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SPECIFICTION
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F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services

clouddocs.f5.com

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Spec score 7.8 #10 of 28 in Kubernetes Ingress Controllers

What it is

F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services (CIS) connects Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift environments with F5 BIG-IP. It watches Kubernetes resources and adjusts BIG-IP configuration as applications change, while teams manage BIG-IP through Kubernetes or OpenShift command-line interfaces and APIs. CIS can send traffic from BIG-IP to clusters through NodePort or ClusterIP and supports F5 AS3 declarations. It provides HTTP and URI routing, load balancing, scaling, health monitoring, and Blue/Green or A/B traffic handling. F5 documents Ingress resources, OpenShift Routes, IngressLink coordination with NGINX Ingress Controller, and overlays including OpenShift SDN, Flannel, and Calico. BIG-IP data streams can export application and network statistics to tools such as Splunk. Installation is available through Helm or manual methods, with releases on Docker Hub and Red Hat Container Registry. The open-source plan is free, but requires a licensed BIG-IP system, a Kubernetes or OpenShift cluster, and AS3 installed on BIG-IP.

Spec sheet

Purpose
CIS integrates container orchestration environments with F5 BIG-IP to dynamically create L4/L7 services and load balance traffic as container applications change.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Intended users
F5 identifies network architects, network operations, AppDev, DevOps, and system infrastructure teams as target customers.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
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.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
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.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Credential privilege
CIS requires administrative privileges on the BIG-IP iControl REST partition to configure objects, and its Kubernetes guide recommends a dedicated partition.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
How it works
CIS watches Kubernetes resources and updates BIG-IP configuration accordingly; users manage BIG-IP through Kubernetes or OpenShift native CLI/API.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Installation and downloads
F5 documents Helm-based and manual installation and says CIS releases are available from Docker Hub and Red Hat Container Registry.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Notable constraint
F5 states NodePortLocal is available only with Antrea CNI and must be enabled in Antrea feature gates.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Observability
BIG-IP data streams can export application and network statistics to third-party visibility and analytics tools, with Splunk given as an example.Read 4 Oct 2026 · f5.com
Orchestration integrations
F5 documents integrations with Kubernetes and Red Hat OpenShift, including Ingress resources and OpenShift Routes.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Other integrations
F5 describes IngressLink as coordinating BIG-IP CIS with NGINX Ingress Controller, and lists overlay integrations including OpenShift SDN, Flannel, and Calico.Read 4 Oct 2026 · f5.com
Routing and forwarding
CIS can forward traffic from BIG-IP to Kubernetes clusters through NodePort or ClusterIP and supports F5 AS3 declarations.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
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.Read 4 Oct 2026 · clouddocs.f5.com
Traffic management
CIS supports HTTP and URI routing, load balancing, scaling, health monitoring, and Blue/Green and A/B traffic management for app versions.Read 4 Oct 2026 · f5.com

Plans and prices

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

Every F5 BIG-IP Container Ingress Services plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Free open-source software
  • Supports Kubernetes and OpenShift integrations
  • HTTP and URI routing
  • Blue/Green and A/B traffic management
  • Traffic continues during CIS outage

Limits

  • Requires a licensed BIG-IP system
  • Requires administrative BIG-IP partition privileges
  • NodePortLocal requires Antrea CNI
  • Unlisted versions are not verified

Who it suits

F5 identifies network architects, network operations, AppDev, DevOps, and system infrastructure teams as intended users. It suits organizations running Kubernetes or OpenShift with BIG-IP.

Verdict

CIS provides a Kubernetes-managed control plane for BIG-IP services, routing, balancing, and application-version traffic management. Its free status does not remove the need for licensed BIG-IP, cluster, and AS3 infrastructure.

Where Specifiction places it

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