OpenELB
OpenELB exposes Kubernetes LoadBalancer services to external traffic in bare-metal, edge, and virtualization environments.
What OpenELB is
OpenELB exposes Kubernetes LoadBalancer services to external traffic in bare-metal, edge, and virtualization environments. It assigns service IP addresses from pools represented by Eip objects and supports BGP, Layer 2, and VIP modes. BGP mode uses GoBGP to publish service routes to peer routers and supports ECMP, but requires a router that supports both BGP and ECMP. Layer 2 mode requires infrastructure that allows anonymous ARP/NDP packets; it sends traffic through one active node, so failover can briefly interrupt services and bandwidth is limited to that node. VIP mode uses VRRP for high availability, with a limit of 255 VRRP instances per network; it also has brief failover interruptions and a one-node bandwidth limit. OpenELB can be installed with kubectl manifests or Helm 3 and requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later. It currently supports IPv4 only. The project lists installation guides for Kubernetes, K3s, and KubeSphere, and points users to KubeSphere Slack for support and discussion. It is licensed under Apache License 2.0 and is a CNCF Sandbox Project.
Good
- Offers BGP, Layer 2, and VIP modes.
- Manages service IP pools through Eip objects.
- BGP mode supports ECMP routing.
- Installs with kubectl manifests or Helm 3.
- Apache License 2.0 project.
Watch out
- Supports IPv4 only.
- Requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later.
- Layer 2 has a single-node bandwidth limit.
- BGP requires a router supporting BGP and ECMP.
Who it suits
OpenELB suits Kubernetes operators who need LoadBalancer services in bare-metal, edge, or virtualization environments. Your network setup matters: BGP needs a BGP- and ECMP-capable router, while Layer 2 needs anonymous ARP/NDP packets allowed.
Verdict
OpenELB provides multiple ways to expose Kubernetes services, with different network prerequisites and failure behavior. Check its IPv4-only limit and the requirements of your chosen mode before deployment.
The facts
Each one read from OpenELB's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Address family limit
- The documentation says OpenELB currently supports only IPv4.checked 4 Oct 2026
- BGP configuration
- Users can configure BGP properties through BgpConf and BgpPeer custom resource definitions.checked 4 Oct 2026
- BGP prerequisites
- BGP mode requires a router that supports BGP and ECMP; the documentation recommends it for high availability without failover interruptions or bandwidth bottlenecks.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Installation
- OpenELB can be installed in a Kubernetes cluster using kubectl manifests or Helm 3.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The project lists installation guides for Kubernetes, K3s and KubeSphere.checked 4 Oct 2026
- IP address pools
- Eip objects provide address pools from which OpenELB assigns IP addresses to Kubernetes LoadBalancer services.checked 4 Oct 2026
- IP management
- It provides IP address pool management for service load-balancer IPs.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Kubernetes requirement
- Installation requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later because OpenELB requires CustomResourceDefinition v1.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Layer 2 constraints
- Layer 2 mode requires the infrastructure to allow anonymous ARP/NDP packets, and its traffic forwarding uses one node at a time, which can cause brief interruptions during failover and a single-node bandwidth bottleneck.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Layer 2 limitations
- Layer 2 mode forwards traffic through one active node, so failover briefly interrupts services and bandwidth is limited to that node.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Layer 2 prerequisites
- Layer 2 mode requires the infrastructure to allow anonymous ARP/NDP packets.checked 4 Oct 2026
- License
- OpenELB is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Load balancing modes
- OpenELB supports load balancing in BGP mode and Layer 2 mode, and its documentation also describes VIP mode.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Load-balancing modes
- It supports BGP mode and Layer 2 mode.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Project origin
- OpenELB is a KubeSphere sub-project; its repository says it was originally created by KubeSphere and is now vendor neutral and a CNCF Sandbox Project.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Project status
- The repository says OpenELB was originally created by KubeSphere and is a vendor-neutral CNCF Sandbox Project.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- OpenELB exposes Kubernetes LoadBalancer services for external access in bare-metal, edge and virtualization environments.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Router requirements
- BGP mode requires a router that supports BGP and ECMP; the documentation suggests Layer 2 or VIP mode when those are unavailable.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Routing
- OpenELB supports ECMP routing and load balancing.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project directs users to the KubeSphere Slack channel for support and discussion.checked 4 Oct 2026
- VIP constraints
- VIP mode uses VRRP for high availability and is limited to 255 VRRP instances per network; failover can briefly interrupt services and traffic is limited by one node's bandwidth.checked 4 Oct 2026
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