This blog will explain:
- What are the Windows Container Network Drivers?
- What are the Types of Windows Container Network Drivers?
What are the Windows Container Network Drivers?
Windows container network drivers are software features that permit containers to communicate with the physical network. Windows supports various network drivers. Each driver has unique features, depending on the host network topology and requirements.
What are the Types of Windows Container Network Drivers?
On Windows, there are different types of Windows container network drivers, such as:
NAT Network Driver
NAT network driver allows Windows containers to share the same IP address as the host, using NAT (network address translation) mechanism to map incoming traffic to the suitable container. When a container is built with the NAT driver, it is assigned a private IP address that is not visible to the external network. It converts the private IP address of the container to a public IP address that is visible to the external network. This permits traffic to be directed to the container.
Transparent Network Driver
A transparent network driver allows containers to use IP addresses from the exact subnet as the host. It connects containers directly to the physical network by utilizing a third-party Hyper-V switch. Containers attached to a transparent network can receive an IP address either statically or dynamically from an external DHCP server.
Overlay Network Driver
The overlay network driver enables the communication between containers running on various Docker hosts. It creates overlay networks that connect containers running on different hosts into the same virtual network. Containers connected to an overlay network receive an IP address from a private subnet and communicate with other containers on the same network regardless of their location.
L2bridge Network Driver
L2bridge network driver enables containers to communicate with other devices on a physical network using Layer 2 bridging. It connects containers to the physical network via a third-party Hyper-V switch, but it keeps the container’s MAC address. This enables containers to directly communicate with other devices on the same network.
L2tunnel Network Driver
L2tunnel network driver is like L2 Bridge, but it should only be utilized in Microsoft Cloud Stack (Azure). It uses encapsulation and tunneling to isolate container traffic from the host network and provide secure communication between containers. The virtualization host receives all packets, and SDN (Software-Defined Networking) policy is then implemented to impose network isolation and security.
Conclusion
Windows container network drivers are software elements that allow communication between containers and the host operating system network stack. They provide network connectivity for Windows containers and permit them to communicate with other containers. Windows supports various network drivers, such as NAT, L2bridge, transparent, L2tunnel, and overlay.
