Docker & Kubernetes for Developers · Lesson

Service Discovery & DNS in K8s

Explore how Kubernetes handles service discovery and DNS resolution for inter-service communication.

Service Discovery & DNS in K8s is a free Docker & Kubernetes for Developers lesson on CoddyKit — lesson 3 of 4. You can read the complete lesson below for free — then practise it hands-on in the browser with a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor. It is part of the Docker & Kubernetes for Developers learning path, one of 4 lessons in the course, and your progress syncs across the web and the CoddyKit app.

Intro to Service Discovery

Welcome to Service Discovery & DNS in K8s! In a dynamic Kubernetes cluster, Pods are constantly created, destroyed, and moved, leading to ever-changing IP addresses.

How do applications running in one Pod find and communicate with applications in another Pod or Service?

This is where Service Discovery comes in. It's how services find each other without needing to know their specific, ephemeral IP addresses.

The Role of DNS in K8s

You might already know about DNS (Domain Name System) on the internet. It translates human-readable names like google.com into IP addresses.

Kubernetes uses a similar concept internally. Instead of relying on unstable Pod IPs, K8s assigns stable DNS names to its Services.

This allows your applications to connect to other services using simple, consistent names.

CoreDNS: The K8s DNS Server

Every Kubernetes cluster comes with its own DNS server, typically CoreDNS (or sometimes kube-dns in older versions).

CoreDNS runs as a Pod within your cluster and is responsible for resolving all internal Kubernetes service names to their corresponding cluster IP addresses.

It's automatically configured for you when you set up your cluster.

How Pods Get DNS Config

When a Pod starts, Kubernetes automatically injects DNS configuration into it.

Each Pod's /etc/resolv.conf file is updated to point to the cluster's CoreDNS Service IP.
It also includes search paths, allowing you to use shorter service names.

This means any application inside a Pod can immediately use the cluster's DNS for name resolution.

Service DNS Names

When you create a Kubernetes Service (e.g., a ClusterIP Service), CoreDNS automatically creates a DNS record for it.

The most common format for a Service's DNS name within its own namespace is simply: <service-name>.

For example, a service named my-web-app in the default namespace can be reached by other Pods in the same namespace using just my-web-app.

Example: Same-Namespace Access

Let's say you have a deployment hello-app and a service hello-service in the default namespace. Any other Pod in default can reach it via hello-service.

Here's a simple example of a Deployment and Service:

apiVersion: apps/v1
kind: Deployment
metadata:
  name: hello-app
spec:
  selector:
    matchLabels:
      app: hello
  replicas: 1
  template:
    metadata:
      labels:
        app: hello
    spec:
      containers:
      - name: hello-container
        image: busybox
        command: ["sh", "-c", "while true; do echo Hello K8s; sleep 5; done"]

---

apiVersion: v1
kind: Service
metadata:
  name: hello-service
spec:
  selector:
    app: hello
  ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 80
      targetPort: 80
  type: ClusterIP

Testing Same-Namespace DNS

After applying the YAML from the previous scene, you can test service discovery. First, create a temporary Pod (e.g., debug-pod) in the same namespace.

Then, exec into debug-pod and try to ping the service:

kubectl run debug-pod --image=busybox --restart=Never --rm -it --command -- sh
Inside the pod: ping hello-service

You should see the hello-service ClusterIP being resolved!

Cross-Namespace DNS (FQDN)

What if your services are in different namespaces? Kubernetes uses a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) format:

<service-name>.<namespace-name>.svc.cluster.local

For convenience, if the Pod's namespace is in its DNS search path (which it usually is), you can often use a shorter form:

<service-name>.<namespace-name>

This allows clear and unambiguous communication across different parts of your application.

Example: Cross-Namespace Access

Let's imagine a backend-service in the prod namespace. From a Pod in the default namespace, you'd access it like this:

ping backend-service.prod

Kubernetes DNS handles the resolution, directing traffic to the correct service, even across namespaces.

This provides strong isolation while still enabling communication where needed.

Quick Check

Which of the following statements are TRUE regarding Kubernetes Service Discovery and DNS?

Recap: Service Discovery & DNS

Great job! In this lesson, you learned how Kubernetes handles service discovery and DNS resolution for internal communication:

Pods have ephemeral IPs, requiring a stable discovery mechanism.
CoreDNS is the cluster's internal DNS server.
Services get stable DNS names, resolvable by other Pods.
Pods are automatically configured to use the cluster's DNS.
You can access services in the same namespace by name or in other namespaces using FQDNs.

This powerful system ensures your applications can always find each other reliably!

Frequently asked questions

Is the “Service Discovery & DNS in K8s” lesson free?

Yes — the full text of “Service Discovery & DNS in K8s” is free to read here on the web, and the Docker & Kubernetes for Developers course includes 4 lessons in total. To practise it interactively (a built-in code editor and a 24/7 AI tutor) and unlock the rest of the Docker & Kubernetes for Developers course, upgrade to CoddyKit PRO.

What will I learn in “Service Discovery & DNS in K8s”?

Explore how Kubernetes handles service discovery and DNS resolution for inter-service communication. You practise Docker & Kubernetes for Developers with hands-on code you run directly in the browser, and a 24/7 AI tutor answers your questions as you work through the lesson.

Do I need any experience to start Docker & Kubernetes for Developers?

No prior experience is required. Docker & Kubernetes for Developers on CoddyKit is structured for beginners through advanced learners; this is — lesson 3 of 4, so you can start here or from the beginning and move at your own pace.

How long does the “Service Discovery & DNS in K8s” lesson take?

Most CoddyKit lessons take about 5–10 minutes. Each one is bite-sized and interactive, so you make steady progress and pick up exactly where you left off across the web and the app.

Can I write and run code in this Docker & Kubernetes for Developers lesson?

Yes. Every Docker & Kubernetes for Developers lesson includes a built-in code editor, so you write and run real code right in your browser and get instant AI feedback — no local setup required.

All lessons in this course

Kubernetes Ingress & Routing
Implementing Network Policies
Service Discovery & DNS in K8s
TLS Termination and Securing Ingress with HTTPS

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