Did you know that you can implement a VRF-Lite design with VXLAN? All you need are devices that can run VRF routing protocols over VXLAN-backed VLAN segments.

Compared to the “traditional” VRF-Lite design, in which you need a set of VLANs on every link and every device running the routing protocol for every VRF, the VXLAN-based design needs just IP routing on the core switches, resulting in a design that’s pretty close to what we were building with DMVPN (without IPsec and NHRP complications).

Intrigued? You can try it out in the Implement VRF-Lite with VXLAN lab exercise.

You can run the lab on your own netlab-enabled infrastructure (more details), but also within a free GitHub Codespace or even on your Apple-silicon Mac (installation, using Arista cEOS container, using VXLAN/EVPN labs).