kube-vip vs Linux Virtual Server

kube-vip is free, open-source software that gives Kubernetes clusters a virtual IP and load balancing for control-plane traffic and LoadBalancer Services. It targets Linux, self-hosted deployments such as bare metal, on-premises systems, virtualization, and edge devices including ARM hardware and Raspberry Pi. Virtual IPs may be IPv4, IPv6, or DNS names. Networking modes are ARP, BGP, routing tables, and WireGuard; the documented modes are disjunctive, so only one can be enabled at a time. kube-vip can run as a static Pod or DaemonSet inside the cluster it serves. Control-plane options include leader election, kubeadm static Pods, and K3s or other distribution DaemonSets. Service support includes BGP across nodes, address pools, CIDR or ranges, DHCP, and UPnP. It uses Apache-2.0 licensing and provides Layer 4 routing, not Layer 7 routing.

Linux Virtual Server (LVS) turns a cluster of real Linux servers into one virtual server for users. Its IPVS component performs layer 4 balancing in the Linux kernel, directing TCP and UDP requests sent to a virtual service IP toward servers behind it. Supported forwarding methods are NAT, FULLNAT, tunneling, and direct routing. The project lists web, cache, mail, FTP, media, and VoIP services as applications. Capacity can be changed by adding or removing cluster nodes. Failure detection can identify node or daemon problems and reconfigure the system for availability. Keepalived checks server-pool state at layers 3, 4, and 5 and tells the kernel to remove a failed server. KTCPVS supplies application-level balancing but is under development. LVS is free GPL-licensed software for Linux and self-hosted use. Administration uses ipvsadm, with documentation for configurations, scheduling, high availability, and DoS defense.