Nexus 9K - VXLAN and EVPN Configuration

In this document we discuss the configuration and use of VXLAN with an EVPN control plane.

The platform is Nexus 9000 switches running NXOS. Version details are:

Software
  BIOS: version 07.41
  NXOS: version 7.0(3)I6(1)
  BIOS compile time:  10/12/2015
  NXOS image file is: bootflash:///nxos.7.0.3.I6.1.bin
  NXOS compile time:  5/16/2017 22:00:00 [05/17/2017 06:21:28]

Hardware
  cisco Nexus9000 C9372PX chassis

Two use cases are considered - iBGP and eBGP peerings.

iBGP + OSPF Control Plane

In this scenario, OSPF is used to distribute loopback addresses amongst the leaf/spine switches. iBGP peerings are established betwen the leaf and spine switches, with the spine switches acting as route reflectors.

• Underlay - the physical switch connections and the OSPF underlay routing.
• iBGP Configuration - the iBGP peerings between the leaf and spine switches.
• Layer 2 Overlay - a pure layer 2 VXLAN overlay with EVPN announcing MAC addresses.
• IRB Overlay (in progress) - symmetric integrated routing and briding overlay.

eBGP Control Plane

In this scenario, eBGP is used to distribute both the loopback addresses for the underlay, as well as the EVPN NLRI information.