I try to understand the Kubernetes network and I am now wondering if a CNI is used per default when installing Minikube and when yes which one?
In other words, can I run Minikube without a CNI provider like Flannel or Calico?
By default Minikube runs on Docker default bridge-network, so the answer should be yes. You have to separately install other CNI providers, like Flannel.
For specific networking requirements, Minikube docs could be checked out.