Performance Evaluation of Kubernetes Networking Approaches across Constraint Edge Environments

Kubernetes (K8s) serves as a mature orchestration system for the seamless deployment and management of
containerized applications spanning across cloud and edge environments. Since high-performance connectivity and minimal
resource utilization become critical factors as we approach the edge, evaluating the performance of K8s networking in this
context is essential. This paper contributes to this effort, by conducting a qualitative and quantitative performance evaluation
of diverse Container Network Interface (CNI) plugins within different K8s environments, incorporating lightweight implemen-
tations designed for the Edge. Our experimental assessment was conducted in two distinct (intra- and inter-host) scenarios,
revealing interesting insights for both researchers and practitioners. For example, the deployment of plugins across lightweight
distributions does not necessarily lead to resource utilization improvements, e.g., in terms of CPU/memory or throughput.