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Flannel

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description Flannel Overview

Flannel is a Kubernetes networking project that provides a virtual network interface to pods, enabling direct pod-to-pod communication regardless of node placement and simplifying multi-cluster deployments.

help Flannel FAQ

How does Flannel connect pods on different Kubernetes nodes?

Flannel provides a pod network through the Kubernetes Container Network Interface, allowing pods on separate nodes to reach one another. Its common VXLAN backend carries pod traffic across the existing node network.

What is the difference between Flannel VXLAN and host-gw?

VXLAN creates an overlay network, while host-gw installs routes between node networks and avoids that encapsulation. Host-gw can be efficient, but it requires the nodes to have suitable Layer 3 connectivity.

Does Flannel enforce Kubernetes NetworkPolicy?

Flannel is primarily a networking solution and does not provide the full NetworkPolicy enforcement associated with Calico. A common design is to use Flannel for networking and Calico for policy enforcement.

Is Flannel a service mesh or a Kubernetes CNI plugin?

Flannel is a Kubernetes CNI networking project, not a service mesh. It provides pod connectivity at the network layer rather than features such as service-to-service retries, traffic shaping, or mutual TLS.

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