Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS VXLAN Configuration Guide, Release 6.x
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series NX-OS VXLAN Configuration Guide, Release 6.x
6.x
First Published: 2014-01-04
Last Modified: 2016-03-29
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Preface Preface v
Audience v
Document Conventions v
Related Documentation for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches vi
Documentation Feedback vi
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request vii
CHAPTER 2 Overview 3
VXLAN Overview 3
VXLAN Encapsulation and Packet Format 4
VXLAN Tunnel Endpoint 4
VXLAN Packet Forwarding Flow 4
Cisco Nexus 9000 as Hardware-Based VXLAN Gateway 4
vPC Consistency Check for vPC VTEPs 5
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Contents
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Preface
This preface includes the following sections:
• Audience, page v
• Document Conventions, page v
• Related Documentation for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches, page vi
• Documentation Feedback, page vi
• Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request, page vii
Audience
This publication is for network administrators who install, configure, and maintain Cisco Nexus switches.
Document Conventions
Command descriptions use the following conventions:
Convention Description
bold Bold text indicates the commands and keywords that you enter literally
as shown.
Italic Italic text indicates arguments for which the user supplies the values.
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Preface
Related Documentation for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches
Convention Description
[x {y | z}] Nested set of square brackets or braces indicate optional or required
choices within optional or required elements. Braces and a vertical bar
within square brackets indicate a required choice within an optional
element.
variable Indicates a variable for which you supply values, in context where italics
cannot be used.
string A nonquoted set of characters. Do not use quotation marks around the
string or the string will include the quotation marks.
Convention Description
screen font Terminal sessions and information the switch displays are in screen font.
boldface screen font Information you must enter is in boldface screen font.
italic screen font Arguments for which you supply values are in italic screen font.
Documentation Feedback
To provide technical feedback on this document, or to report an error or omission, please send your comments
to [email protected]. We appreciate your feedback.
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Preface
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
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Preface
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
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CHAPTER 1
New and Changed Information
This chapter provides release-specific information for each new and changed feature in the Cisco Nexus
9000 Series NX-OS VXLAN Configuration Guide.
SVI uplinks support Added support for SVI uplinks. 6.1(2)I3(1) Configuring VXLAN, on page
7
Enables VxLAN encap over
SVI uplinks to spine.
Non-default VRF support Added support for VRF. 6.1(2)I3(1) Configuring VXLAN, on page
7
Enables VxLAN forwarding
over uplinks in non-default
VRFs.
anycast RP support Added support for anycast RP. 6.1(2)I3(1) Configuring VXLAN, on page
7
Enables the use of anycast RP
on spine for underlay multicast
load-balancing and redundancy.
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New and Changed Information
New and Changed Information
per VNI statistics Added support to display per 6.1(2)I2(2a) Verifying the VXLAN
VNI statistics. Configuration, on page 15
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CHAPTER 2
Overview
This chapter contains the following sections:
VXLAN Overview
Cisco Nexus 9000 switches are designed for hardware-based VXLAN function. It provides Layer 2 connectivity
extension across the Layer 3 boundary and integrates between VXLAN and non-VXLAN infrastructures.
This can enable virtualized and multitenant data center designs over a shared common physical infrastructure.
VXLAN provides a way to extend Layer 2 networks across Layer 3 infrastructure using MAC-in-UDP
encapsulation and tunneling. VXLAN enables flexible workload placements using the Layer 2 extension. It
can also be an approach to building a multitenant data center by decoupling tenant Layer 2 segments from
the shared transport network.
When deployed as a VXLAN gateway, Cisco Nexus 9000 switches can connect VXLAN and classic VLAN
segments to create a common forwarding domain so that tenant devices can reside in both environments.
VXLAN has the following benefits:
• Flexible placement of multitenant segments throughout the data center.
It provides a way to extend Layer 2 segments over the underlying shared network infrastructure so that
tenant workloads can be placed across physical pods in the data center.
• Higher scalability to address more Layer 2 segments.
VXLAN uses a 24-bit segment ID, the VXLAN network identifier (VNID). This allows a maximum of
16 million VXLAN segments to coexist in the same administrative domain. (In comparison, traditional
VLANs use a 12-bit segment ID that can support a maximum of 4096 VLANs.)
• Utilization of available network paths in the underlying infrastructure.
VXLAN packets are transferred through the underlying network based on its Layer 3 header. It uses
equal-cost multipath (ECMP) routing and link aggregation protocols to use all available paths.
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Overview
VXLAN Encapsulation and Packet Format
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Overview
vPC Consistency Check for vPC VTEPs
A VXLAN gateway is a VTEP device that combines a VXLAN segment and a classic VLAN segment into
one common Layer 2 domain.
A Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switch can function as a hardware-based VXLAN gateway. It seamlessly connects
VXLAN and VLAN segments as one forwarding domain across the Layer 3 boundary without sacrificing
forwarding performance. The Cisco Nexus 9000 Series eliminates the need for an additional physical or virtual
device to be the gateway. The hardware-based encapsulation and de-encapsulation provides line-rate
performance for all frame sizes.
VTEP-Member-VNI Type-1-nongraceful Member VNIs must be the same on both nodes. VNIs that are
not common bring down the corresponding VLANs on vPC ports
on both sides.
VTEP-emulated IP Type-1-nongraceful If an emulated IP address is not the same on both nodes, all
gateway vPC ports on one side (secondary) are brought down.
Alternatively, one side of all vPC ports is brought down.
The VTEP source loopback on the vPC secondary is also brought
down if the emulated IP address is not the same on both sides.
NVE Oper State Type-1-nongraceful The NVE needs to be in the oper UP state on both sides for the
vPC consistency check.
If both VTEPs are not in the OPER_UP state, the secondary leg
is brought down along with the VTEP source loopback on the
vPC secondary.
VLAN-to-VXLAN VN-segment mapping is a type-1 consistency check parameter. The two VTEP switches
are required to have identical mappings. VLANs that have mismatched VN-segment mappings will be
suspended. When the graceful consistency check is disabled and problematic VLANs arise, the primary vPC
switch and the secondary vPC switch will suspend the VLANs.
The following situations are detected as inconsistencies:
• One switch has a VLAN mapped to a VN-segment (VXLAN VNI), and the other switch does not have
a mapping for the same VLAN.
• The two switches have a VLAN mapped to different VN-segments.
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Overview
vPC Consistency Check for vPC VTEPs
Legend:
Type 1 : vPC will be suspended in case of mismatch
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CHAPTER 3
Configuring VXLAN
This chapter contains the following sections:
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Configuring VXLAN
Guidelines and Limitations for VXLAN
• QoS classification is not supported for VXLAN traffic in the network to access direction on the Layer
3 uplink interface.
• The QoS buffer-boost feature is not applicable for VXLAN traffic.
• Only one NVE (Network Virtualization Edge) interface on a switch.
• SNMP is not supported on the NVE interface.
• VXLAN SVI uplinks are not supported over underlying Layer 2 VPC ports.
• A VXLAN SVI uplink VLAN cannot be a member of the peer-link.
• VTEP does not support Layer 3 subinterface uplinks. In addition, non-VXLAN subinterface VLANs
cannot be shared with VXLAN VLANs.
• For 6.1(2)I3(4) and earlier, VXLAN does not support consistency checks.
• Point to multipoint Layer 3 and SVI uplinks are not supported. Since both uplink types can only be
enabled point-to-point, they cannot span across more than two switches.
• A FEX host interface port is not supported for a VLAN that is extended with VXLAN.
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Configuring VXLAN
Guidelines and Limitations for VXLAN
Note • 1.1.1.10 is the anycast RP IP address that is configured on all RPs participating in
the anycast RP set.
• 1.1.1.1 is the local RP IP.
• 1.1.1.2 is the peer RP IP.
• For multicast, the VPC node that receives the (S, G) join from the RP (rendezvous point) becomes the
DF (designated forwarder). On the DF node, encap routes are installed for multicast.
Decap routes are installed based on the election of a decapper from between the VPC primary node and
the VPC secondary node. The winner of the decap election is the node with the least cost to the RP.
However, if the cost to the RP is the same for both nodes, the VPC primary node is elected.
The winner of the decap election has the decap mroute installed. The other node does not have a decap
route installed.
• On a VPC device, BUM traffic (broadcast, unknown-unicast, and multicast traffic) from hosts is replicated
on the peer-link. A copy is made of every native packet and each native packet is sent across the peer-link
to service orphan-ports connected to the peer VPC switch.
To prevent traffic loops in VXLAN networks, native packets ingressing the peer-link cannot be sent to
an uplink. However, if the peer switch is the encapper, the copied packet traverses the peer-link and is
sent to the uplink.
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Configuring VXLAN
Guidelines and Limitations for VXLAN
Note Each copied packet is sent on a special internal VLAN (VLAN 4041).
• When peer-link is shut, the loopback interface used by NVE on the VPC secondary is brought down
and the status is Admin Shut. This is done so that the route to the loopback is withdrawn on the upstream
and that the upstream can divert all traffic to the VPC primary.
Note Orphans connected to the VPC secondary will experience loss of traffic for the period
that the peer-link is shut. This is similar to Layer 2 orphans in a VPC secondary of a
traditional VPC setup.
• When peer-link is no-shut, the NVE loopback address is brought up again and the route is advertised
upstream, attracting traffic.
• For VPC, the loopback interface has 2 IP addresses: the primary IP address and the secondary IP address.
The primary IP address is unique and is used by Layer 3 protocols.
The secondary IP address on loopback is necessary because the interface NVE uses it for the VTEP IP
address. The secondary IP address must be same on both vPC peers.
• The VPC peer-gateway feature must be enabled on both peers.
As a best practice, use peer-switch, peer gateway, ip arp sync, ipv6 nd sync configurations for improved
convergence in VPC topologies.
In addition, increase the STP hello timer to 4 seconds to avoid unnecessary TCN generations when VPC
role changes occur.
The following is an example (best practice) of a VPC configuration:
switch# sh ru vpc
version 6.1(2)I3(1)
feature vpc
vpc domain 2
peer-switch
peer-keepalive destination 172.29.206.65 source 172.29.206.64
peer-gateway
ipv6 nd synchronize
ip arp synchronize
• On a VPC pair, shutting down NVE or NVE loopback on one of the VPC nodes is not a supported
configuration. This means that traffic failover on one-side NVE shut or one-side loopback shut is not
supported.
• When the NVE or loopback is shut in VPC configurations:
◦If the NVE or loopback is shut only on the primary VPC switch, the global VxLAN VPC consistency
checker fails. Then the NVE, loopback, and VPCs are taken down on the secondary VPC switch.
◦If the NVE or loopback is shut only on the secondary VPC switch, the global VXLAN VPC
consistency checker fails. Then the NVE, loopback, and secondary VPC are brought down on the
secondary. Traffic continues to flow through the primary VPC switch.
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Configuring VXLAN
Guidelines and Limitations for VXLAN
As a best practice, you should keep both the NVE and loopback up on both the primary and secondary
VPC switches.
• Redundant anycast RPs configured in the network for multicast load-balancing and RP redundancy are
supported on VPC VTEP topologies.
• Enabling vpc peer-gateway configuration is mandatory. For peer-gateway functionality, at least one SVI
is required to be enabled across peer-link and also configured with PIM. This provides a backup path
in the case when VTEP loses complete connectivity to the spine. Remote peer reachability is re-routed
over peer-link in this case.
The following is an example of SVI with PIM enabled:
interface Vlan2
description special_svi_over_peer-link
no shutdown
ip address 30.2.1.1/30
ip pim sparse-mode
interface Vlan2000
description backup_svi_over_peer-link //change “special” into “backup”
no shutdown
no ip redirects
ip address 20.20.20.1/24
no ipv6 redirects
ip router ospf 1 area 0.0.0.0
ip pim sparse-mode
ip igmp static-oif route-map match-mcast-groups
Note In BUD node topologies, the backup SVI needs to be added as a static OIF for each
underlay multicast group.
Note The SVI must be configured on both VPC peers and requires PIM to be enabled.
• As a best practice when changing the secondary IP address of an anycast VPC VTEP, the NVE interfaces
on both the VPC primary and the VPC secondary should be shut before the IP changes are made.
• DHCP relay is supported when the DHCP server is reachable through a default VRF. However, DHCP
relay is not supported when the DHCP client and DHCP server are in the same non-default VRF.
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Configuring VXLAN
Guidelines and Limitations for VXLAN
1550-byte packets at a minimum. Jumbo-frame support in the transport network is required if the overlay
applications tend to use larger frame sizes than 1500 bytes.
• ECMP and LACP Hashing Algorithms in the Transport Network
As described in a previous section, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches introduce a level of entropy in
the source UDP port for ECMP and LACP hashing in the transport network. As a way to augment this
implementation, the transport network uses an ECMP or LACP hashing algorithm that takes the UDP
source port as an input for hashing, which achieves the best load-sharing results for VXLAN encapsulated
traffic.
• Multicast Group Scaling
The VXLAN implementation on Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches uses multicast tunnels for broadcast,
unknown unicast, and multicast traffic forwarding. Ideally, one VXLAN segment mapping to one IP
multicast group is the way to provide the optimal multicast forwarding. It is possible, however, to have
multiple VXLAN segments share a single IP multicast group in the core network. VXLAN can support
up to 16 million logical Layer 2 segments, using the 24-bit VNID field in the header. With one-to-one
mapping between VXLAN segments and IP multicast groups, an increase in the number of VXLAN
segments causes a parallel increase in the required multicast address space and the amount of forwarding
states on the core network devices. At some point, multicast scalability in the transport network can
become a concern. In this case, mapping multiple VXLAN segments to a single multicast group can
help conserve multicast control plane resources on the core devices and achieve the desired VXLAN
scalability. However, this mapping comes at the cost of suboptimal multicast forwarding. Packets
forwarded to the multicast group for one tenant are now sent to the VTEPs of other tenants that are
sharing the same multicast group. This causes inefficient utilization of multicast data plane resources.
Therefore, this solution is a trade-off between control plane scalability and data plane efficiency.
Despite the suboptimal multicast replication and forwarding, having multiple-tenant VXLAN networks
to share a multicast group does not bring any implications to the Layer 2 isolation between the tenant
networks. After receiving an encapsulated packet from the multicast group, a VTEP checks and validates
the VNID in the VXLAN header of the packet. The VTEP discards the packet if the VNID is unknown
to it. Only when the VNID matches one of the VTEP’s local VXLAN VNIDs, does it forward the packet
to that VXLAN segment. Other tenant networks will not receive the packet. Thus, the segregation
between VXLAN segments is not compromised.
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Configuring VXLAN
Configuring VXLAN
Configuring VXLAN
Enabling VXLANs
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. [no] feature nv overlay
3. [no] feature vn-segment-vlan-based
4. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config
DETAILED STEPS
Step 3 [no] feature vn-segment-vlan-based Configures the global mode for all VXLAN bridge domains.
1. configure terminal
2. vlan vlan-id
3. vn-segment vnid
4. exit
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Configuring VXLAN
Creating and Configuring an NVE Interface and Associate VNIs
DETAILED STEPS
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. interface nve x
3. source-interface src-if
4. member vni vni
5. mcast-group start-address [end-address]
DETAILED STEPS
Step 2 interface nve x Creates a VXLAN overlay interface that terminates VXLAN tunnels.
Note Only 1 NVE interface is allowed on the
switch.
Step 3 source-interface src-if The source interface must be a loopback interface that is configured on the
switch with a valid /32 IP address. This /32 IP address must be known by the
transient devices in the transport network and the remote VTEPs. This is
accomplished by advertising it through a dynamic routing protocol in the
transport network.
Step 4 member vni vni Associate VXLAN VNIs (Virtual Network Identifiers) with the NVE interface.
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Configuring VXLAN
Disabling VXLANs
Disabling VXLANs
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. no feature vn-segment-vlan-based
3. no feature nv overlay
4. (Optional) copy running-config startup-config
DETAILED STEPS
Step 2 no feature vn-segment-vlan-based Disables the global mode for all VXLAN bridge domains
Command Purpose
show logging level nve Displays logging level.
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Configuring VXLAN
Verifying the VXLAN Configuration
Command Purpose
show nve peers Displays NVE peer status.
show nve peers peer_IP_address interface Displays per NVE peer statistics.
interface_ID counters
clear nve peers peer_IP_address interface Clears per NVE peer statistics.
interface_ID counters
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Configuring VXLAN
Example of VXLAN Bridging Configuration
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Configuring VXLAN
Example of VXLAN Bridging Configuration
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Configuring VXLAN
Example of VXLAN Bridging Configuration
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Configuring VXLAN
Example of VXLAN Bridging Configuration
switch-vtep-2(config-vlan)# exit
• For a vPC VTEP configuration, the loopback address requires a secondary IP.
An example of a vPC VTEP configuration:
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Configuring VXLAN
Example of VXLAN Bridging Configuration
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Configuring VXLAN
Example of VXLAN Bridging Configuration
Note Ensure that all configurations are identical between the VPC primary and VPC secondary.
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