Configuring Spine Switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN Fabric Information About Spine Switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN Fabric, on page 1 Configuration Examples for Spine Switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN Network, on page 2 Information About Spine Switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN Fabric Spine switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN fabric act as the connecting nodes between all the leaf switches or VTEPs. They form the backbone of the EVPN VXLAN network and forward traffic between the leaf switches. Each leaf switch is connected to each spine switch in the network. Spine switches enable redundancy within the network and provide multiple paths for VTEPs to forward traffic to each other.
Spine switches in an EVPN VXLAN network are part of the underlay network and transport the VXLAN-encapsulated packets. When deployed as border nodes, spine switches connect the network with an external network and allow movement of traffic. In a BGP EVPN VXLAN fabric, spine switces can also be deployed as route reflectors. Deployment Scenarios for Spine Switches and Leaf Switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN Fabric Spine switches and leaf switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN fabric can be deployed in the following ways:
• Spine Switches and Leaf Switches in the Same Autonomous System • Spine Switches in One Autonomous System and the Leaf Switches in a Different Autonomous System • Spine Switches in One Autonomous System and Each Leaf Switch in a Different Autonomous System Spine Switches and Leaf Switches in the Same Autonomous System In this scenario, all the devices in the EVPN VXLAN network are in the same autonomous system. The spine switches function as BGP route reflectors and anycast rendezvouz points (RPs). Internal Border Gateway Protocol (iBGP) is used to establish peering between the spine switches, and between the spine and leaf switches.
See Configuration Example-Spine and Leaf Switches in the Same Autonomous System, on page 2 for a sample topology and configuration. Configuring Spine Switches in a BGP EVPN VXLAN Fabric 1