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Kubernetes Ingress connects to an external service by using an Ingress Controller. An Ingress Controller is a Kubernetes resource that manages external access to services in a cluster. It reads the Ingress Resource information and configures a load balancer or reverse proxy, which then redirects traffic to the specified backend services.

The Ingress Controller can communicate with the external service through a number of protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, and UDP. In the case of HTTP and HTTPS, the Ingress Controller typically uses a web server like Nginx, Apache or Traefik to handle the requests and forward them to the appropriate backend service.

To connect to an external service, the Ingress Controller must have access to the appropriate network resources. This may involve configuring firewall rules, creating VPN connections or setting up tunneling protocols like GRE, IPsec, or VXLAN.

In summary, Kubernetes Ingress connects to an external service by using an Ingress Controller to manage external access and configure the appropriate networking components to route traffic to the specified backend services.