Administrator Guide

Components of VXLAN network
VXLAN provides a mechanism to extend an L2 network over an L3 network. In short, VXLAN is an L2 overlay scheme over an L3
network and this overlay is termed as a VXLAN segment.
Components of VXLAN network
The VXLAN network consists of the following components:
● Network Virtualization Platform (NVP) Controller
● VTEP (VXLAN Tunnel End Point)
● VXLAN Gateway
● VXLAN Hypervisor
● Service Node (SN)
● Legacy TOR
Network
Virtualization
Platform (NVP)
Controller
NVP Controller is the network controller for managing cloud components. The OVSDB protocol is the
protocol used for communication between VTEPs and the controller. The top-level functions of NVP are:
● Provide a GUI for creating service gateways.
● Manage the VTEPs.:
○ Binds Port and VLAN
○ Install VTEP tunnels
● Distribute the VTEPs to MAC binding to all relevant VTEPs.
● Provide an interface for cloud orchestration in cloud data center management.
VTEP (VXLAN
Tunnel End
Point)
VTEPs work as the open vSwitch running on the hypervisor on a virtualized server or as the VXLAN
Gateway or as the Service Node (SN) that is responsible for flooding. The VTEPs are responsible for
encapsulation and decapsulation of VXLAN headers.
NOTE:
Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol version 1.2 is supported for secure connection between the
controller and the Dell hardware VTEP.
VXLAN Gateways VXLAN Gateways act as the VTEPs that encapsulate and decapsulate VXLAN headers. The roles and
responsibilities of the Gateway are:
● Connects to the NVP client based on user configuration.
● Advertises south-facing VXLAN capable ports to the NVP client.
● Creates logical networks based on messages from the NVP.
● Creates tunnels to VTEPs based on messages from the NVP.
● Binds the Port and VLAN to logical networks based on messages from the NVP.
● Binds MACs to the VTEP and logical network based on messages from the NVP.
● Advertises MACs learnt on south-facing VXLAN capable-ports to the NVP client.
VXLAN
Hypervisor
It is the VTEP that connects the Virtual Machines (VM) to the underlay legacy network to the physical
infrastructure.
Service
Node(SN)
It is also another VTEP, but it is fully managed by the controller. The purpose of SN is to be the central
replication engine for flooded packets
Legacy TOR It is a TOR switch, which performs routing or switching decisions.
976 Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN)