Configuring Evi; Overview; Layer 2 Connectivity Extension Issues - HP FlexFabric 12900 Series Configuration Manual

Configuring EVI

Overview

Ethernet Virtual Interconnect (EVI) is a MAC-in-IP technology that provides Layer 2 connectivity between
distant Layer 2 network sites across an IP routed network. It is used for connecting geographically
dispersed sites of a virtualized large-scale data center that requires Layer 2 adjacency (see
EVI enables long-distance virtual machine workload mobility and data mobility, disaster recovery, and
business continuity. For example, virtual machines can move between data center sites without changing
their IP addresses, so their movements are transparent to users and do not disrupt traffic.
Figure 1 Virtual machine migration

Layer 2 connectivity extension issues

EVI resolves the following Layer 2 connectivity extension issues:
Site independence—EVI keeps protocol failures, such as broadcast storms, from propagating
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across sites.
Transport independence—EVI has no special requirements for site location or transport network
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type, except that the transport network can forward IP packets.
Link efficiency—EVI optimizes the inter-site multicast and broadcast transmission mechanism and
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implements load-sharing on redundant links.
Site and transport transparency—EVI is both site and transport network transparent. It has no
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special site or transport network topology requirements.
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Figure 1).