VXLAN - Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network
===============================================

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        **What is VXLAN?**

        VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) is a network virtualization technology that encapsulates Layer 2 Ethernet frames within Layer 3 UDP packets, allowing scalable communication between virtual machines across different physical networks.

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        **Why is VXLAN useful?**

        VXLAN solves VLAN limitations in large-scale data centers by extending Layer 2 networks over Layer 3 infrastructure. It supports up to 16 million logical networks, compared to VLAN's 4,096 limit, improving scalability and flexibility.

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        **How it works?**

        VXLAN encapsulates Ethernet frames inside UDP packets and assigns a unique VXLAN Network Identifier (VNI) to each virtual network. These packets are sent through a VXLAN tunnel endpoint (VTEP), which handles encapsulation and decapsulation.

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        **Where is VXLAN used?**

        VXLAN is commonly used in cloud data centers, virtualized environments, and SDN-based networks. It is supported by platforms like VMware NSX, OpenStack, and Cisco ACI.

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        **Which OSI layer does this protocol belong to?**

        VXLAN operates at **Layer 2** (Data Link Layer) for encapsulation but uses **Layer 3** (Network Layer) and **Layer 4** (Transport Layer via UDP) for transport, making it a cross-layer protocol.

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        **Is VXLAN Windows specific?**

        No, VXLAN is not Windows specific. It is a networking protocol supported across various platforms and vendors.

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        **Is VXLAN Linux specific?**

        No, VXLAN is not Linux specific, but Linux supports VXLAN natively through the kernel and tools like Open vSwitch and iproute2.

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        **Which Transport Protocol is used by VXLAN?**

        VXLAN uses **UDP** as the transport protocol for encapsulated traffic.

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        **Which Port is used by VXLAN?**

        VXLAN uses **UDP port 4789** by default.

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        **Is VXLAN using Client server model?**

        No, VXLAN does not follow a client-server model. It is a tunneling protocol used between VTEPs (VXLAN Tunnel Endpoints) to encapsulate and transport traffic across networks.

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        Topics in this section,

                * :ref:`Learnings in this section <VXLAN_step1>`

                * :ref:`Terminology <VXLAN_step2>`

                * :ref:`Version Info <VXLAN_step3>`

                * :ref:`VXLAN Version&IEEE Details <VXLAN_step5>`

                * :ref:`VXLAN Basic Setup on Ubuntu using IPv4 <VXLAN_step18>`

                * :ref:`VXLAN Basic Setup on Ubuntu using IPv6 <VXLAN_step19>`

                * :ref:`VXLAN Protocol Packet Details <VXLAN_step6>`

                * :ref:`VXLAN Usecases <VXLAN_step7>`

                * :ref:`VXLAN Basic Features <VXLAN_step8>`
                    
                * :ref:`Reference links <VXLAN_step17>`


.. _VXLAN_step1:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: Learnings in this section

        * In this section, you are going to learn

.. _VXLAN_step2:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: Terminology
        
       * Terminology


.. _VXLAN_step3:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: Version Info
    
         * Version Info


.. _VXLAN_step5:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: VXLAN Version&RFC Details

        * rfc details

.. _VXLAN_step18:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: VXLAN Basic Setup on Ubuntu using IPv4

       * setup

.. _VXLAN_step19:

.. tab-set::
  
   .. tab-item:: VXLAN Basic Setup on Ubuntu using IPv6

     * setup
       
.. _VXLAN_step6:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: VXLAN Protocol Packet Details

        * packet details
       


.. _VXLAN_step7:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: VXLAN Usecases

       * usecases
        
        

.. _VXLAN_step8:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: VXLAN Basic Features
    
        * features 



.. _VXLAN_step17:

.. tab-set::

    .. tab-item:: Reference links
     
       * Reference links