The complete guide to building and managing next-generation data center network fabrics with VXLAN and BGP EVPN This is the only comprehensive guide and deployment reference for building flexible data center network fabrics with VXLAN and BGP EVPN technologies. Writing for experienced network professionals, three leading Cisco experts address everything from standards and protocols to functions, configurations, and operations. The authors first explain why and how data center fabrics are evolving, and introduce Cisco’s fabric journey. Next, they review key switch roles, essential data center network fabric terminology, and core concepts such as network attributes, control plane details, and the associated data plane encapsulation. Building on this foundation, they provide a deep dive into fabric semantics, efficient creation and addressing of the underlay, multi-tenancy, control and data plane interaction, forwarding flows, external interconnectivity, and service appliance deployments. You’ll find detailed tutorials, descriptions, and packet flows that can easily be adapted to accommodate customized deployments. This guide concludes with a full section on fabric management, introducing multiple opportunities to simplify, automate, and orchestrate data center network fabrics. Learn how changing data center requirements have driven the evolution to overlays, evolved control planes, and VXLAN BGP EVPN spine-leaf fabrics Discover why VXLAN BGP EVPN fabrics are so scalable, resilient, and elastic Implement enhanced unicast and multicast forwarding of tenant traffic over the VXLAN BGP EVPN fabric Build fabric underlays to efficiently transport uni- and multi-destination traffic Connect the fabric externally via Layer 3 (VRF-Lite, LISP, MPLS L3VPN) and Layer 2 (VPC) Choose your most appropriate Multi-POD, multifabric, and Data Center Interconnect (DCI) options Integrate Layer 4-7 services into the fabric, including load balancers and firewalls Manage fabrics with POAP-based day-0 provisioning, incremental day 0.5 configuration, overlay day-1 configuration, or day-2 operations

Cisco® Nexus switches and the new NX-OS operating system are rapidly becoming the new de facto standards for data center distribution/aggregation layer networking. NX-OS builds on Cisco IOS to provide advanced features that will be increasingly crucial to efficient data center operations. NX-OS and Cisco Nexus Switching is the definitive guide to utilizing these powerful new capabilities in enterprise environments. In this book, three Cisco consultants cover every facet of deploying, configuring, operating, and troubleshooting NX-OS in the data center. They review the key NX-OS enhancements for high availability, virtualization, In-Service Software Upgrades (ISSU), and security. In this book, you will discover support and configuration best practices for working with Layer 2 and Layer 3 protocols and networks, implementing multicasting, maximizing serviceability, providing consistent network and storage services, and much more. The authors present multiple command-line interface (CLI) commands, screen captures, realistic configurations, and troubleshooting tips—all based on their extensive experience working with customers who have successfully deployed Nexus switches in their data centers. Learn how Cisco NX-OS builds on and differs from IOS Work with NX-OS user modes, management interfaces, and system files Configure Layer 2 networking: VLANs/private VLANs, STP, virtual port channels, and unidirectional link detection Configure Layer 3 EIGRP, OSPF, BGP, and First Hop Redundancy Protocols (FHRPs) Set up IP multicasting with PIM, IGMP, and MSDP Secure NX-OS with SSH, Cisco TrustSec, ACLs, port security, DHCP snooping, Dynamic ARP inspection, IP Source Guard, keychains, Traffic Storm Control, and more Build high availability networks using process modularity and restart, stateful switchover, nonstop forwarding, and in-service software upgrades Utilize NX-OS embedded serviceability, including Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN), Smart Call Home, Configuration Checkpoint/Rollback, and NetFlow Use the NX-OS Unified Fabric to simplify infrastructure and provide ubiquitous network and storage services Run NX-OS on Nexus 1000V server-based software switches This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press®, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers.

The intent of this book is to explain various design models for Overlay Network and Underlay Network used in VXLAN Fabric with BGP EVPN Control-Plane. The first two chapters are focusing on the Underlay Network solution. The OSPF is introduced first. Among other things, the book explains how OSPF flooding can be minimized with area design. After OSPF there is a chapter about BGP in the Underlay network. Both OSPF and BGP are covered deeply and things like convergence are discussed. After the Underlay Network part, the book focuses on BGP design. It explains the following models: (a) BGP Multi-AS with OSPF Underlay, this chapter discusses two design models - Shared Spine ASN and Unique Spien ASN, (b) BGP-Only Multi-ASN where both direct and loopback overlay BGP peering models are explained, (c) Single-ASN with OSPF Underlay, (d) Hybrid-ASN with OSPF Underlay - Pod-specific shared ASN connected via Super-Spine layer using eBGP peering, (e) Dual-ASN model where leafs share the same ASN and spines share their ASN. Each of the design model chapters includes a "Complexity Map" that should help readers to understand the complexity of each solution. This book also explains BGP ECMP and related to ECMP, the book also covers ESI Multihoming. The last chapter introduces how two Pods, can also be geographically dispersed DCs, can be connected using Layer 3 only DCI with MPLS. I am using 5-stage Clos topology throughout the book. Some solutions are though explained by using only three switches for the sake of simplicity. I am also using IP-Only Underlay Network with Ingress-Replication, so this book does not cover Underlay Network Multicast solution. Besides, I am not covering DCI using Layer 2 Border Gateway (BGW) or Overlay Tenant Routing Multicast solution in this book because those, among the Underlay Multicast solutions, are covered in my first book "Virtual Extensible LAN - VXLAN: A Practical Guide to VXLAN solution" that is available at Amazon and Leanpub.I wanted to keep the focus of the book fairly narrow and concentrate on the Control-Plane design and functionality. Please be aware that this book does not give any recommendation to which solution is the best and which is not. It is the readers' responsibility to find that out and selects the best solution for their needs. The book includes 66 images, 260 configuration/show command examples, and 32 packet captures.

Master the day-to-day administration and maintenance procedures for existing VXLAN fabrics. In this book you’ll discuss common issues and troubleshooting steps to help you keep your environment in stable operation. The Fast-Track Guide to VXLAN BGP EVPN Fabrics is a guide for network engineers and architects who can’t spend too much time learning everything about VXLAN. It has been created with the end goal of providing you with a straightforward approach to understand, implement, administer, and maintain VXLAN BGP EVPN-based data center networks. Using this book, you will understand Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) as a technology that combines network virtualization and service provider class network attributes to solve the performance and scalability limitations in a three-tier design. You will learn to combine multiple links and provide equal-cost multipathing to effortlessly scale speed requirements without being worried about potential loops. You will learn VXLAN BGP EVPN configuration procedures with graphical step-by-step examples. You will be introduced to foundational concepts in VXLAN without the need to go over hundreds of documentation pages. This book is a clear and precise guide to implementing a spine and leaf architecture running with VXLAN. It explains how to perform day-to-day maintenance and administration tasks after implementing your first VXLAN fabric. It also explains how to integrate external devices such as firewalls, routers, and load balancers to VXLAN; how to leverage your VXLAN fabric; and how to create multiple tenant networks to secure your critical infrastructure. What You Will Learn Discover the advantages of a VXLAN spine and leaf fabric over a traditional three-tier network design Work with the BGP L2VPN EVPN control plane VXLAN Examine the purpose of underlay and overlay in VXLAN Use multitenancy and tenant anycast gateways Connect your VXLAN fabric to external networks Who This Book Is For Senior network engineers, solutions architects, and data center engineers.

The Cisco expert guide to planning, deploying, and operating virtual routing with the CSR 1000V Cloud Services Router Virtual routing and the Cisco Cloud Services Router (CSR 1000V) are key enablers of today’s revolutionary shift to elastic cloud applications and low-cost virtualized networking. Now, there’s an authoritative, complete guide to building real solutions with the Cisco CSR 1000V platform. Three leading experts cover every essential building block, present key use cases and configuration examples, illuminate design and deployment scenarios, and show how the CSR 1000V platform and APIs can enable state-of-the-art software-defined networks (SDN). Drawing on extensive early adopter experience, they illuminate crucial OS and hypervisor details, help you overcome migration challenges, and offer practical guidance for monitoring and operations. This guide is an essential resource for all technical professionals planning or deploying data center and enterprise cloud services, and for all cloud network operators utilizing the Cisco CSR 1000V or future Cisco virtual routing platforms. · Review the fundamentals of cloud virtualization, multitenant data-center design, and software-defined networking · Understand the Cisco CSR 1000V’s role, features, and infrastructure requirements · Compare server hypervisor technologies for managing VM hardware with CSR 1000V deployments · Understand CSR 1000V software architecture, control and data-plane design, licensing requirements, and packet flow · Walk through common virtual router scenarios and configurations, including multiple cloud and data center examples · Integrate CSR 1000V into the OpenStack SDN framework, and use its APIs to solve specific problems · Master a best-practice workflow for deploying the CSR 1000V · Use the Cisco management tools to automate, orchestrate, and troubleshoot virtualized routing Category: Networking/Cloud Computing Covers: Cloud Services Router This book is part of the Networking Technology Series from Cisco Press, which offers networking professionals valuable information for constructing efficient networks, understanding new technologies, and building successful careers

Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals For many IT organizations, today''s greatest challenge is to drive more value, efficiency, and utilization from data centers. Virtualization is the best way to meet this challenge. Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals brings together the comprehensive knowledge Cisco professionals need to apply virtualization throughout their data center environments. Leading data center expert Gustavo A. A. Santana thoroughly explores all components of an end-to-end data center virtualization solution, including networking, storage, servers, operating systems, application optimization, and security. Rather than focusing on a single product or technology, he explores product capabilities as interoperable design tools that can be combined and integrated with other solutions, including VMware vSphere. With the author''s guidance, you''ll learn how to define and implement highly-efficient architectures for new, expanded, or retrofit data center projects. By doing so, you can deliver agile application provisioning without purchasing unnecessary infrastructure, and establish a strong foundation for new cloud computing and IT-as-a-service initiatives. Throughout, Santana illuminates key theoretical concepts through realistic use cases, real-world designs, illustrative configuration examples, and verification outputs. Appendixes provide valuable reference information, including relevant Cisco data center products and CLI principles for IOS and NX-OS. With this approach, Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals will be an indispensable resource for anyone preparing for the CCNA Data Center, CCNP Data Center, or CCIE Data Center certification exams. Gustavo A. A. Santana, CCIE® No. 8806, is a Cisco Technical Solutions Architect working in enterprise and service provider data center projects that require deep integration across technology areas such as networking, application optimization, storage, and servers. He has more than 15 years of data center experience, and has led and coordinated a team of specialized Cisco engineers in Brazil. He holds two CCIE certifications (Routing & Switching and Storage Networking), and is a VMware Certified Professional (VCP) and SNIA Certified Storage Networking Expert (SCSN-E). A frequent speaker at Cisco and data center industry events, he blogs on data center virtualization at gustavoaasantana.net. Learn how virtualization can transform and improve traditional data center network topologies Understand the key characteristics and value of each data center virtualization technology Walk through key decisions, and transform choices into architecture Smoothly migrate existing data centers toward greater virtualization Burst silos that have traditionally made data centers inefficient Master foundational technologies such as VLANs, VRF, and virtual contexts Use virtual PortChannel and FabricPath to overcome the limits of STP Optimize cabling and network management with fabric extender (FEX) virtualized chassis Extend Layer 2 domains to distant data center sites using MPLS and Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV) Use VSANs to overcome Fibre Channel fabric challenges Improve SAN data protection, environment isolation, and scalability Consolidate I/O through Data Center Bridging and FCoE Use virtualization to radically simplify server environments Create server profiles that streamline "bare metal" server provisioning "Transcend the rack" through virtualized networking based on Nexus 1000V and VM-FEX Leverage opportunities to deploy virtual network services more efficiently Evolve data center virtualization toward full-fledged private clouds -Reviews - "The variety of material that Gustavo covers in this work would appeal to anyone responsible for Data Centers today. His grasp of virtualization technologies and ability to relate it in both technical and non-technical terms makes for compelling reading. This is not your ordinary tech manual. Through use of relatable visual cues, Gustavo provides information that is easily recalled on the subject of virtualization, reaching across Subject Matter Expertise domains. Whether you consider yourself well-versed or a novice on the topic, working in large or small environments, this work will provide a clear understanding of the diverse subject of virtualization." -- Bill Dufresne, CCIE 4375, Distinguished Systems Engineer, Cisco (Americas) "..this book is an essential reference and will be valuable asset for potential candidates pursuing their Cisco Data Center certifications. I am confident that in reading this book, individuals will inevitably gain extensive knowledge and hands-on experience during their certification preparations. If you''re looking for a truly comprehensive guide to virtualization, this is the one!" -- Yusuf Bhaiji, Senior Manager, Expert Certifications (CCIE, CCDE, CCAr), Learning@Cisco "When one first looks at those classic Cisco Data Center blueprints, it is very common to become distracted with the overwhelming number of pieces and linkages. By creating a solid theoretical foundation and providing rich sets of companion examples to illustrate each concept, Gustavo''s book brings hope back to IT Professionals from different areas of expertise. Apparently complex topics are demystified and the insertion of products, mechanisms, protocols and technologies in the overall Data Center Architecture is clearly explained, thus enabling you to achieve robust designs and successful deployments. A must read... Definitely!" -- Alexandre M. S. P. Moraes, Consulting Systems Engineer -- Author of "Cisco Firewalls"

The definitive deep-dive guide to hardware and software troubleshooting on Cisco Nexus switches The Cisco Nexus platform and NX-OS switch operating system combine to deliver unprecedented speed, capacity, resilience, and flexibility in today's data center networks. Troubleshooting Cisco Nexus Switches and NX-OS is your single reference for quickly identifying and solving problems with these business-critical technologies. Three expert authors draw on deep experience with large Cisco customers, emphasizing the most common issues in real-world deployments, including problems that have caused major data center outages. Their authoritative, hands-on guidance addresses both features and architecture, helping you troubleshoot both control plane forwarding and data plane/data path problems and use NX-OS APIs to automate and simplify troubleshooting. Throughout, you'll find real-world configurations, intuitive illustrations, and practical insights into key platform-specific behaviors. This is an indispensable technical resource for all Cisco network consultants, system/support engineers, network operations professionals, and CCNP/CCIE certification candidates working in the data center domain. · Understand the NX-OS operating system and its powerful troubleshooting tools · Solve problems with cards, hardware drops, fabrics, and CoPP policies · Troubleshoot network packet switching and forwarding · Properly design, implement, and troubleshoot issues related to Virtual Port Channels (VPC and VPC+) · Optimize routing through filtering or path manipulation · Optimize IP/IPv6 services and FHRP protocols (including HSRP, VRRP, and Anycast HSRP) · Troubleshoot EIGRP, OSPF, and IS-IS neighbor relationships and routing paths · Identify and resolve issues with Nexus route maps · Locate problems with BGP neighbor adjacencies and enhance path selection · Troubleshoot high availability components (BFD, SSO, ISSU, and GIR) · Understand multicast protocols and troubleshooting techniques · Identify and solve problems with OTV · Use NX-OS APIs to automate troubleshooting and administrative tasks