We would like to inform you of an upcoming platform change relating to the retirement of the current NGINX‑based ingress controller, 3rd party software that is used within our Kubernetes environments. This update is part of our ongoing work to ensure the platform remains secure, reliable, and aligned with industry‑standard technologies. 

Why is this change happening

The upstream NGINX ingress controller is reaching end‑of‑life and will no longer receive regular updates from March 2026. While the solution has been stable and widely used for many years, its retirement means that ongoing updates will stop.

It’s important to emphasize:

• There is no immediate customer action.
• NGINX ingress has been long‑established and dependable.
• In line with best practice, the Kubernetes cluster and therefore the Ingress should be deployed behind network‑level protections (e.g., firewalls and application gateways), further reducing exposure.

However, to maintain long‑term security, supportability, and compliance across our environments, we are transitioning to a modern alternative ingress technology.

What are we moving to

We are introducing a new, fully supported ingress solution that offers:

• Ongoing maintenance and security updates
• Strong alignment with Kubernetes standards
• Broad community and industry adoption
• A smooth migration path from existing configurations
• Compatibility with our long‑term platform direction

The replacement will continue to provide the same core capabilities as today’s ingress controller, while ensuring long‑term stability and compliance.

Given that all external communication with the application flows through the ingress, extensive testing is required of the new solution to ensure there is a seamless transition with no unexpected impacts.

How the Transition Will Work

The migration will be carried out carefully and gradually and is intended to minimize any disruption.

IFS Cloud Service

The switch to the new ingress controller is intended to be as seamless and transparent as possible to Cloud Service customers.

There are broadly two main steps:

1. Platform update: The new ingress software will be applied in parallel with the existing ingress software, in a future maintenance window.  Customers do not need to take any action in this phase.
2. An IFS Cloud application middle-tier (container) update, to add the required configuration for the new ingress. This will be delivered as part of a Service Update (SU) for the IFS Middle-tier.  As this is expected to be a middle-tier only update, customers will not need to apply a full service-update to avail of the change.  Rather, once the future Service Update containing the new ingress rules is released, a delivery created in the build-place following this release will contain the new ingress rules.  The update will then be applied through the normal delivery deployment process, at which point, it is intended tthat he new ingress will be activated for the environment.

This process will ensure the update is applied in a seamless and controlled manner through non-production environment(s) first, then eventually through to production.

IFS Remote Customers

There will be two main parts to the Ingress migration:

1. A platform update to apply the new ingress software to the Kubernetes environment.  This will be an update to the base MicroK8S remote solution.
2. An IFS Cloud application middle-tier (container) update, to add the required configuration for the new ingress.   This will be delivered as part of a Service Update (SU) for the IFS Middle-tier.  As this is expected to be a middle-tier only update, customers will not need to apply a full service-update to avail of the change.  Rather, once the future Service Update containing the new ingress rules is released, a delivery created in the build-place following this release will contain the new ingress rules and have the ability to switch to use the new ingress.

Timeline

Please note that the current NGINX-ingress deployed in IFS Cloud will continue to work after the upstream retirement date, as IFS packages and delivers this separately.

• May 2026 Service Update (planned): Release of the new ingress solution availability for IFS Cloud Service customers.  This will be rolled out as detailed above.
• June 2026 Service Update (planned): Release of the new ingress solution for IFS Cloud Remote (micro k8s).  
• Future IFS Cloud release (TBC): removal of nginx-ingress as an available option.

What this means for you

• No action is required at this time.
• We will continue to communicate updates, timelines, and any relevant information as needed.

Our goal is to make this transition as seamless as possible for you!