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VXLAN

VXLAN

In this VXLAN Training Course content you will learn about how to configure, deploy and implement VXLAN in Datacenter Fabric in multi-tire environment. The VXLAN Technology is supported on multivendor products like Cisco, Juniper, VMWARE, however the implementation and configuration along with design of VXLAN can vary from products to products.

This VXLAN Training Course enables you to learn VXLAN in deep details like VXLAN perquisite, VXLAN Bridging, VXLAN Routing, VXLAN over Multicast and also how to configure VXLAN on MPBGP-EVPN scenario. For each Section you will learn the Traffic flow, Control plane build, and then How Data Plane flows. VXALN is Overlay technology and knowledge on Underlay protocol like EIGRP, OSPF is must. Here we have implemented VXLAN via Multicast and MPBGP-EVPN on Nexus 9000 Series switches platform.

This VXLAN training provide best Cisco 300-601 Designing Cisco Data center Infrastructure DCID Training material to prepare but also provide Cisco 300-601 Designing Cisco Data center Infrastructure DCID labs for preperation of these VXLAN topics coimng in Cisco 300-601 Exam. 

Course Pedagogy:

The Course Pedagogy will help you to learn the following concepts on configuring VXLAN on different Cisco Switches Hardware Platform. coming in Cisco 300-601 Designing Cisco Data center Infrastructure DCID Exam. 

  • VXLAN Introduction in details
  • VXLAN Packet Forwarding in Multicast Environment
  • How to configure VXLAN over redundant VPC domain on Nexus 9K
  • Introduction to VXLAN MPBGP-EVPN
  • What is VXLAN BGP-EVPN Multitenancy and how it is configured.
  • Components of MPBGP-EVPN VXLAN
  • Traffic Flow on VXLAN over MPBGP-EVPN (Unicast Bridging)
  • Non-IP traffic forwarding over VXLAN
  • MPBGP-EVPN VXLAN Traffic Flow on Intersubnet
  • VXLAN Bridging LAB over Multicast environment
  • VXLAN MPBGP-EVPN LAB

VXLAN Introduction:

VXLAN stands for Virtual eXtensible local Area Network because it extends the L2 Boundary beyond 4K over L3 medium.VXLAN is MAC over IP/UDP overlay scheme which increases Layer2 network from 4K to 16 Million.VXLAN allow Layer2 traffic to be extended over or across datacenters via using same L3 network.

Advantage of VXLAN:

Following are the major motivation factors that led to the invention of VXLAN.

  • STP Issue: Layer 2 Network are well known supported by STP to avoid loop in Layer2 domain, due to STP, sometime it’s very difficult to troubleshoot and STP also took long time to converge. Also it blocks large number of redundant connection making links unusable for forwarding data traffic. Due to this there are large number of resource wastage and ECMP idea is least implemented. But with Layer 3 Network, utilization of redundant path can be done by ECMP and issue of STP can be minimized.
  • Multitenancy: In cloud Environment or Multitenancy environment, 4000 VLAN is not enough to support, due to which it was to increase the number of VLAN, VXALN increase this from 4K to 16 Million.
  • IP core Network: While implementing VXLAN, there is no requirement for new Layrer3 network, So VXALN uses same IP connectivity (Point to point, MPLS, VPN) across DC for traffic to send.
  • TOR MAC table scalability: With virtualization, the number of MAC addresses per port can be quite large (say, 50 to a 100 VMs per server). This coupled with the learning of addresses for remote in-conversation hosts puts a huge burden on the ToR Layer 2 hardware tables. The numbers become worse with Fabric Extender (FEX) and blade chassis deployments. After the ToR tables become full, more and more Layer 2 traffic will be treated as unknown unicast, resulting in a large amount of floods in the network.

VXLAN Terminology:

  • Virtual network Identifier: This is referred as VNI also called as VXLAN Segment ID , system uses this VNI along with mapped VLAN ID to identify layer 2 segment in VXLAN overlay network
  • VXLAN Segment: It is the layer 2 overlay network over which endpoints communicates through direct layer2 adjacency.
  • VTEP: VTEP is VXLAN Tunnel End points. All VXLAN overlay tunnels are originated and terminated over these VTEPs. The VTEPs are responsible for encapsulation and decapsulation of VXLAN packet.

It has a unique IP address that identifies the VTEP device on the transport IP network known as the infrastructure VLAN. The Ethernet frames are encapsulated by using this IP address by VTEP device and is transmitted to Transport network through th IP Interface. Remote VTEPs are also discovered by this VTEP device for its VXLAN segments and also learns MAC address to VTEP mapping by this IP interface only.

There are two types of VTEPS:

  • Virtual VTEPS: It is the software based VTEPS, like VXLAN capable Hypervisor switch with in hypervisor host.
  • Physical VTEPS: Hardware based switch such as cisco 9300, 9500 switch performs well for VTEP function.
  • VXLAN Gateway: A VXLAN gateway connects to VXLAN and traditional VLAN segment. A physical VTEP device can provide this functionality. The below figure shows that a hypervisor VTEP initiates VXLAN tunnels on one side and a physical VTEP device on the other side provides VXLAN gateway service to terminate the VXLAN tunnel and map the VXLAN VNI to a traditional VLAN.

  • VXLAN Bridging: This function is provided by VTEP device to extend the VLAN or VXLAN VNI over layer 3 Infrastructure. Below Figure shows VLAN-to-VLAN and VXLAN-to-VXLAN bridging.

  • VXLAN Routing: It is called as Inter-VXLAN routing, it provides IP routing between two VXLAN VNI in the overlay network in a way similar to inter-vlan routing. Figure shows the logical concept of VXLAN routing.



Hardware and Software Support

The solutions described in this section use Cisco Nexus 9300 platform switches as physical VXLAN VTEPs. They require the following hardware and software:

  • Cisco Nexus 9300 platform switches should or must be used as the VTEP devices in any VXLAN topology.
  • Cisco NX-OS Release 6.1(2) I2 (2b) or later on the Cisco Nexus 9300 VTEP switches is recommended. Although from Cisco NX-OS Release 6.1(29) I2 (1) the Cisco Nexus 9300 platform has started supporting VXLAN functions but later many enhancements were added in Release 6.1(2)I2(2b).
  • The VXLAN function doesn’t require an additional license. However, the underlay network which is required to support VXLAN function requires the appropriate licenses for Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) routing and IP multicast functions.
  • Cisco Nexus 9500 platform switches which provides  10 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet port density and performance are used as as the spine.

VXLAN Header Format:

VXLAN provides a MAC-in-UDP encapsulation scheme where the original Layer 2 frame has a VXLAN header added before it and is further placed in a UDP-IP packet. By this MAC-in-UDP encapsulation, VXLAN tunnels Layer 2 network over Layer 3 network.

  • VXLAN Header: It is 24-bit VNID field in the VXLAN header identifies or defines the VXLAN segments. It also provides a expanded address spaces for Layer 2 networks.
  • UDP header: The destination port mentioned in the UDP header indicates that the packet is a VXLAN encapsulated packet which is port 4789. The source UDP port is calculated by a hashing result based on the original Layer 2 frame head, so the source port number will always vary and depends upon on a per-flow basis. By this approach it allows a better per-flow load sharing of VXLAN traffic across the underlay network.
  • Outer IP header: The source IP address in the outer IP header is the local VTEP address from where VXLAN traffic is sourced. The destination IP address is the remote VTEP address for known unicast traffic and for broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast traffic , the associated multicast group address is used.The VXLAN encapsulated packets will be than routed through the underlay transport network based on the outer header IP addresses.
  • Outer MAC address or Layer 2 header: This header has MAC address and is used to forward the encapsulated packets to the immediate next-hop device.

Maximum Transmission Unit Adjustment in the Underlay Network

VXLAN adds a 50-byte overhead in total, including:

  • 8-byte VXLAN header
  • 8-byte UDP header
  • 20-byte outer IP header
  • 14-byte outer MAC header

To avoid exceeding the maximum transmission unit (MTU) size while sending VXLAN encapsulated packets through the underlay network, you should increase the MTU size in the underlay network by 50 bytes, or enable jumbo frames.

Note: ( Refer before Purchase )

  • We don't offer Any Hands-On labs for practice in this VXLAN Training course.
  • Lab discussed here contains different Scenarios, task & Its recorded Solutions. 
  • Content of each page is 30-40% visible for Customer verification about content.
  • Before any purchase , verify content then proceed,VLT is in progress,No refund Policy. 
  • For More Detail : Mail dclessons@dclessons.com , FAQ & TC page.

GENERAL FAQ

VXLAN, or Virtual eXtensible Local-Area Network, is a network virtualization technology that extends Layer 2 networks over Layer 3 infrastructure. It achieves this by encapsulating Layer 2 Ethernet frames within UDP packets, allowing them to be routed across the network like standard IP packets. This effectively creates virtualized Layer 2 networks (VXLANs) that can span multiple physical Layer 3 subnets. 

VXLAN offers significant advantages over traditional VLANs, particularly in large, virtualized, and cloud environments. These advantages include increased scalability, enhanced flexibility, and improved network utilization. 

1. Scalability:
  • VLANs: Limited to 4,094 segments due to their 12-bit VLAN ID.
  • VXLAN: Supports up to 16 million segments with a 24-bit VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI). This allows for much larger and more complex networks. 
     
2. Flexibility:
  • VLANs:
    Are typically constrained to a single Layer 3 domain and require additional mechanisms to extend them across multiple domains. 
     
  • VXLAN:
    Can span multiple Layer 3 domains, allowing for more flexible network designs and easier resource migration. It also eliminates the need for spanning tree protocols, providing more efficient network utilization. 
     
3. Network Utilization:
  • VLANs:
    Can be limited by spanning tree protocols, which can prevent optimal use of all available paths in the network.
  • VXLAN:
    Overcomes spanning tree limitations, enabling the use of all available paths and potentially reducing latency and improving bandwidth utilization. 
     
4. Other Key Advantages:

 

  • Multi-tenancy:
    VXLAN enables the creation of isolated networks for different tenants within a shared infrastructure. 
     
  • Simplified Management:
    VXLAN can be easily managed and configured with a centralized controller. 
     
  • Enhanced Security:
    VXLAN's segmentation capabilities enhance security by isolating different groups of resources within separate virtual networks. 
     
  • Dynamic VM Migration:
    VXLAN facilitates easier migration of virtual machines without changing their network settings. 
     
  • Elimination of MAC Address Table Overload:
    VXLAN reduces the need for physical switches to maintain large MAC address tables, mitigating potential issues. 
In VXLAN, a VXLAN Tunnel Endpoint (VTEP) is a network device, either physical or virtual, that encapsulates and decapsulates VXLAN packets. Essentially, a VTEP creates a tunnel for VXLAN traffic, enabling communication between different segments or networks. 
 
Here's a more detailed breakdown:
  • Encapsulation and Decapsulation:
    VTEPs add VXLAN headers to Ethernet frames before transmitting them across the underlay network and remove those headers when receiving the frames, thus exposing the original Ethernet frame to the local network. 
     
  • Tunnel Creation:
    VTEPs form a tunnel between themselves, enabling the transfer of VXLAN traffic between different networks or segments. 
     
  • VxLAN Network Identifiers (VNIs):
    VTEPs manage the VNIs, which are used to identify individual VXLAN segments. 
     
  • Inter-VTEP Communication:
    VTEPs use IP addresses, typically a loopback interface, to communicate with each other, allowing them to find and establish VXLAN tunnels. 
     
  • Underlay Network:
    The underlying IP network is unaware of VXLAN and simply routes the IP packets encapsulated by the VTEP. 
     
  • Layer 2 Extension:
    VTEPs enable the extension of Layer 2 networks across a Layer 3 network by allowing virtual machines (VMs) to communicate across different physical servers. 
VXLAN (Virtual eXtensible LAN) and MP-BGP EVPN (Multi-Protocol BGP Ethernet VPN) work together to provide efficient traffic forwarding in a virtualized network by leveraging VXLAN's overlay network with BGP as the control plane for Layer 2 and Layer 3 information dissemination. 
 
Here's how they integrate:
  • VXLAN for Overlay:
    VXLAN provides the encapsulation mechanism for extending Layer 2 networks over a Layer 3 infrastructure. It creates a virtualized network where multiple VNIs (Virtual Network Identifiers) can be isolated. 
     
  • MP-BGP EVPN for Control Plane:
    MP-BGP EVPN acts as the control plane, responsible for advertising MAC and IP addresses between VTEPs (VXLAN Tunnel End Points). This ensures that each VTEP knows how to reach any end host within the VXLAN network. 
     
  • Efficient Forwarding:
    By using BGP to advertise MAC and IP addresses, EVPN eliminates the need for network flooding, which can lead to inefficiencies. This results in a more scalable, secure, and efficient network design. 
     
  • Layer 2 and Layer 3 Forwarding:
    EVPN supports Integrated Routing and Bridging (IRB), allowing VTEPs to forward both Layer 2 (bridged) and Layer 3 (routed) traffic. This allows for both intra-VNI (same subnet) and inter-VNI (different subnet) traffic forwarding. 
     
  • Benefits:
    The integration of VXLAN and MP-BGP EVPN provides advantages such as:
    • Scalability: The ability to handle a large number of VNIs and efficiently distribute traffic. 
       
    • Flexibility: Allows for network segmentation and isolation across different VNIs. 
       
    • Improved Performance: Reduced network flooding and efficient traffic forwarding. 
       
    • Redundancy: Provides better failover and load balancing capabilities. 

Yes, many VXLAN training courses include hands-on labs for practical implementation. These labs allow learners to apply their theoretical knowledge and gain practical experience with VXLAN configuration and troubleshooting.

Comment

  • PG

    Thorough VXLAN training detailed and easy to follow.

    • Praveen Gaur
    • Jun 13, 2024

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