Can you explain what CNI means in the context of Kubernetes?

CNI (Container Network Interface) is a standard and a set of plugins for configuring network interactions of containers in Kubernetes and other containerization systems.

The main task of CNI is to enable containers to communicate with each other and with the outside world by assigning IP addresses and configuring routing.

When Kubernetes launches a pod, it calls the CNI plugin, which creates a network interface for the container and connects it to the network. Different plugins can implement various network models: from simple bridge connections to complex overlay networks with security policies.

Thus, CNI provides flexibility and extensibility to the Kubernetes network subsystem.