Traefik

Traefik is a modern, cloud-native ingress controller for Kubernetes, supporting dynamic configuration, Let's Encrypt, and advanced routing. It is widely used in GitOps workflows for AKS, EKS, GKE, and on-prem clusters.

Why Use Traefik?

  • Simple, dynamic configuration (CRDs, YAML, Helm)

  • Native support for Let's Encrypt, mTLS, and advanced routing

  • Works with GitOps tools (ArgoCD, Flux) for declarative, auditable deployments

  • Real-time dashboard and metrics

  • Multi-cloud and hybrid ready

Installation (Helm)

Requirements:

  • Kubernetes 1.16+

  • Helm 3.9+

Add the Traefik Helm repo:

helm repo add traefik https://traefik.github.io/charts
helm repo update

Install Traefik in a dedicated namespace:

kubectl create ns traefik-v2
helm install --namespace=traefik-v2 traefik traefik/traefik

GitOps Setup Example (ArgoCD)

1. Add Traefik Helm chart to your Git repo:

# apps/traefik/values.yaml
# (customize as needed)

2. Define an ArgoCD Application:

apiVersion: argoproj.io/v1alpha1
kind: Application
metadata:
  name: traefik
  namespace: argocd
spec:
  project: default
  source:
    repoURL: 'https://github.com/your-org/your-gitops-repo.git'
    targetRevision: main
    path: apps/traefik
    helm:
      valueFiles:
        - values.yaml
  destination:
    server: 'https://kubernetes.default.svc'
    namespace: traefik-v2
  syncPolicy:
    automated:
      prune: true
      selfHeal: true

3. Apply the Application:

kubectl apply -f traefik-argocd-app.yaml

Exposing the Traefik Dashboard

Port-forward (default, secure):

kubectl port-forward -n traefik-v2 $(kubectl get pods -n traefik-v2 -l app.kubernetes.io/name=traefik -o name | head -n1) 9000:9000

Access at: http://127.0.0.1:9000/dashboard/

IngressRoute CRD Example:

apiVersion: traefik.io/v1alpha1
kind: IngressRoute
metadata:
  name: dashboard
  namespace: traefik-v2
spec:
  entryPoints:
    - web
  routes:
    - match: Host(`traefik.localhost`) && (PathPrefix(`/dashboard`) || PathPrefix(`/api`))
      kind: Rule
      services:
        - name: api@internal
          kind: TraefikService

Dynamic Routing Example

http:
  routers:
    to-whoami:
      rule: "Host(`example.com`) && PathPrefix(`/whoami/`)"
      middlewares:
      - test-user
      service: whoami
  middlewares:
    test-user:
      basicAuth:
        users:
        - test:$apr1$H6uskkkW$IgXLP6ewTrSuBkTrqE8wj/
  services:
    whoami:
      loadBalancer:
        servers:
        - url: http://private/whoami-service

Pros and Cons

Pros
Cons

Easy dynamic config (CRDs, Helm)

Fewer built-in policies than NGINX

Native Let's Encrypt, mTLS

Smaller community than NGINX

Real-time dashboard

Some advanced features require CRDs

GitOps-friendly

May need tuning for high-traffic workloads

Multi-cloud support

2025 Best Practices

  • Use GitOps (ArgoCD, Flux) for all Traefik config and upgrades

  • Store all manifests and Helm values in Git (version control)

  • Use RBAC and network policies to secure Traefik

  • Enable HTTPS and automatic certificate management

  • Monitor with Prometheus/Grafana and enable dashboard access only for admins

  • Use LLMs (Copilot, Claude) to generate and review IngressRoute and middleware configs

Common Pitfalls

  • Exposing the dashboard publicly (security risk)

  • Not enabling HTTPS by default

  • Manual changes outside Git (causes drift in GitOps)

  • Not monitoring for sync errors or drift

References

PreviousNGINXNextKong

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