Chapter Summary

The Container Network Model (CNM) is the design document for Docker networks and defines the three major constructs — sandboxes, endpoints, and networks.

Libnetwork is the reference implementation of the CMN and is an open-source project maintained by the Moby project. Docker uses it to implement its core networking, including control plane services such as service discovery.

Drivers extend the capabilities of libnetwork by implementing specific network topologies, such as bridge and overlay networks. Docker ships with built-in drivers, but you can also use third-party drivers.

Single-host bridge networks are the most basic type of Docker network but are only suitable for local development and very small applications. They do not scale, and you need to map containers to host ports if you want to publish services outside of the network.