Vrf-Lite - Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Software Configuration Manual

Chapter 1 Product Overview

VRF-lite

VPN routing and forwarding (VRF-lite) is an extension of IP routing that provides multiple routing
instances. Along with BGP, it enables the creation of a Layer 3 VPN service by keeping separate IP
routing and forwarding tables for each VPN customer. VRF-lite uses input interfaces to distinguish
routes for different VPNs. It forms virtual packet-forwarding tables by associating one or more Layer 3
interfaces with each VRF, allowing the creation of multiple Layer 3 VPNs on a single switch. Interfaces
in a VRF could be either physical, such as an Ethernet port, or logical, such as a VLAN switch virtual
interface (SVI). However, interfaces cannot belong to more than one VRF at any time.
Prior to Release IOS XE 3.5.0E and IOS 15.2(1)E, only IPv4 was available. With Release IOS XE 3.5.0E
and IOS 15.2(1)E, VRF-lite support has been extended to IPv6.
For information on VRF-lite, see
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) is a standard based first-hop redundancy protocol. With
VRRP, a group of routers function as one virtual router by sharing one virtual IP address and one virtual
MAC address. The master router performs packet forwarding, while the backup routers stay idle. VRRP
is typically used in the multi-vendor first-hop gateway redundancy deployment.
For details on VRRP, refer to this URL:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/ios/ipapp/configuration/guide/ipapp_vrrp_ps6441_TSD_Products_
Configuration_Guide_Chapter.html
Management Features
The Catalyst 4500 series switch offers network management and control using the CLI or through
alternative access methods, such as SNMP. The switch software supports these network management
features:
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Cisco Call Home, page 1-24
Cisco Energy Wise, page 1-24
Cisco IOS IP Service Level Agreements, page 1-25
Cisco Media Services Proxy, page 1-25
Cisco Medianet AutoQoS, page 1-26
Cisco Medianet Flow Metadata, page 1-26
Cisco IOS Mediatrace and Performance Monitor, page 1-27
Cisco Network Assistant, page 1-28
Dynamic Host Control Protocol, page 1-28
Easy Virtual Network, page 1-28
Embedded CiscoView, page 1-29
Embedded Event Manager, page 1-29
Ethernet Management Port, page 1-29
File System Management (Supervisor Engine 7-E, 7L-E, and 8-E), page 1-29
Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.9.xE and IOS 15.2(5)Ex
Chapter 43, "Configuring VRF-lite."
Management Features
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