Data Center Lab Using VxLAN Data Plane and BGP-EVPN Control Plane

Virtual Extensible Local Area Network is an overlay technology that allows smart encapsulation of layer two through layer three. It provides the extension of Virtual Local Area Network domains, allowing the original addressing of virtual hosts through the data centers and cloud computing networks. Furthermore, The traditional three-layer model data center architecture can be abandoned with a more efficient topology, known as Spine and Leaf. The Spine and Leaf topology offers low latency and high bandwidth, which are crucial for high-performance computing and cloud environments. Moreover, by incorporating VXLAN technology with the Spine and Leaf architecture, it will provide an effective network topology, which considers the demands of modern data center networks. This paper introduces the VxLAN Multiprotocol Border Gateway Protocol, Ethernet Virtual Private Network (MP-BGP EVPN), and provides a practical implementation using the Free Range Router with docker containers in a GNS3 environment.