Layer 3 Virtualization; Route Policy Manager; Policy-Based Routing; First-Hop Redundancy Protocols - Cisco Nexus 7000 Series Configuration Manual

Chapter 1 Overview
S e n d d o c u m e n t c o m m e n t s t o n e x u s 7 k - d o c f e e d b a c k @ c i s c o . c o m .

Layer 3 Virtualization

Virtualization allows you to share physical resources across separate management domains. Cisco
NX-OS supports Virtual Device Contexts (VDCs) which allow you to create separate virtual systems
within a Cisco NX-OS system. Each VDC is isolated from the others, which means that a problem in one
VDC does not affect any other VDCs. VDCs are also secure from the other. You can assign separate
network operators to each VDC and these network operators cannot control or view the configuration of
a different VDC.
Cisco NX-OS also supports Layer 3 virtualization with VPN Routing and Forwarding (VRF). A VRF
provides a separate address domain for configuring layer 3 routing protocols. For more information, see
Chapter 14, "Configuring Layer 3 Virtualization."

Route Policy Manager

The Route Policy Manager provides a route filtering capability in Cisco NX-OS. It uses route maps to
filter routes distributed across various routing protocols and between different entities within a given
routing protocol. Filtering is based on specific match criteria, which is similar to packet filtering by
access control lists. For more information, see

Policy-Based Routing

Policy-based routing uses the Route Policy Manager to create policy route filters. These policy route
filters can forward a packet to a specified next hop based on the source of the packet or other fields in
the packet header. Policy routes can be linked to extended IP access lists so that routing might be based
on such things as protocol types and port numbers. For more information, see
Policy-Based Routing."

First-Hop Redundancy Protocols

First-hop redundancy protocols allow you to provide redundant connections to your hosts. In the event
that an active first-hop router fails, the FHRP automatically selects a standby router to take over. You do
not need to update the hosts with new IP addresses since the address is virtual and shared between each
router in the FHRP group. For more information on the Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP), see
Chapter 18, "Configuring
see
(VRRP), see

Object Tracking

Object tracking allows you to track specific objects on the network, such as the interface line protocol
state, IP routing, and route reachability, and take action when the tracked object's state changes. This
feature allows you to increase the availability of the network and shorten recovery time if an object state
goes down. For more information, see

Related Topics

The following Cisco documents are related to the Layer 3 features:
OL-20002-02
GLBP". For more information on the Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP),
Chapter 19, "Configuring HSRP". For more information on the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
Chapter 20, "Configuring
Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 4.x
Chapter 16, "Configuring Route Policy Manager."
VRRP".
Chapter 21, "Configuring Object
Related Topics
Chapter 17, "Configuring
Tracking".
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