VXLAN Gateway Types
Have you noticed that most of the material we find from Cisco regarding VXLAN technology falls a bit short when it comes to explaining how we can have the VXLAN tech integrate with other parts of the network? Well, this post should help with that. Here, we are going to discuss the different VXLAN gateway configurations that are possible and that are seen today in Enterprise networks, data centers, and service provider environments. This post is part of the content from the SPCOR training videos here at Lammle.com. Be sure to check out some of the many videos that have already been posted. Lammle.com students are RAVING about this new material.
Well, back to the main point. The first type of VXLAN gateway we want to focus on is the one that many students are already familiar with. In fact, it is the most intuitive of all of the gateways. It is most often called the Layer-2 Gateway. To be more precise, which we prefer, it is termed the VXLAN-to-VLAN Bridging gateway. In this gateway design, the VTEP takes in VXLAN packets (ingress) and then bridges these packets into a Layer 2 VLAN. Of course 802.1q tags are used on egress for the proper VLAN identification.
The next type of VXLAN gateway is one of the two variations of Layer-3 Gateway designs. It is the VXLAN-to-VLAN Routing gateway. Once again, the VTEP takes in the VXLAN packets, but this time it routes the 802.1q tagged frame to the target VLAN.
What is the final type of VXLAN gateway that we can use? Well, it is the second variation of the Layer-3 Gateway, it is the VXLAN-to-VXLAN Routing gateway. Here the ingress packets are VXLAN packets and they are routed to the target VXLAN on egress.
While it makes our job of troubleshooting connectivity a bit tricky, having three different gateway methodologies available is a huge win for us network engineer types. It makes the VXLAN technology integrated easily into a distinct type of target network using either Layer 2 or Layer 3 mechanisms. In fact, such flexibility is why we see VXLAN integrated in more and more complex “next-gen” designs. Furthermore, you might even find yourself calling upon multiple VXLAN gateway types in a single overall solution such as EVPN. EVPNs are one of the important topics in the new SPCOR videos here at Lammle.com. No surprise.
Thanks for reading and we will be back with more heavily requested blog topics for everyone.
