--- title: "Kubernetes Services : The Getting Started Guide" description: "Learn how to get started with Kubernetes services and take your infrastructure to the next level in this ATA Learning tutorial!" canonical: "https://adamtheautomator.com/kubernetes-services/" --- # Kubernetes Services : The Getting Started Guide > Learn how to get started with Kubernetes services and take your infrastructure to the next level in this ATA Learning tutorial! Source: https://adamtheautomator.com/kubernetes-services/ --- ATA Learning Tap to hide [ ATA Learning ](/) * [Home](/) * [Tutorials](/tutorials/) * [Instructors](/author/) * [Advertising](/advertising/) * [Recommended Resources](/resources/) * [About Adam](/about-adam/) Search for: * [](https://twitter.com/adbertram) * [](https://github.com/Adam-the-Automator) * [](https://www.linkedin.com/company/adam-the-automator-llc) * [](/feed/) ![The Getting Started Guide to Kubernetes Services](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/kubernetes-services.jpg) # The Getting Started Guide to Kubernetes Services [![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b1faae2f957a0d43de36dfd25e8c08537718fb87c49cfd0a15b0e860a7f7b9a0?s=192&d=mm&r=g)Mercy Bassey](https://adamtheautomator.com/author/mercy-bassey/)31 May 20238 min. read Categories: [DevOps](/category/devops/) Tags:[Kubernetes](/tag/kubernetes/) Table of Contents * [Prerequisites](#prerequisites) * [Creating Basic Kubernetes Services via Kubectl](#creating-basic-kubernetes-services-via-kubectl) * [Creating Multi-port Services](#creating-multi-port-services) * [Creating Headless Services](#creating-headless-services) * [Creating a NodePort Service Type](#creating-a-nodeport-service-type) * [Creating a LoadBalancer Service Type](#creating-a-loadbalancer-service-type) * [Conclusion](#conclusion) When your application needs exposure on a network, you need a powerful container orchestration system that lets you deploy, manage, and scale your applications. Which one to turn to? Look no further than Kubernetes Services! A Kubernetes Service provides a stable endpoint for accessing your application from within or outside the cluster. And in this tutorial, you will learn the basics of Kubernetes Services, how they work, and how to create and configure different types of services. Stay tuned and get started building reliable and scalable applications! ## Prerequisites This tutorial comprises hands-on demonstrations. To follow along, be sure you have a [Kubernetes cluster](https://adamtheautomator.com/kubeadm/) already running. Related:[How to Get Started Building Kubernetes Clusters with kubeadm](https://adamtheautomator.com/kubeadm/) ## Creating Basic Kubernetes Services via Kubectl Before diving deep into Kubernetes, there is no better way than starting with the basics. The most common and widely used service type is ClusterIP. You will create this type of service, which is usually the default type if a service type is not specified. ClusterIP services are typically used for internal communication within a Kubernetes cluster and are not exposed to the external network. A ClusterIP service is ideal for applications that need to communicate with each other within a cluster but do not need to be accessed by external clients. To create a basic Kubernetes Service, follow these steps: 1\. Open a terminal, run the following commands to create an `nginx` deployment, and `get` a list of available `deployments`. ```bash # Creates an NGINX deployment called "nginx-web-server" kubectl create deploy nginx-web-server --image nginx # View the lists of deployments available in the cluster kubectl get deployments ``` ![Creating and viewing NGINX (nginx-web-server) deployment](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-346.png) Creating and viewing NGINX (nginx-web-server) deployment 2\. Next, run each `kubectl` command below to create a service to `expose` your NGINX deployment (`nginx-web-server`) and `get` all available `services`. ```bash # Create a Service to deploy the NGINX deployment kubectl expose deploy nginx-web-server --port 80 # View the lists of all available services kubectl get services ``` Note the IP address (**10.128.202.35**) and port (**80**) of the ClusterIP service type attached to the **nginx-web-service** service for later use. ![Exposing the NGINX (nginx-web-server) deployment as a ClusterIP service type](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-345.png) Exposing the NGINX (nginx-web-server) deployment as a ClusterIP service type 3\. Run the below `kubectl` command to run a `curl` command within a pod in the same namespace as the service. This command checks if the service is accessible from inside the cluster. Related:[A Getting Started Guide to Kubernetes Namespaces](https://adamtheautomator.com/kubernetes-namespaces/) ```bash kubectl run curl --image=radial/busyboxplus:curl -i --tty ``` Related:[CURL Linux Command : Learning By Example](https://adamtheautomator.com/curl-linux/) ![Checking if the service is accessible from inside the cluster](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-344.png) Checking if the service is accessible from inside the cluster 4\. Now, run either of the following `curl` commands to view the content of the nginx-web-server service of ClusterIP type. Ensure you replace `` and `` with the IP address and port you noted in step two (i.e., _http://10.128.202.35:80_). ```bash curl http://: # This command also works since the service only listens on a single port curl http:// ``` The image below shows the NGINX welcome page source code, which confirms the service has been exposed successfully. ![Accessing the NGINX (nginx-web-server)service of ClusterIP type from within the cluster](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-343.png) Accessing the NGINX (nginx-web-server)service of ClusterIP type from within the cluster 5\. Lastly, run the exit command below to exit the curl pod. ```bash exit ``` ![kubernetes services - Exiting the curl pod](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-342.png) Exiting the curl pod ## **Creating Multi-port Services** You now have a single NGINX service of ClusterIP running, which is a great start. But what if a pod runs multiple services or when a single service has multiple endpoints? How do you expose multiple ports on the same virtual IP address? In this example, you will create a multi-port service that allows external clients to connect to multiple endpoints in a pod from within the cluster. To create a multi-port service, you first have to deploy an app: 1\. Run the below commands to `create` a deployment (`deploy`) in Kubernetes called `node-app` and use a Docker image to create the pods. You can name the deployment differently and replace the `mercybassey/node-multi-port-app` image with your own, but it has to be a multi-port app/image. ```bash kubectl create deploy node-app --image mercybassey/node-multi-port-app kubectl get deployments ``` ![Creating and viewing an app (node-app) deployment](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-350.png) Creating and viewing an app (node-app) deployment 2\. Next, create a file called _**mps. yaml**_ in your preferred text editor, populate the following configuration, and save and close the file. The configuration below creates a Service that allows internal communication between pods within the cluster using a service type of `ClusterIP`. Related:[Essential Tips for Installing & Using Sublime Text on Ubuntu](https://adamtheautomator.com/sublime-text-on-ubuntu/) ```bash apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: # Set the name of the service name: my-app spec: # Set the type of the service type: ClusterIP selector: app: node-app ports: # Define the name of the server listening on port 3000 - name: server-one port: 3000 targetPort: 3000 # Define the name of the server listening on port 3001 - name: server-two port: 3001 targetPort: 3001 ``` 3\. Run each command below to create a service (`apply`) against the configuration in the `mps.yaml` file and `get` all available `services`. ```bash kubectl apply -f mps.yaml kubectl get services ``` You can see below that the service listens on two different ports, port **3000** and port **3001**. Note down the service IP address for later use. ![Creating and viewing the multi-port service (node-app)](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-349.png) Creating and viewing the multi-port service (node-app) 4\. Now, run the following command to [`attach`](https://kubernetes.io/docs/reference/generated/kubectl/kubectl-commands#attach) to the existing Kubernetes pod named `curl` and interact with it. ```bash kubectl attach curl -c curl -i -t ``` Related:[Securely Manage Containers with Kubernetes RBAC](https://adamtheautomator.com/kubernetes-rbac/) ![Attaching to the existing Kubernetes pod named curl](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-348.png) Attaching to the existing Kubernetes pod named curl 5\. Lastly, run the following `curl` commands to view the contents of the my-app service from two different ports (`3000` and `3001`). Ensure you replace `` with the IP address you noted in step three. ```bash # View the contents of the service from different ports curl http://:3000 curl http://:3001 # Exit out of the curl pod exit ``` Below, you can see the **Hello World** message from port **3000** and the **Hello Kubernetes** message from port **3001**. ![Viewing the contents of ports 3000 and 3001](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-347.png) Viewing the contents of ports 3000 and 3001 ## Creating Headless Services When you need to access each pod individually and address them separately, creating a headless service works best. A headless service type does not have a cluster IP address assigned to it but instead allows direct access to the individual pods that are part of the service. To create a headless service in Kubernetes: 1\. Create a YAML file called _hs.yaml_ (arbitrary), and populate the following configuration to the file, creating a headless `nginx-web-server` deployment service. In the configuration below, the `clusterIP` is set to `None` to create a headless service. ```bash apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: # Name of the headless service name: my-headless-service spec: # Indicates a headless service clusterIP: None selector: # The pod or deployment to route traffic to app: nginx-web-server ports: - name: http port: 80 targetPort: 80 ``` 2\. Next, run the below commands to create a service against the configuration in the `hs.yaml` file, and `get` all available `services`. ```bash kubectl apply -f hs.yaml kubectl get services ``` In the image below, you can see the **my-headless-service** service as a headless service. ![Creating and viewing the headless (my-headless-service) service](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-352.png) Creating and viewing the headless (my-headless-service) service 3\. Now, run the below commands to attach to the `curl` pod and access your headless service in the `default` namespace. With a headless service, instead of having a cluster IP address assigned to it, Kubernetes sets up DNS records for the service that returns the IP addresses of the individual pods. ```bash # Attach and interact with the existing Kubernetes pod named curl kubectl attach curl -c curl -i -t # Access your headless service via the default namespace curl # Exit out of the curl pod exit ``` ![Accessing the headless service from within the cluster ](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-351.png) Accessing the headless service from within the cluster > _Perhaps you created the headless service in a different namespace. If so, you can access the service using via its DNS name. For example, the namespace in the command below is called_ > > _`my-namespace`: `my-service.my-namespace.svc.cluster.local`_ > _When you need to access a specific pod, you can use its name as the hostname in your request. Suppose you have three pods named `nginx-web-server-1`, `nginx-web-server-2`, and `nginx-web-server-3`._ > > _You can access these pods as shown below:_ > > _`nginx-web-server-1.my-headless-service.default.svc.cluster.local`_ > > _`nginx-web-server-2.my-headless-service.default.svc.cluster.local`_ > > _`nginx-web-server-3.my-headless-service.default.svc.cluster.local`_ ## Creating a NodePort Service Type You have exposed your service successfully but only within your network. When exposing services to outside users or other systems, the NodePort service will do the trick. This service type allows external traffic to be routed to the service. To create a NodePort service, follow the steps below: 1\. Create a YAML file called _ns.yaml_ (arbitrary), and populate the following configuration: This configuration creates a NodePort Service named `my-nginx-nodeport-service` that forwards incoming traffic to pods labeled `app: nginx-web-server` on `port: 80`. ```bash apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: # Set the name of the service name: my-nginx-nodeport-service spec: selector: # Specify the deployment to expose app: nginx-web-server type: NodePort ports: - name: http # Specify the port of the "nginx-web-server" deployment port: 80 targetPort: 80 # Specify the port of the NodePort nodePort: 30000 ``` 2\. Next, run the following commands to create a NodePort service you specified in the `ns.yaml` file, and `get` all `services` available. ```bash kubectl apply -f ns.yaml kubectl get services ``` Note down the service’s IP address, and port, as you will need them later to access the service. ![Creating and viewing the (my-nginx-nodeport-service) NodePort service type ](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-355.png) Creating and viewing the (my-nginx-nodeport-service) NodePort service type > _Alternatively, you can run the following command to create an `nginx-web-server` service with a `NodePort` type and expose port `80` on all the nodes in the cluster. This command allows you to access the service from outside the cluster by specifying the IP address of any node and the port number assigned by Kubernetes._ > > _`kubectl expose deploy nginx-web-server --port 80 --type NodePort`_ 3\. Now, open your favorite web browser, and visit the NodePort service (i.e., _**10.128.73.192:3000**_). ```bash http://: ``` ![Accessing the NodePort service via a web browser ](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-354.png) Accessing the NodePort service via a web browser Or run the following commands to `attach` to the `curl` pod and access the NodePort service from within the cluster. ```bash kubectl attach curl -c curl -i -t curl http://: ``` ![Accessing the node port service type from within the cluster](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-353.png) Accessing the node port service type from within the cluster ## Creating a LoadBalancer Service Type Unlike the NodePort service type that exposes the service on a port on each cluster node, the LoadBalancer service type in Kubernetes exposes a service outside the cluster and makes it available on a specific port. The LoadBalancer service type automatically creates an external load balancer in the cloud environment (if the cloud provider supports it) and routes incoming traffic to the exposed service. To create a LoadBalancer service type, follow these steps: 1\. Create a YAML file called _ls.yaml_ and add the following configuration. This configuration creates a `LoadBalancer` service type and route traffic to the `nginx-web-server` deployment. ```bash apiVersion: v1 kind: Service metadata: name: my-nginx-loadbalancer-service spec: selector: app: nginx-web-server ports: - name: http port: 80 targetPort: 80 type: LoadBalancer ``` 2\. Next, run each command below to create a LoadBalancer service type specified in the `ls.yaml` file, and `get` all `services` available. ```bash kubectl apply -f ls.yaml kubectl get services ``` Below, you can see the **my-nginx-loadbalancer-service** service of type LoadBalancer type is available with a **CLUTER-IP** and an **EXTERNAL-IP**. Note down the service’s CLUSTER-IP to access the service later in the following step. ![Creating and viewing the LoadBalancer service type (my-nginx-loadbalancer-service) ](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-358.png) Creating and viewing the LoadBalancer service type (my-nginx-loadbalancer-service) > _Alternatively, you can run the below command to create a LoadBalancer service type._ > > `kubectl expose deployment nginx-web-server --port=80 --target-port=80 --type=LoadBalancer` 3\. Finally, visit either of the following external IP address to access your LoadBalancer service (my-nginx-loadbalancer-service) on your web browser. ```bash http://:/ # OR http:/// ``` ![Accessing the load balancer service type over a web browser ](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-357.png) Accessing the load balancer service type over a web browser Alternatively, run the below commands to `attach` to the `curl` pod and access your LoadBalancer service from within the cluster. ```bash # Attach to the curl pod kubectl attach curl -c curl -i -t # Access the LoadBalancer service from within the cluster curl http://: # OR curl http:// ``` ![Accessing the load balancer service type from within the cluster](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/image-356.png) Accessing the load balancer service type from within the cluster ## Conclusion Throughout this tutorial, you have learned what Kubernetes Services are and how to create and use them in deployments. Moreover, you have known to expose different Kubernetes Services within your cluster or external network. With the confidence to expose your applications in Kubernetes, how about further monitoring and observing your services with Grafana and Prometheus? Related:[Utilizing Grafana & Prometheus Kubernetes Cluster Monitoring](https://adamtheautomator.com/prometheus-kubernetes/) Share this article [Share on X](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadamtheautomator.com%2Fkubernetes-services%2F&text=The%20Getting%20Started%20Guide%20to%20Kubernetes%20Services)[Share on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fadamtheautomator.com%2Fkubernetes-services%2F)[Share on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fadamtheautomator.com%2Fkubernetes-services%2F) ## Related Posts ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/featured_image-3.png) ### [Build Your First Internal Developer Platform](/build-first-internal-developer-platform/) Build your first Internal Developer Platform with Backstage, a software catalog, software templates, CI/CD handoffs, and Kubernetes deployment manifests. ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/featured_image-9.png) ### [DevOps to Platform Engineer: 2026 Transition Roadmap](/devops-platform-engineer-2026-transition-roadmap/) Learn how to move from DevOps to platform engineering in 2026 with a practical roadmap covering transferable skills, internal developer platforms, Backstage, Crossplane, and portfolio projects. ![](https://adamtheautomator.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/kubernetes-blue-green.jpg) ### [Learning the Kubernetes Blue Green Deployment Strategy](/kubernetes-blue-green/) Dive into Kubernetes blue-green deployments for smooth updates. 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