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Is CNI ( e.g. Flannel, Calico) is still needed once I start using a service mesh ( e.g. Istio) at Kubernetes clusters?

J.J. Beam
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1 Answers1

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CNI is a mandatory requirement for having a working Kubernetes cluster but service mesh is not. CNI primarily works at L4 layer whereas service mesh works at L7 layer. Although there might be some bits of overlapping in functionality between a CNI plugin and service mesh they don't completely replace each other.

Arghya Sadhu
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  • and what is the default CNI plugin for kubernetes? I've seen many video tutorials but never seen they care about CNI at all. Or is it some native CNI inside kubernetes? – J.J. Beam Oct 31 '20 at 18:46
  • There is not a default plugin. Calico is the most popular. – TJ Zimmerman Nov 02 '20 at 17:04