• https://metallb.universe.tf

Cloud providers back type: LoadBalancer services with their own load balancers. A bare-metal cluster has no equivalent, so those services sit at EXTERNAL-IP <pending> indefinitely. MetalLB fills that gap. It assigns IPs from a pool you define and announces them on the LAN, using ARP (Layer 2 mode) or BGP.

Guides¶

• Install MetalLB: the kube-proxy strictARP prerequisite, namespace with pod security labels, Helm install, and IPAddressPool/L2Advertisement configuration.
• Troubleshooting MetalLB: pool assignment, nodes reporting the wrong IP when Calico is the CNI, and restarting MetalLB.