Configuring a vxlan gateway, Introduction to vxlan gateway – Brocade Network OS Administrator’s Guide v4.1.1 User Manual
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Configuring a VXLAN Gateway
Introduction to VXLAN Gateway
Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) is an overlay network to extend L2 domains over L3 networks. The
overlay network supports elastic compute architectures. VXLAN enables network engineers to scale a
cloud computing environment while logically isolating cloud applications and tenants.
VXLAN extends the virtual LAN (VLAN) address space by adding a 24-bit segment ID and increasing
the number of available IDs to 16 million. The VXLAN segment ID in each frame differentiates individual
logical networks, allowing millions of isolated Layer 2 VXLAN networks to co-exist on a common Layer 3
infrastructure. As with VLANs, only virtual machines within the same logical network can communicate
with each other.
Not all devices and servers, however, are capable of sending or receiving VXLAN traffic. A device
called a VXLAN gateway allows communication between the VXLAN-aware world and the non-VXLAN-
aware world.
In the non-VXLAN-aware world, a broadcast domain represented by a VLAN typically comprises the
virtual cluster switch (VCS) and other switches and devices behind the VCS.
The VXLAN-aware world consists of virtual networks that are managed by a third-party system known
as the NSX Controller. The NSX Controller is a highly available distributed system that manages all
network components and connections in a virtual network.
The VXLAN gateway must communicate with NSX controller to create tunnels with VXLAN-aware end
devices. The NSX controller function can comprise a cluster of controllers.
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