Best Container Networking Software for Linux of 2025

Codefresh was founded in 2014. It combines CI/CD and Image Management to create a complete container delivery platform that connects developers and operations. Codefresh allows startups and enterprises to instantly benefit from microservices, container-based technologies. The company is based out of Silicon Valley, Israel.

A pay-as-you-go security and observability software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution designed for containers, Kubernetes, and cloud environments provides users with a real-time overview of service dependencies and interactions across multi-cluster, hybrid, and multi-cloud setups. This platform streamlines the onboarding process and allows for quick resolution of Kubernetes security and observability challenges within mere minutes. Calico Cloud represents a state-of-the-art SaaS offering that empowers organizations of various sizes to secure their cloud workloads and containers, identify potential threats, maintain ongoing compliance, and address service issues in real-time across diverse deployments. Built upon Calico Open Source, which is recognized as the leading container networking and security framework, Calico Cloud allows teams to leverage a managed service model instead of managing a complex platform, enhancing their capacity for rapid analysis and informed decision-making. Moreover, this innovative platform is tailored to adapt to evolving security needs, ensuring that users are always equipped with the latest tools and insights to safeguard their cloud infrastructure effectively.

Calico is a versatile open-source solution designed for networking and securing containers, virtual machines, and workloads on native hosts. It is compatible with a wide array of platforms such as Kubernetes, OpenShift, Mirantis Kubernetes Engine (MKE), OpenStack, and even bare metal environments. Users can choose between leveraging Calico's eBPF data plane or utilizing the traditional networking pipeline of Linux, ensuring exceptional performance and true scalability tailored for cloud-native applications. Both developers and cluster administrators benefit from a uniform experience and a consistent set of features, whether operating in public clouds or on-premises, on a single node, or across extensive multi-node clusters. Additionally, Calico offers flexibility in data planes, featuring options like a pure Linux eBPF data plane, a conventional Linux networking data plane, and a Windows HNS data plane. No matter if you are inclined toward the innovative capabilities of eBPF or the traditional networking fundamentals familiar to seasoned system administrators, Calico accommodates all preferences and needs effectively. Ultimately, this adaptability makes Calico a compelling choice for organizations seeking robust networking solutions.

Open vSwitch is a high-quality, multilayer virtual switch that operates under the open-source Apache 2.0 license. It is specifically engineered to facilitate extensive network automation through programming extensions, while still accommodating standard management interfaces and protocols such as NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, RSPAN, CLI, LACP, and 802.1ag. Additionally, it is built to allow distribution across various physical servers, akin to VMware's vNetwork distributed vSwitch or Cisco's Nexus 1000V. Open vSwitch is implemented in numerous products and is utilized in many substantial production environments, some of which are extraordinarily large. Each stable version undergoes rigorous testing, including a regression suite that consists of hundreds of system-level tests and thousands of unit tests. Furthermore, alongside OVS, the Open vSwitch community actively develops the OVN project, which enhances OVS by providing native support for virtual network abstractions, such as virtual L2 and L3 overlays and security groups. This commitment to continuous improvement ensures that Open vSwitch remains a robust solution for network virtualization in diverse settings.

NGINX Open Source is the web server that supports over 400 million websites globally. Built upon this foundation, NGINX Plus serves as a comprehensive software load balancer, web server, and content caching solution. By opting for NGINX Plus instead of traditional hardware load balancers, organizations can unlock innovative possibilities without being limited by their infrastructure, achieving cost savings of over 80% while maintaining high performance and functionality. It can be deployed in a variety of environments, including public and private clouds, bare metal, virtual machines, and container setups. Additionally, the integrated NGINX Plus API simplifies the execution of routine tasks, enhancing operational efficiency. For today's NetOps and DevOps teams, there is a pressing need for a self-service, API-driven platform that seamlessly integrates with CI/CD workflows, facilitating faster app deployments regardless of whether the application utilizes a hybrid or microservices architecture, which ultimately streamlines the management of the application lifecycle. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, NGINX Plus stands out as a vital tool for maximizing agility and optimizing resource utilization.