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Project Overview

IML (Infrastructure Management Layer) is a local Network Function Virtualization (NFV) orchestrator for Kubernetes environments. It manages service-level connectivity between applications by deploying and chaining packet-processing Network Functions (NFs).

What IML does

IML provides a control plane to:

  • Register Applications as traffic endpoints.
  • Register and deploy Network Functions (middleboxes) such as packet processors.
  • Define Service Chains that describe packet flow from one application to another through one or more NFs.
  • Configure the data path so traffic follows the requested chain.

Core concepts

Applications

Applications are source and destination workloads in the cluster. In IML, service chaining starts and ends at application resources.

Network Functions

Network Functions inspect, transform, or route packets in-line. They are Kubernetes-backed workloads orchestrated by IML.

Service Chains

A service chain defines a directional traffic path (from -> to) and the ordered list of NFs to execute for that direction.

Main project components

The repository includes multiple runtime components that work together:

  • operator/: Kubernetes Operator and CRDs for IML custom resources.
  • cni/: CNI plugin integration used to attach workloads to IML-managed networking.
  • go-daemon/: Main daemon services and internal control logic.
  • iml-oakestra-agent/: Integration agent for Oakestra-based workflows.
  • docs/: Project documentation (guides, architecture, and API reference).

Supported workflows

IML supports two common operation modes:

  • Standalone mode: users define IML resources directly in Kubernetes.
  • SMO-integrated mode: a higher-level orchestrator (for example, Oakestra) automates application + service definition and delegates deployment to IML.

Typical deployment flow

  1. Install IML on a Kubernetes cluster.
  2. Create Application resources.
  3. Create NetworkFunction resources.
  4. Create ServiceChain resources that bind applications through NFs.
  5. Deploy workloads with IML CNI metadata.
  6. Validate packet flow and NF behavior.

For a hands-on walkthrough, continue with Getting Started.