OpenELB

Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted

What OpenELB is

OpenELB exposes Kubernetes LoadBalancer services to external access in bare-metal, edge and virtualization environments. It assigns service IP addresses from pools represented by Eip objects and supports BGP, Layer 2 and VIP modes. BGP mode uses GoBGP to publish service routes to peer routers and supports ECMP; it requires a router that supports BGP and ECMP. Layer 2 mode requires infrastructure that permits anonymous ARP/NDP packets, and it forwards traffic through one active node. That means failover can briefly interrupt services and bandwidth is limited to that node. VIP mode uses VRRP for high availability, with a limit of 255 VRRP instances per network; it also has brief failover interruptions and a one-node bandwidth limit. Installation is available through kubectl manifests or Helm 3, on Kubernetes 1.15 or later. OpenELB currently supports IPv4 only. The project lists guides for Kubernetes, K3s and KubeSphere, and points users to KubeSphere Slack for support and discussion. It is free, self-hosted and licensed under Apache License 2.0; the project is a vendor-neutral CNCF Sandbox Project.

Who it suits

OpenELB suits teams running Kubernetes in bare-metal, edge or virtualization environments that need external access to LoadBalancer services. Choose a mode based on available router capabilities and network prerequisites.

What it does well

Supports BGP, Layer 2 and VIP modes.
Provides IP pools for LoadBalancer services.
Can be installed with kubectl manifests or Helm 3.
Lists guides for Kubernetes, K3s and KubeSphere.
Licensed under Apache License 2.0.

What to know first

Currently supports IPv4 only.
Requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later.
BGP requires a router supporting BGP and ECMP.
Layer 2 and VIP have one-node bandwidth limits.

Limits

OpenELB supports IPv4 only. Layer 2 and VIP traffic is limited by one active node's bandwidth and can be briefly interrupted during failover; VIP mode also allows up to 255 VRRP instances per network.

Getting started

Open the OpenELB website.
Use a Kubernetes cluster running version 1.15 or later.
Install OpenELB with kubectl manifests or Helm 3.
Choose a load balancing mode and configure the required network capabilities.
Use Eip objects to provide address pools for Kubernetes LoadBalancer services.

Verdict

OpenELB offers several ways to expose Kubernetes services, but each mode has prerequisites and tradeoffs. Check the IPv4-only support and the selected mode's routing and failover limits against your environment.

Questions

How much does OpenELB cost?

OpenELB is free, with a free plan.

Which platforms does OpenELB support?

It is listed for Linux and self-hosted use. It requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later.

Which load balancing modes does it support?

It supports BGP and Layer 2 modes, and its documentation also describes VIP mode.

Is OpenELB open source?

Yes. It is licensed under Apache License 2.0.

What does BGP mode require?

It requires a router that supports BGP and ECMP.

Where can users find support?

The project directs users to the KubeSphere Slack channel for support and discussion.

Facts from OpenELB's own pages

Address family limit: The documentation says OpenELB currently supports only IPv4. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
BGP configuration: Users can configure BGP properties through BgpConf and BgpPeer custom resource definitions. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
BGP prerequisites: BGP mode requires a router that supports BGP and ECMP; the documentation recommends it for high availability without failover interruptions or bandwidth bottlenecks. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Installation: OpenELB can be installed in a Kubernetes cluster using kubectl manifests or Helm 3. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Integrations: The project lists installation guides for Kubernetes, K3s and KubeSphere. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026
IP address pools: Eip objects provide address pools from which OpenELB assigns IP addresses to Kubernetes LoadBalancer services. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
IP management: It provides IP address pool management for service load-balancer IPs. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Kubernetes requirement: Installation requires Kubernetes 1.15 or later because OpenELB requires CustomResourceDefinition v1. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Layer 2 constraints: Layer 2 mode requires the infrastructure to allow anonymous ARP/NDP packets, and its traffic forwarding uses one node at a time, which can cause brief interruptions during failover and a single-node bandwidth bottleneck. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Layer 2 limitations: Layer 2 mode forwards traffic through one active node, so failover briefly interrupts services and bandwidth is limited to that node. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Layer 2 prerequisites: Layer 2 mode requires the infrastructure to allow anonymous ARP/NDP packets. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
License: OpenELB is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Load-balancing modes: It supports BGP mode and Layer 2 mode. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Project origin: OpenELB is a KubeSphere sub-project; its repository says it was originally created by KubeSphere and is now vendor neutral and a CNCF Sandbox Project. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026
Project status: The repository says OpenELB was originally created by KubeSphere and is a vendor-neutral CNCF Sandbox Project. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026
Purpose: OpenELB exposes Kubernetes LoadBalancer services for external access in bare-metal, edge and virtualization environments. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026
Router requirements: BGP mode requires a router that supports BGP and ECMP; the documentation suggests Layer 2 or VIP mode when those are unavailable. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Routing: OpenELB supports ECMP routing and load balancing. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
Support: The project directs users to the KubeSphere Slack channel for support and discussion. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026
VIP constraints: VIP mode uses VRRP for high availability and is limited to 255 VRRP instances per network; failover can briefly interrupt services and traffic is limited by one node's bandwidth. · openelb.io, 4 Oct 2026

Where OpenELB stands on Freedom251

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