Specifications

ExtremeWare XOS 11.0 Concepts Guide 97
6 Virtual Routers
This chapter describes the following topics:
• Virtual Routers Overview on page 97
• Using Virtual Routers on page 99
• Virtual Router Configuration Example on page 102
Virtual Routers Overview
ExtremeWare XOS supports virtual routers. This capability allows a single physical switch to be split
into multiple virtual routers. This feature separates the traffic forwarded by a virtual router from the
traffic on a different virtual router.
Each virtual router maintains a separate logical forwarding table, which allows the virtual routers to
have overlapping address spaces. Because each virtual router maintains its own separate routing
information, and switch ports can belong to one and only one virtual router, packets arriving at a port
on one virtual router can never be switched to the ports on another.
With multiple virtual routers contained on a single physical switch, some commands in ExtremeWare
XOS now require you to specify to which virtual router the command applies. For example, when you
use the ping command, you must specify from which virtual router the ping packets are generated.
Many commands that deal with switch management use the management virtual router by default. See
the ExtremeWare XOS Command Reference Guide for information on the defaults for individual
commands.
NOTE
The term virtual router is also used with the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP). VRRP uses
the term to refer to a single virtual router that spans more than one physical router, which allows
multiple switches to provide redundant routing services to users. For more information about VRRP, see
Chapter 11.
Virtual Router Configuration Domain
When you create virtual routers, you must configure each virtual router separately, configuring routing
protocols and VLANs for each one. To simplify the configuration process, the concept of a virtual router