F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services

6.6easy start · #12 of 27
in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers

Free to practise onyes
Free trialnot on record
Well documentedyes
Runs where you worknot on record

Runs on api, self-hosted.

F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services is ranked #12 of 27 in Kubernetes ingress controllers on The Geeks Club. It runs on API, Self-hosted. There is a free plan.

F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services plans and pricing

All plans

Open-source software Free No charge Requires a compatible, licensed BIG-IP system · Kubernetes or OpenShift cluster · AS3 installed on BIG-IP f5.com · 4 Oct 2026

Compared on Kubernetes ingress controllers

Ingress API model: ingress
Canary routing: Yes
Web application firewall: Yes
Deployment model: self-hosted

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The record

Purpose: CIS integrates container orchestration environments with F5 BIG-IP to dynamically create L4/L7 services and load balance traffic as container applications change.
How it works: CIS watches Kubernetes resources and updates BIG-IP configuration accordingly; users manage BIG-IP through Kubernetes or OpenShift native CLI/API.
Routing and forwarding: CIS can forward traffic from BIG-IP to Kubernetes clusters through NodePort or ClusterIP and supports F5 AS3 declarations.
Orchestration integrations: F5 documents integrations with Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift, including Ingress resources and OpenShift Routes.
Traffic management: CIS supports HTTP and URI routing, load balancing, scaling, health monitoring, and Blue/Green and A/B traffic management for app versions.
Other integrations: F5 describes IngressLink as coordinating BIG-IP CIS with NGINX Ingress Controller, and lists overlay integrations including OpenShift SDN, Flannel, and Calico.
Observability: BIG-IP data streams can export application and network statistics to third-party visibility and analytics tools, with Splunk given as an example.
Security: F5 documents securing CIS BIG-IP credentials by storing them in HashiCorp Vault and synchronizing them to a Kubernetes Secret with External Secrets Operator.
Credential privilege: CIS requires administrative privileges on the BIG-IP iControl REST partition to configure objects, and its Kubernetes guide recommends a dedicated partition.
Support boundary: CIS is a control-plane component; the FAQ says traffic is not impacted during a CIS outage and that a replacement replica gathers cluster state and reapplies it to BIG-IP.
Compatibility: The current compatibility table lists tested Kubernetes versions v1.13–v1.35, OpenShift v3.11–v4.21.0, BIG-IP v12–v17, and AS3 v3.13–v3.56; unlisted versions are not verified by F5.
Notable constraint: F5 states NodePortLocal is available only with Antrea CNI and must be enabled in Antrea feature gates.
Intended users: F5 identifies network architects, network operations, AppDev, DevOps, and system infrastructure teams as target customers.
Installation and downloads: F5 documents Helm-based and manual installation and says CIS releases are available from Docker Hub and Red Hat Container Registry.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on The Geeks Club

Best Kubernetes Ingress Controllers in 2026#12 of 27

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Sources

clouddocs.f5.com/containers/latest/· checked 4 Oct 2026
clouddocs.f5.com/containers/latest/userguide/what-is.htm· checked 4 Oct 2026
clouddocs.f5.com/containers/latest/reference/faq.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
f5.com/content/dam/f5/corp/global/pdf/data-she· checked 4 Oct 2026
clouddocs.f5.com/containers/latest/userguide/f5_cis_exte· checked 4 Oct 2026