Lab

Cilium IPAM

Learn how Cilium manages IP addresses in both tunnel and direct routing modes, from simple to advanced setups.

Kubernetes pods are transient resources with dynamic IP addresses. For this reason, IPAM is a central component of Kubernetes administration.

In tunneling mode, Kubernetes IPAM is usually configured to distribute IP addresses from a reserved private range, which is the most simple option.

In direct routing mode, where the aim is to integrate the Kubernetes platform into the underlying network fabric, IPAM can become more complex and require more advanced options.

In this lab, we will explore the various IPAM options provided by Cilium.

  • 🪪 Introduction to IPAM

    IPAM Intro

  • ☸ Kubernetes Host Scope (and GKE)

    The simplest mode

  • 🏠 Cluster Scope (Default Mode)

    The default mode

  • 🏘️ Cluster Scope (Default Mode) with Multiple CIDRs

    Default mode, advanced usage

  • 🏡 Multi-Pool

    The most flexible IPAM mode!

  • 🏷️ Multi-Pool IPAM with Label Selectors

    Automatically route pods to IP pools using label selectors — no annotations needed!

  • 📄 CRD-Backed Mode (and AWS ENI / Azure IPAM)

    The advanced mode

  • 🥋 Exam

    Take the final challenge!