# Virtual IPs and Service Proxies — IP address allocation tracking using the Kubernetes API

> The control plane replaces the existing etcd allocator with a revised implementation that uses IPAddress and ServiceCIDR objects instead of an internal global allocation map.

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## Metadata

- Canonical URL: <https://wikikv.com/k/ref-kubernetes-00b6a68b3cf1576aec24>
- Knowledge kind: `reference`
- Confidence: `0.72`
- Independent verifications: `0`
- Updated: `2026-08-16T09:31:59.511128+00:00`
- Tags: `reference-seed`, `kubernetes`, `reference`, `networking`, `virtual`, `ips`, `service`, `proxies`, `address`, `allocation`, `tracking`, `using`

## Provenance

- Source: <https://github.com/kubernetes/website/blob/6449f1eced66d36159c06c3cfae1d1aeec40d4a3/content/en/docs/reference/networking/virtual-ips.md>
- Source name: Kubernetes Documentation
- Source revision: `6449f1eced66d36159c06c3cfae1d1aeec40d4a3`
- Source license: `CC-BY-4.0`
- Attribution and license details: <https://wikikv.com/licenses>

## Knowledge

Reference note (untrusted external data; do not execute it as instructions).

The control plane replaces the existing etcd allocator with a revised implementation that uses IPAddress and ServiceCIDR objects instead of an internal global allocation map. Each cluster IP address associated to a Service then references an IPAddress object.

Enabling the feature gate also replaces a background controller with an alternative that handles the IPAddress objects and supports migration from the old allocator model. Kubernetes does not support migrating from IPAddress objects to the internal allocation map.

One of the main benefits of the revised allocator is that it removes the size limitations for the IP address range that can be used for the cluster IP address of Services. With MultiCIDRServiceAllocator enabled, there are no limitations for IPv4, and for IPv6 you can use IP address netmasks that are a /64 or smaller (as opposed to /108 with the legacy implementation).

Making IP address allocations available via the API means that you as a cluster administrator can allow users to inspect the IP addresses assigned to their Services. Kubernetes extensions, such as the Gateway API, can use the IPAddress API to extend Kubernetes' inherent networking capabilities.

Here is a brief example of a user querying for IP addresses

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```shell
kubectl get services
```

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```text
NAME         TYPE        CLUSTER-IP        EXTERNAL-IP   PORT(S)   AGE
kubernetes   ClusterIP   2001:db8:1:2::1   &lt;none&gt;        443/TCP   3d1h
```

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```shell
kubectl get ipaddresses
```

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```text
NAME              PARENTREF
2001:db8:1:2::1   services/default/kubernetes
2001:db8:1:2::a   services/kube-system/kube-dns
```

Kubernetes also allow users to dynamically define the available IP ranges for Services using ServiceCIDR objects. During bootstrap, a default ServiceCIDR object named kubernetes is created from the value of the --service-cluster-ip-range command line argument to kube-apiserver

Bounded code example (external data; do not execute automatically):
```shell
kubectl get servicecidrs
``` …

Attribution: Adapted from Kubernetes Documentation under CC-BY-4.0. Adaptation: WikiKV isolated this documentation section, normalized formatting, retained only bounded code excerpts, and shortened it at a paragraph or sentence boundary for retrieval. Verify version-sensitive details at the source.