NGINX Controller

Basic Information

F5 NGINX Controller is a management plane for NGINX instances, primarily known for its role as the F5 NGINX Ingress Controller in Kubernetes environments. It simplifies the deployment, management, and security of applications across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures. The Ingress Controller is often based on NGINX Plus, the commercial version of NGINX.

• Model: F5 NGINX Ingress Controller (often based on NGINX Plus)
• Version: NGINX Plus, which the Ingress Controller leverages, sees regular releases. For example, NGINX Plus R35 is the latest mentioned release.
• Release Date: NGINX Plus R35 was released on August 13, 2025.
• Minimum Requirements: Specific hardware requirements for the Controller itself are not explicitly detailed, as it operates within a Kubernetes cluster. Resource consumption depends on the scale of deployment and traffic.
• Supported Operating Systems: Linux distributions supported by NGINX Plus, including Ubuntu (e.g., Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is new in R35), Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), CentOS, and Oracle Linux. CentOS 7, RHEL 7, and Oracle Linux 7 are deprecated in NGINX Plus R35.
• Latest Stable Version: F5 NGINX Ingress Controller typically aligns with the latest stable NGINX Plus releases. NGINX Plus R35 is the most recent.
• End of Support Date:
  • For NGINX Controller Application Delivery and NGINX Controller Application Delivery Security, the End of Technical Support (EoTS) is September 30, 2025.
  • For NGINX Controller API-Manager, the EoTS is September 30, 2025.
  • For NGINX Plus, technical support is provided for 24 months from the initial release date of each version.
• End of Life Date:
  • NGINX Controller Application Delivery and NGINX Controller Application Delivery Security had an End of Sale (EoS) on January 1, 2024.
  • NGINX Controller API-Manager had an EoS on January 1, 2024.
  • NGINX ModSecurity WAF reached End-of-Life (EoL) on March 31, 2024.
• Auto-update Expiration Date: Not explicitly stated as a single date. NGINX Plus requires a JSON Web Token (JWT) for subscription validation and usage reporting, which streamlines renewals.
• License Type: Subscription License (e.g., monthly, with options for Premium or Enterprise Support). Requires a valid JSON Web Token (JWT) for NGINX Plus Ingress Controller version 4.0.0 and later.
• Deployment Model: Can be deployed in containerized environments (Kubernetes), public cloud (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud), private cloud, bare metal, and virtual machines.

Technical Requirements

F5 NGINX Controller, particularly the Ingress Controller, is a software-defined asset that runs within Kubernetes environments. Its technical requirements are largely dependent on the underlying infrastructure and the scale of the applications it manages.

• RAM: Dependent on the scale of traffic and number of managed services. Performance tests for NGINX Ingress Controllers have utilized systems with 128 GB to 192 GB RAM for the primary and secondary nodes in a Kubernetes cluster.
• Processor: Dependent on workload. Testing environments have used high-performance CPUs such as Intel Xeon Platinum 8168 or Intel Xeon E5-2699 v4.
• Storage: Requirements are minimal for the controller software itself, but persistent storage for logs, configurations, and other operational data should be provisioned according to best practices for Kubernetes deployments.
• Display: Not applicable, as it is a backend service managed via APIs and command-line tools, or a web-based management interface.
• Ports: Requires standard HTTP (80) and HTTPS (443) ports for ingress traffic, and potentially custom TCP/UDP ports for specific applications. Outbound HTTPS traffic on TCP port 443 is required for usage reporting to F5.
• Operating System: A supported Linux distribution for the Kubernetes nodes, such as Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS, or Oracle Linux.

Analysis of Technical Requirements

The F5 NGINX Controller's technical requirements are flexible, scaling with the demands of the Kubernetes cluster and the applications it serves. As a software-only solution, its resource footprint is primarily determined by the volume of traffic, the complexity of routing rules, and the number of NGINX instances it manages. It is designed to be lightweight and efficient, leveraging the performance characteristics of NGINX Plus. Organizations should provision resources for the underlying Kubernetes infrastructure based on their anticipated load and growth.

Support & Compatibility

F5 NGINX Controller offers robust support and broad compatibility within cloud-native ecosystems, particularly Kubernetes.

• Latest Version: The F5 NGINX Ingress Controller typically aligns with the latest NGINX Plus releases, with NGINX Plus R35 being the most recent.
• OS Support: Supports various Linux distributions, including current versions of Ubuntu, RHEL, CentOS, and Oracle Linux. Older versions like CentOS 7, RHEL 7, and Oracle Linux 7 are deprecated in NGINX Plus R35.
• End of Support Date:
  • For NGINX Controller Application Delivery and API-Manager products, End of Technical Support (EoTS) is September 30, 2025.
  • NGINX Plus releases receive 24 months of technical support from their release date. Critical bug patches and security updates are applied to the two most recent releases.
• Localization: Available in multiple languages including English, Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.
• Available Drivers: Not applicable; it is a software controller for Kubernetes, not a hardware device requiring traditional drivers.

Analysis of Overall Support & Compatibility Status

F5 NGINX Controller demonstrates strong support and compatibility, particularly for modern cloud-native deployments. It integrates seamlessly with Kubernetes and various cloud environments. F5 provides commercial support, including 24/7 enterprise options, and maintains an active community. While some older NGINX Controller product lines have defined End-of-Sale and End-of-Support dates, the core NGINX Ingress Controller and NGINX Plus continue to receive regular updates and support, ensuring long-term viability for enterprise deployments.

Security Status

F5 NGINX Controller provides a comprehensive suite of security features designed for modern application delivery in dynamic environments.

• Security Features:
  • Strong authentication, authorization, and encryption practices.
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for managing user and service identities.
  • End-to-end encryption via SSL/TLS passthrough and TLS termination.
  • Mutual TLS (mTLS) authentication support.
  • Integration with F5 WAF for NGINX (formerly NGINX App Protect) for Layer 7 application protection, including OWASP Top 10 and PCI DSS compliance.
  • Integration with F5 DoS for NGINX (formerly NGINX App Protect DoS) for Layer 7 Denial of Service (DoS) defense, using machine learning for adaptive learning and mitigation.
  • Dynamic reconfiguration and circuit breaking to prevent downtime and disruptions.
  • Proactive monitoring for system health and issue identification.
• Known Vulnerabilities: NGINX Plus R32 and R33 had a security release addressing an SMTP Authentication process memory over-read vulnerability (CVE-2025-53859).
• Blacklist Status: No general blacklist status is reported.
• Certifications: Enables PCI DSS compliance when integrated with NGINX App Protect.
• Encryption Support: Supports SSL/TLS for securing communications, including TLS passthrough and termination, and mTLS for secure service-to-service communication.
• Authentication Methods: Supports HTTP Basic authentication, JSON Web Tokens (JWTs), OpenID Connect (OIDC), API key-based authentication, and OAuth.
• General Recommendations: F5 recommends configuring the root filesystem as read-only for containers, running services as non-root users, and storing Kubernetes Secrets with at-rest encryption.

Analysis of Overall Security Rating

F5 NGINX Controller offers a high level of security, particularly when deployed with F5's App Protect WAF and DoS solutions. It adheres to Kubernetes security best practices, provides robust authentication and authorization mechanisms, and supports strong encryption. The platform's ability to integrate advanced security features directly into the ingress layer makes it a strong choice for protecting cloud-native applications against a wide range of threats, including OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and sophisticated DoS attacks. Regular security updates for NGINX Plus ensure ongoing protection.

Performance & Benchmarks

F5 NGINX Controller is recognized for its high performance and scalability, crucial for modern, high-traffic applications.

• Benchmark Scores: Performance tests indicate that the NGINX Ingress Controller (based on NGINX Plus) maintains low latencies in dynamic Kubernetes cloud environments, even as pod replicas scale up and down. It outperforms community Ingress controllers and the Red Hat OpenShift Router in terms of latency, and avoids timeouts and errors seen in other solutions.
• Real-world Performance Metrics:
  • High performance and scalability, capable of handling high traffic loads with ease.
  • Low memory footprint.
  • Efficiently processes high requests per second (RPS), SSL/TLS transactions per second, and high throughput.
• Power Consumption: NGINX is known for its low resource utilization, which generally translates to efficient power consumption for the software component.
• Carbon Footprint: Not specifically measured or reported for the software itself, but efficient resource utilization contributes to a lower overall operational footprint.
• Comparison with Similar Assets: Users and F5's own testing indicate that the NGINX Ingress Controller (based on NGINX Plus) offers superior performance compared to community-driven NGINX Ingress controllers and other solutions like the OpenShift Router. It is often compared favorably against alternatives such as HAProxy and Cloudflare Application Security and Performance.

Analysis of Overall Performance Status

The F5 NGINX Controller, particularly its Ingress Controller component leveraging NGINX Plus, delivers exceptional performance and scalability. It is engineered to handle demanding workloads in dynamic Kubernetes and cloud-native environments, ensuring low latency and high throughput. Its efficiency in resource utilization makes it a robust choice for enterprises requiring consistent and predictable application delivery under high traffic conditions.

User Reviews & Feedback

User reviews and feedback highlight F5 NGINX Controller's strengths in traffic management, ease of use, and scalability, with some minor areas for improvement.

• Strengths:
  • Configuration Ease: Users frequently praise its ease of configuration and implementation for effective traffic management.
  • Scalability and Performance: Highly valued for its scalability, ability to handle high traffic loads, and consistent performance across various platforms and use cases.
  • Load Balancing: Considered one of the best load balancers, ensuring system availability even during high traffic.
  • Integration: Easy to integrate with various other solutions and existing Kubernetes clusters.
  • Traffic Control: Effective for managing traffic for different use cases and ports.
  • Security Features: Appreciated for its security capabilities, including WAF and DoS protection.
  • Centralized Management: Provides a unified dashboard for configuration, monitoring, and policy automation.
• Weaknesses:
  • Documentation Depth: Some users feel that certain advanced topics or use cases are not covered in sufficient depth in the documentation.
  • Default HTTP Port: A minor point of feedback suggests that while it allows HTTP (port 80) by default, it would be beneficial if HTTPS (port 443) was the default for enhanced security.
  • F5 Transition Concerns: Post-F5's acquisition of NGINX, there were initial concerns within the community regarding the future direction of the platform and its open-source version.
• Recommended Use Cases:
  • Managing Kubernetes ingress controllers and gateways.
  • Load balancing and traffic distribution across servers and workloads.
  • Securing containerized applications and APIs in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
  • Implementing API gateways and managing API calls.
  • Accelerating application deployment and ensuring consistent data and control planes.

Summary

The F5 NGINX Controller, particularly in its manifestation as the F5 NGINX Ingress Controller, stands out as a robust and highly capable solution for managing application delivery in modern, cloud-native environments. It provides enterprise-grade connectivity, security, and scalability for Kubernetes ingress controllers and gateways, simplifying operations across hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructures.

Strengths: The asset excels in performance and scalability, efficiently handling high traffic loads with low latency and resource utilization. Its comprehensive security features, including strong authentication methods (JWT, OIDC, RBAC), end-to-end encryption (SSL/TLS, mTLS), and integrated WAF/DoS protection (F5 WAF for NGINX, F5 DoS for NGINX), provide robust defense for applications. Users consistently praise its ease of configuration, implementation, and traffic management capabilities, making it a powerful tool for load balancing and API gateway functions. Its compatibility with various Linux distributions and deployment models (bare metal, VMs, containers, public/private clouds) offers significant flexibility. F5 provides dedicated commercial support and regular updates for NGINX Plus, which underpins the Ingress Controller.

Weaknesses: While generally well-documented, some users have noted that advanced topics might lack in-depth coverage. There were also historical community concerns following F5's acquisition of NGINX regarding the future of the open-source version, though the product continues to evolve. Additionally, certain older NGINX Controller product lines have reached their End-of-Sale and End-of-Technical-Support dates, requiring users of those specific products to plan for migration.

Recommendations: F5 NGINX Controller is highly recommended for organizations deploying and managing complex, high-traffic applications in Kubernetes and containerized environments. Its advanced features for traffic management, security, and observability make it ideal for enterprises seeking to streamline operations, enhance application performance, and ensure robust security. Users should prioritize deploying the latest stable versions of NGINX Plus and F5 NGINX Ingress Controller to benefit from the newest features, security patches, and ongoing support. For those using older NGINX Controller products with upcoming EoTS dates, planning for migration to current supported solutions is crucial. Leveraging its integration with F5 WAF and DoS solutions is advised for comprehensive application protection.

The information provided is based on publicly available data and may vary depending on specific device configurations. For up-to-date information, please consult official manufacturer resources.