In Kubernetes, how does a Service identify which pods it should route traffic to?

In Kubernetes, how does a Service identify which pods it should route traffic to?

• A. Services use pod IPs directly to route traffic.
• B. Services use labels to select the pods they should route to.
• C. Services route to all pods in the cluster.
• D. Services require static IP assignments.

Answer: (B)

In Kubernetes, a Service determines which pods to route traffic to by using labels and a matching selector. Each pod can have one or more labels, and the Service defines a selector that specifies which labels (and thus which pods) it should target. Kubernetes maintains an Endpoints object for the Service that lists the IPs and ports of all pods currently matching that selector. When pods start, stop, or change labels, the Endpoints list updates automatically, and kube-proxy uses that list to route traffic through the Service’s stable virtual IP. This means traffic goes only to the pods that match the selector, not to every pod and not to static pod IPs, which can change.

In Kubernetes, a Service determines which pods to route traffic to by using labels and a matching selector. Each pod can have one or more labels, and the Service defines a selector that specifies which labels (and thus which pods) it should target. Kubernetes maintains an Endpoints object for the Service that lists the IPs and ports of all pods currently matching that selector. When pods start, stop, or change labels, the Endpoints list updates automatically, and kube-proxy uses that list to route traffic through the Service’s stable virtual IP. This means traffic goes only to the pods that match the selector, not to every pod and not to static pod IPs, which can change.