An AZ is a partition within a Region that hosts one or more data halls.
AZs are physically and operationally independent from each other to prevent failures from propagating across them.
For example, in the US-EAST-05 Region, Availability Zone a is named US-EAST-05a.See also: Geo, Region
A standardized exterior gateway protocol that exchanges routing information between different autonomous systems on the internet.
BGP is the protocol used to make core routing decisions on the internet.
The Control Plane is a collection of resources that manages the state of the cluster as a whole. Its job is to regulate the cluster, making sure it’s responsive, it efficiently manages containerized applications, and it’s stable.
A cordoned Node is one the scheduler doesn’t place new work on, while existing Pods keep running. CoreWeave cordons a Node when its health checks detect a problem, so that new workloads avoid unhealthy hardware while CoreWeave investigates or replaces it. You can also cordon a Node yourself for maintenance. When CoreWeave cordons a Node, it records a customer-visible reason in the node.coreweave.cloud/cordonReason annotation; a Node you cordon yourself with kubectl cordon carries no CoreWeave cordon reason.See also: Node condition, Node cordoning
CoreWeave Kubernetes Service (CKS) is a managed Kubernetes service that provides a secure, scalable, and reliable platform for deploying containerized applications. CKS is built on CoreWeave’s proprietary infrastructure and is designed to deliver high-performance computing resources to customers.
A Central Processing Unit (CPU) is the hardware within a computer that carries out the instructions of a computer program by performing basic arithmetic, logical, control, and input/output operations specified by the instructions.
CRDs are an extension of the Kubernetes API that lets you define custom resources and controllers.
CRDs enable you to extend the functionality of Kubernetes by defining new resources and controllers that are not part of the core Kubernetes API.A CRD is the blueprint for a type of .See also: Custom Resources
A programmable infrastructure-on-a-chip that combines an array of ARM-based CPU cores, acceleration engines, and a high-performance network interface.
DPUs function as a “computer-in-front-of-a-computer” and are fully isolated from the host’s CPU.
DPUs provide network, storage, and encryption functions on Direct Metal Nodes, enabling CoreWeave to deliver scalable, flexible, and secure cloud services.See What Is a DPU? at NVIDIA’s Blog.
EVPN simplifies Control Planes for various Virtual Private Network (VPN) services by extending Ethernet (Layer 2) services over a broader network, typically an IP/MPLS network.
EVPN supports multi-tenancy, allowing different customers’ networks to share the same physical infrastructure while keeping their traffic separate and secure.
EVPN is widely used in interconnect scenarios, and for integrating distributed regional and campus networks.
EVPN brings the advantages of traffic balancing and flexible deployment from IP VPNs into the Ethernet domain.
Ethernet VPN-Virtual Extensible LAN (EVPN-VXLAN) combines ’s Control Plane with ’s Data Plane.
Combined, these technologies create virtual Layer 2 networks that span Layer 3 boundaries in large-scale environments.
This integration allows seamless communication between devices, regardless of their physical location or the underlying network infrastructure, while maintaining efficient traffic handling and scalability.
A fabric is a distinct high-performance backend network, such as an InfiniBand or RoCE fabric, that connects Nodes for low-latency, high-throughput communication. CoreWeave labels each Node with the fabric it belongs to, so you can keep the Nodes of a single distributed job within one fabric. The fabric label is one of several topology labels CoreWeave exposes for placement.See also: Superpod, Leafgroup, InfiniBand and RoCE labels
A Geo covers multiple , facilitating global service distribution and disaster recovery.
At CoreWeave, the term Geo defines an entire continent, ensuring coverage and reliability for global operations.
For example, all Regions in the United States are in the US Geo.See also: Region, Availability Zone (AZ)
A Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is a parallel processor that is designed to accelerate vector and matrix operations. GPUs are commonly used in high-performance computing and machine learning applications.
GPUDirect RDMA is a technology that enables remote direct memory access () transfers between GPUs and other devices without involving the operating system or CPU.See also: Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA)
A hard disk drive (HDD) is a non-volatile data storage device. An HDD includes two main elements: a spinning circular magnetic platter and an actuator arm that moves across the platter to read and write data. HDDs are slower than drives, but are typically less expensive and have higher storage capacities.
A Helm-installed component is software you install into your own cluster, often from a CoreWeave-provided Helm chart, and that you own and operate. CoreWeave provides the chart and documents the safe configuration, but the running release is yours to manage. This is distinct from a managed component, which CoreWeave installs and reconciles. When deciding who fixes a broken component, a Helm-installed component is your responsibility, while a managed component is CoreWeave’s.See also: Managed component, What CoreWeave manages
An identity provider (IdP) is an entity that stores and serves user authentication information as an authentication service for users. IdPs can then be used to validate user identity to other services, such as cloud applications.
The i Preboot eXecution Environment is the leading open source network boot firmware.
It provides a full implementation enhanced with additional features and flexibility for network booting.
iPXE is commonly used in cloud environments with complex configurations and network installations to boot servers over the network.
From the official FAQ:
Q: What does the “i” in “iPXE” stand for?
A: It doesn’t.
Internode Memory Exchange (IMEX) is NVIDIA’s software for coordinating GPU memory import and export across OS instances in an NVLink multi-Node deployment. On CoreWeave Kubernetes Service (CKS), customer workloads access IMEX channels through Dynamic Resource Allocation. See IMEX overview.
IPv4 is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol (IP), and one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the internet and other packet-switched networks. IPv4 is the most widely used version of the Internet Protocol.
IPv6 is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the internet.
A configuration file containing details like cluster API server addresses, contexts, and user credentials used by kubectl and other Kubernetes tools to authenticate and manage access to Kubernetes clusters. Kubeconfig files let you switch between different clusters and manage multiple environments securely.
A leafgroup is a group of leaf switches in a backend network topology that serves a common set of Nodes. CoreWeave labels each Node with its leafgroup, so you can keep tightly coupled workloads within one leafgroup to reduce network hops. A leafgroup sits below a superpod in the topology hierarchy.See also: Fabric (backend network), Superpod, InfiniBand and RoCE labels
CoreWeave’s Local Object Transport Accelerator (LOTA) is a container that lives on every GPU and CPU Node inside a client’s cluster, performing intelligent acceleration. Conventional transfer accelerators speed up the data transfer rates of bucket contents over long distances.LOTA uses NVMe SSDs in each Node to create a cluster-wide cache, increasing throughput and reducing latency.
MACsec (Media Access Control Security) is an IEEE standard for securing Ethernet networks at the link layer. MACsec provides secure communication between network devices by encrypting and authenticating Ethernet frames. MACsec is commonly used to protect data in transit and prevent unauthorized access to network traffic. See also: IEEE 802.1AE
A managed component is software that CoreWeave installs into your cluster and keeps reconciled to its intended state. You shouldn’t modify a managed component directly, because CoreWeave automation reverts changes to it. If a managed component misbehaves, that is a CoreWeave responsibility and a valid reason to open a support ticket. This is distinct from a Helm-installed component, which you install and own.See also: Helm-installed component, What CoreWeave manages
A network interface controller (NIC) is a hardware component that connects a computer to a network.
NICs are commonly used to connect computers to Ethernet networks, wireless networks, and other types of networks.
A Node condition is a status signal that describes some aspect of a Node’s health or readiness. Kubernetes reports standard conditions, and CoreWeave surfaces a subset of customer-visible conditions that explain why a Node is healthy, cordoned, or being serviced. When a Node is cordoned, its condition and reason show you whether the cause is a hardware fault CoreWeave is handling or an action you can take. The Node conditions that CoreWeave sets are intended for CoreWeave’s internal use: don’t modify them or rely on them for your own automation or management. You can add your own custom Node conditions.See also: Cordon, Node cordoning
A Node label is a key-value pair attached to a Node that describes its hardware, location, or network topology. CoreWeave applies labels automatically, including topology labels for the backend network fabric, superpod, leafgroup, and rack, and labels that identify the instance type and capabilities. You use Node labels in node selectors and affinity rules to control where Pods are scheduled. CoreWeave-applied labels are the supported vocabulary for placement.See also: Fabric (backend network), Superpod, Leafgroup, InfiniBand and RoCE labels
A Node Pool is a logical grouping of Nodes in a CKS cluster with the same Instance Type, Labels, Taints, and Annotations.
Node Pools are useful for managing a group of Nodes as a single entity or assigning workloads to specific Nodes based on their configuration.
NVMe is a storage protocol that provides high-performance access to non-volatile memory devices. NVMe is designed to take advantage of the low latency and high throughput of modern storage devices, providing improved performance over traditional storage protocols.
OpenID Connect (OIDC) is an identity layer laid atop the OAuth 2.0 protocol, which allows users to authenticate themselves by way of verifying their identity through an identity provider (IdP), such as Okta. CoreWeave supports OIDC as an authentication method to CKS clusters.
The PXE specification describes a standardized client-server environment that boots a software assembly, retrieved from a network, on PXE-enabled clients.
On the client side it requires only a PXE-capable network interface controller (), and uses a small set of industry-standard network protocols such as and .
PXE is most often pronounced as “pixie”, and the process is often called “pixie boot”.See also: iPXE
An area within a Geo that contains multiple Availability Zones (AZs). Regions provide redundancy and failover capabilities by allowing workloads to be distributed across multiple AZs. Regions are strategically placed to offer low latency, high-performance connectivity, and meet data residency requirements. For example, in US-EAST-05, the Geo is US and the Region is EAST-05.See also: Geo, Availability Zone (AZ)
RDMA allows data to be transferred directly between the memory of two computers without involving the operating system or CPU.
RDMA provides low latency and high throughput data transfers, making it ideal for high-performance computing environments.See also: GPUDirect RDMA, RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE)
SR-IOV is a specification that allows a single physical device to appear as multiple separate physical devices.
SR-IOV allows a single physical device to be shared by multiple virtual machines, providing improved performance and reduced latency.Learn more at Wikipedia: Single-root input/output virtualization
A superpod is a high-level grouping within a backend fabric that contains multiple leafgroups. CoreWeave labels each Node with its superpod, so you can keep a large distributed job within a single superpod to limit the network distance between its Nodes.See also: Fabric (backend network), Leafgroup, InfiniBand and RoCE labels
A network switch that connects servers in an Availability Zone to the rest of the network.
TOR switches are typically located at the top of a rack of servers and provide network connectivity to the servers within the rack.
TFTP is a lightweight file transfer protocol that does not provide authentication or encryption.
TFTP is commonly used for network booting and firmware updates.
VXLAN addresses the limitations of traditional Virtual Local Area Networks () in large-scale environments.
VXLAN encapsulates Ethernet frames within User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets, enabling them to traverse across IP networks.
By extending Layer 2 networks over Layer 3 infrastructure, VXLAN allows for greater flexibility and scalability in large-scale, multi-tenant environments.
A VPC is a private network hosted within a public cloud infrastructure.
A VPC provides a secure environment where resources can be isolated from the public internet and other VPCs.
VPCs are commonly used to create virtual networks with specific IP address ranges, subnets, and security groups.
VRF allows multiple instances of a routing table to coexist within the same router at the same time.
Each VRF instance maintains its own routing table, which is separate from the global routing table.
