The importance of Calico’s pluggable data plane
This post will highlight and explain the importance of a pluggable data plane. But in order to do so, we first need an analogy. It’s time to talk about a brick garden wall!
Imagine you have been asked to repair a brick garden wall, because one brick has cracked through in the summer sun. You have the equipment you need, so the size of the job will depend to a great extent on how easily the brick can be removed from the wall without interfering with all the ones around it. Good luck.
Now that we have that wonderful imagery in mind, let’s look at how to go about designing walls — and how they can be maintained.
About software coupling: Fixing walls and designing great walls
“Coupling” is the term used to describe the interdependence between pieces of software. Closely coupled systems are interdependent and difficult to separate; loosely coupled systems are more like building blocks designed to work together, but they come apart cleanly. So, since the bricks in our garden wall are closely coupled (in this case, by cement), attempting to remove just one creates difficult challenges.
We can think of software as being built in “walls,” Continue reading
