Network Virtualization using Extreme Fabric Connect
Table Of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Table of Figures
- Table of Figures
- Table of Tables
- Conventions
- Introduction
- Reference Architecture
- Guiding Principles
- Architecture Components
- User to Network Interface
- Network to Network Interface
- Backbone Core Bridge
- Backbone Edge Bridge
- Customer MAC Address
- Backbone MAC Address
- SMLT-Virtual-BMAC
- IS-IS Area
- IS-IS System ID
- IS-IS Overload Function
- SPB Bridge ID
- SPBM Nick-name
- Dynamic Nick-name Assignment
- Customer VLAN
- Backbone VLAN
- Virtual Services Networks
- I-SID
- Inter-VSN Routing
- Fabric Area Network
- Fabric Attach / Auto-Attach
- FA Server
- FA Client
- FA Proxy
- FA Standalone Proxy
- VPN Routing and Forwarding Instance
- Global Router Table
- Distributed Virtual Routing
- Zero Touch Fabric (ZTF)
- Foundations for the Service Enabled Fabric
- IP Routing and L3 Services over Fabric Connect
- L2 Services Over SPB IS-IS Core
- Fabric Attach
- IP Multicast Enabled VSNs
- Extending the Fabric Across the WAN
- Distributed Virtual Routing
- Quality of Service
- Consolidated Design Overview
- High Availability
- Fabric and VSN Security
- Fabric as Best Foundation for SDN
- Glossary
- Reference Documentation
- Revisions
Network Virtualization Using Extreme Fabric Connect
© 2019 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. 16
Multi-VRF (VRF-Lite)
MPLS (RFC 4364)
Fabric Connect
Applicability
Small networks
Service Provider & Carrier
Networks
Some large enterprises
Small to Large enterprise
networks, campus, core, IoT
Small service providers
VRF Scalability
Few VRFs (2-4) because of
the need to support an
instance of the IGP within
each VRF
As many as PE device
supports (typically 512-4000
on carrier platforms)
As many as BEB device
supports (typically 24-512 on
enterprise platforms)
IP route
scalability
Limited by maximum
number of IP routes
supported on Core nodes
No real limit imposed by
BGP. In practice limited by
maximum number of IP
routes supported on PE
Maximum of 20000 IPv4
routes per BEB (limited to
maximum size of IS-IS LSP)
Core
Foundation
IP hop-by-hop routing
IP hop-by-hop routing +
MPLS label switching
Ethernet Switched Shortest
Paths
Control Plane
As many instances of OSPF
or RIP as there are VRFs
IGP (OSPF or IS-IS) and
LDP/RSVP-TE on P and PE
nodes
Full mesh of MP-iBGP
peerings on PE nodes
The latter requires BGP
Route Reflectors to scale
Single instance of IS-IS
Traffic
Engineering
Not possible
Yes, with RSVP-TE
Standardized under 802.1Qca
Path Control and Reservation.
Not currently supported by
Extreme
Control Plane
extensions for
IP Multicast
PIM in each VRF where IP
Multicast required
MVPN draft-Rosen required
PIM-SM in core IGP as well
as in the VPN VRFs where IP
Multicast required with GRE
tunnels.
Next-Gen MVPN uses MBGP
and can support MPLS P2MP
LSPs
None required
(leverages IS-IS shortest path
trees)
Control Plane
extensions for
IPv6
Requires additional OSPFv3
instances (or IPv6 tunnelling
over IPv4)
Requires BGP+ support
(RFC 2545) or native BGPv6
None required
(Same as for IPv4; simply
uses different IS-IS TLVs)
Control Plane
extensions for
L2 VPNs
Not possible
(would require Spanning
Tree core)
Possible but requires
additional VPLS capability
Native
(L2 VSNs)
Operational
Complexity
Simple for just two VRFs
Complex for more VRFs
High complexity
Simple
(to design, to provision, to
manage, and maintain)
Virtualization
over WAN
Yes
Using VRF enabled GRE
Yes
Using MPLS over GRE
Yes
Using Fabric Extend (SPB
over IP or WAN E-LINE)