What does CNI Mean?
CNI stands for Container Network Interface. The CNI specification offers a standardized interface between container runtimes and network plugins, with the goal of standardizing the configuration of container networks.
The CNI specification comprises several core components:
- Network configuration format: Defines how administrators define network configurations.
- Request protocol: Describes how container runtimes send network configuration or cleanup requests to network plugins.
- Plugin execution process: Details how plugins execute network setup or cleanup based on the provided configuration.
- Plugin delegation: Allows plugins to delegate specific functionalities to other plugins.
- Result return: Defines the data format for returning results to the runtime after plugin execution.
By defining these core components, the CNI specification ensures that different container runtimes and network plugins can interact in a consistent manner, enabling automation and standardization of network configuration.