A transit engineer claims that installing a CNI plugin removes the need for Services and kube-proxy because CNI already load-balances ClusterIP traffic. What distinction should platform leads teach?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
CNI lays the roads between Pods; Services and kube-proxy (or eBPF replacements) are the traffic signs and VIP routing for stable service IPs. Installing Calico does not mean you delete Service objects. Two layers, two jobs.
Full Explanation
CNI plugins implement Pod-to-Pod connectivity and related network plumbing on nodes. Kubernetes Services abstract stable virtual IPs and rely on kube-proxy or an equivalent datapath to implement ClusterIP/NodePort rules. Conflating CNI with the Service proxy layer is a common misconception; both concerns remain distinct in typical clusters.