CNI Container Network Interface

CNCF spec for container networking plugin interface.

Definition

CNI spec v1.0.0 (2021) defines operations ADD (attach interface to container), DEL (detach), CHECK (verify config), GC (garbage collect), VERSION. JSON configuration in /etc/cni/net.d/. Plugin binaries in /opt/cni/bin/. Composable: chain of plugins. De facto Kubernetes standard via kubelet --network-plugin=cni.

Origin

CoreOS 2015 then donation to CNCF 2016, CNCF Graduated 2021, version 1.0.0 May 2021.

Usage

Mandatory standard for Kubernetes networking. 50+ CNI plugins listed.

Related terms

• Kubernetes — consommateur principal.
• CNCF — fondation parent.
• Cilium — plugin populaire eBPF.