Component Comparison
Both the OVS and Calico components support the ARM64 architecture, but they are different in terms of network model implementation. Table 1 describes the differences of the two components. You can select a network component based on the following table.
Component |
Open vSwitch |
Calico |
|---|---|---|
Basic Network Model |
L2 (Underlay/Overlay) |
L3 BGP (Overlay) |
Network Configuration Support |
GRE/VxLAN/VLAN |
BGP/IPIP/VxLAN |
Ecosystem Maturity |
Highly mature. Additional plug-ins, such as k-vswitch and kube-ovn, are required for integration with Kubernetes. |
Mature. Works well with container orchestration engines such as Kubernetes. |
Usability |
Medium |
Simplicity |
VLAN Support |
Supported by the native system. |
Supported and implemented based on L3 routing. |
Network Performance |
Excellent There is a small amount of performance loss in GRE, VxLAN encapsulation and decapsulation, and flow table matching. |
Excellent There is a small amount of performance loss in IPIP encapsulation and decapsulation. |
Compute Resource |
High resource usage when the network pressure is high. |
Low. L3 routing direct connection, kernel routing table, and IP table are used. The computing resource overhead is low. |
Accessing the Cluster from Outside |
Direct connection based on L2 routing Cross-VLAN communication requires routing support. |
Direct connection based on L3 routing |
Accessing Systems Out of the Cluster |
Direct connection based on L2 routing Cross-VLAN communication requires routing support. |
Direct connection based on L3 routing |
Number of Nodes in a Cluster |
Unlimited |
Unlimited |
Single-Cluster IP Address Space |
Unlimited |
Unlimited. The default value is 65535. |
Single-Node IP Address Space |
Unlimited (single-node multi-VLAN) |
Unlimited |
Assigned Pod IP Address |
Supported |
Supported |
Fixed Pod IP Address |
Supported |
Not supported. Customization is required. |
Support for Multiple Network Planes |
No supported version is available in the community. |
Supported by the open-source community. |
Network Isolation |
Two-level isolation based on VLANs and network policies. |
iptables software isolation. |
Advanced Function Ecosystem Support |
Strong (SDN integration, rate limiting, and other features) |
Medium |
Requirements |
None |
If more than 100 nodes are deployed, you are advised to change the Full Mesh network mode to Route-Reflector (RR) and configure one or two RR nodes for every 100 nodes. |