Tutorial: Implement a Nginx Gateway Fabric as an Alternative to Ingress

The Kubernetes ecosystem is undergoing a fundamental shift in how it manages external traffic. On Nov. 12, 2025, Kubernetes announced the retirement of Ingress Nginx, one of the most widely deployed components in cloud native infrastructure. Best-effort maintenance continues until March 2026, after which the repository will move to read-only status, with no further security patches, bug fixes, or feature releases.

This marks a critical inflection point for organizations running Kubernetes clusters. The traditional Ingress API, while…