VXLAN Modes

The VXLAN Gateway implementation is available in two modes: Base Interworking Mode and Full Interworking Mode. By default, the Base Interworking Mode is enabled and Full Interworking Mode is disabled. You change modes through the vxlan-gw-full-interworking-mode boot flag.

Important

Important

Changing the mode requires a reboot for the change to take effect, which can cause a loss of traffic.

Base Interworking Mode

Base Interworking Mode is the default mode. In this mode, VXLAN Gateway supports Layer 2 gateway communication at line rate between VXLAN and traditional VLAN environments.

Base Interworking Mode has the following limitations:

Each VNID represents a service instance for the VXLAN Gateway. To enable a VNID to extend into the SPB network, you must use Full Interworking Mode.

Note

Note

If your configuration does not have a VXLAN Gateway but has SMLT or vIST, you can enable VXLAN Gateway in the Full Interworking Mode only. SMLT and vIST are incompatible and mutually exclusive with the Base Interworking Mode.

Full Interworking Mode

Full Interworking Mode is not the default mode. To configure Full Interworking Mode, you must enable the vxlan-gw-full-interworking-mode boot flag, save the configuration, and then reboot the switch.

Full Interworking Mode supports the Base Interworking Mode communication between VXLAN and traditional VLAN environments as well as VXLAN-to-VXLAN communication and all SPB functionality including vIST and SMLT. Layer 2 and Layer 3 services extend across VXLAN, VLAN, and SPB domains using an internal loopback. In Full Interworking Mode, VXLAN traffic flows at less than full line rate and the total amount of available internal loopback bandwidth depends on the platform used.

Full Interworking Mode has the following limitations: