernetes networking and that would provide you with the requisite knowledge to complete the other labs. Which is why we’re delighted to announce Foundations: Getting Started with Kubernetes Networking & Cilium!
Foundations: Getting Started with Kubernetes Networking & Cilium
Dive into the essentials of Kubernetes networking and cloud-native connectivity in this foundational lab. You’ll explore key concepts like pod networking, CNI and IPAM, Kubernetes services, ingress, and network policies, gaining a clear understanding of how they work together to enable seamless communication in a distributed environment.
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Getting Started with Kubernetes Networking: A New Hands-on Foundations Lab for Network and Platform Engineers
Both network engineers and platform engineers face challenges when it comes to Kubernetes networking:
- Platform engineers often focus on application deployment and orchestration rather than networking and integration with the underlay.
- Network engineers typically manage physical and virtual networks but may not be familiar with Kubernetes concepts.
To bridge this gap, we’ve created a new hands-on lab that introduces the fundamentals of Kubernetes networking. The lab takes approximately three hours to complete and is designed to:
- Help network engineers understand Kubernetes networking basics — a complex topic that typically requires much more time to master.
- Provide enough Kubernetes knowledge for network engineers so they can confidently take advantage of our more advanced labs.
- Give platform engineers a fundamental understanding of Kubernetes networking so they can appreciate how it impacts their work and the value of more advanced networking capabilities.
- Foster better collaboration between platform and networking teams by defining and enabling improved interfaces, ultimately encouraging a DevNetOps approach to modern infrastructure.
Why Is Kubernetes Networking Different?
Unlike traditional networking, Kubernetes abstracts much of its networking complexity through concepts such as:
- Pod Networking: Every pod gets its own IP address, eliminating the need for NAT within a cluster.
- CNI (Container Network Interface): Defines how networking for containers is configured.
- Service Discovery & Load Balancing: Kubernetes Services abstract application endpoints to ensure seamless communication.
- Network Policies: Control which workloads can communicate with each other, enforcing security at the network level.
- Ingress & Gateway API: Managing external access to Kubernetes workloads.
How the Hands-on Lab Helps
Our Foundations: Getting Started with Kubernetes Networking & Cilium lab is structured to introduce these essential topics with real-world, practical examples. The lab covers:
- Pod Networking & IP Address Management (IPAM): Understanding how Kubernetes assigns IPs to pods and how Cilium enhances IPAM.
- Kubernetes Services & Load Balancing: Examining kube-proxy, service types, and how eBPF improves performance.
- Network Policies & Security: Enforcing fine-grained access control between workloads.
- L7 Capabilities with Ingress & Gateway API: Managing application-layer traffic.
- Interfacing with Non-Cloud Native Workloads: How Kubernetes integrates with existing network infrastructure via BGP, egress gateways, and more.
At every step, we highlight how eBPF optimizes Kubernetes networking, making it more efficient, scalable, and observable.
Additional Resource: A Book for Network Engineers
In addition to the lab, we highly recommend the book Kubernetes Networking and Cilium. This book serves as a translator for network engineers who are familiar with traditional networking but need a Kubernetes-native perspective. It provides deep insights into Kubernetes networking architecture and demonstrates how eBPF transforms networking, security, and observability.
Book: Kubernetes Networking and Cilium
Kubernetes networking is difficult, even for experienced network architects. In this new eBook offered by Isovalent, you will learn about Kubernetes Networking and Cilium. Explained in terms and references network engineers will understand, the eBook will still be accessible to anyone keen to learn about Kubernetes networking and the de facto cloud-native networking platform: Cilium.
Download Book
Get Started
If you’re a network engineer looking to gain practical experience with Kubernetes networking, or a platform engineer seeking to understand the networking layer, this hands-on lab is for you. It provides an interactive, structured way to grasp Kubernetes networking fundamentals while also demonstrating how eBPF enhances networking capabilities. This lab is just the beginning—continue your learning journey by exploring our more advanced labs on security, observability, and performance optimization.
We also hope this new lab helps you with preparing for Linux Foundations exams such as the CKA, CKS and the recently-launched Cilium Certified Associate (CCA). Additionally, this lab is designed to facilitate better collaboration between platform and networking teams, enabling the creation of clearer interfaces and processes that support modern infrastructure demands.
Foundations: Getting Started with Kubernetes Networking & Cilium
Dive into the essentials of Kubernetes networking and cloud-native connectivity in this foundational lab. You’ll explore key concepts like pod networking, CNI and IPAM, Kubernetes services, ingress, and network policies, gaining a clear understanding of how they work together to enable seamless communication in a distributed environment.
Start LabWe’d love to hear your feedback—let us know what you think of the lab and how it helps you bridge the gap between traditional and cloud-native networking!
Raphaël is a Senior Technical Marketing Engineer with Cloud Native networking and security specialists Isovalent, creators of the Cilium eBPF-based networking project. He works on Cilium, Hubble & Tetragon and the future of Cloud-Native networking & security using eBPF.
An early adept of the DevOps principle, he has been a practitioner of Configuration Management and Agile principles in Operations for many years, with a special involvement in the Puppet and Terraform communities over the years.
