About This Tool

Primary Use Case

Key Features

• Supports both IPv4 and IPv6 VIP addresses
• Control plane HA via ARP (Layer 2) or BGP (Layer 3)
• Leader election or raft-based control plane coordination
• Service LoadBalancer with ARP or multi-node BGP support
• Address pools configurable per namespace or globally
• Integration with existing DHCP and UPNP for address exposure
• Egress support using service load balancer for pod traffic
• Lightweight, single binary written in Go for multiple architectures

Insights & Recommendations

kube-vip is designed to replace multiple traditional HA components with a single binary, reducing complexity and improving security transparency. It is especially suitable for edge and ARM environments where hardware load balancers or packaged solutions may not be available. Users should carefully configure ARP or BGP modes based on their network topology and ensure leader election settings align with their Kubernetes control plane setup. Consult the official documentation for best practices and troubleshooting.

Installation

Refer to official documentation at https://kube-vip.io for detailed installation guides
Build or download the kube-vip binary suitable for your architecture
Deploy kube-vip as static pods for kubeadm-based control planes or as daemonsets for K3s and other distributions
Configure VIP addresses and load balancer settings according to your environment (ARP or BGP)
Apply manifests generated by kube-vip or vendor API integrations as needed

Usage

Smart Usage Notes

Security Capability Profile