As the technology world continues to evolve, companies are always searching for more streamlined and efficient ways to operate their networks. One of the newer and more popular innovations is Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) – a technology that separates a physical network into multiple logical networks, known as virtual routing and forwarding instances. But what exactly is VRF, and how does it work? Keep reading for our beginner’s guide to VRF.
What is VRF?
At its core, VRF is a way to create separate virtual networks within a physical network infrastructure. This technology is particularly useful for companies that need to segment their traffic for security, performance, or other reasons. Instead of using separate servers, switches, and other network devices to create these segmentations, VRF leverages existing hardware to create multi-tenancy that feels like multiple networks.
How does VRF work?
VRF leverages a technique called routing and forwarding tables to create separate virtual networks. In layman’s terms, routing tables are information held within a router that directs traffic based on IP addresses. Traditionally, networks would have a single routing table that directs all traffic. With VRF, however, each virtual network has its own routing table. This means each virtual network is unaware of the other network segments, completely isolating traffic from one to another.
To complete the process, VRF includes forwarding tables which use lookup and labeling technologies to sort traffic based on the routing tables. In other words, VRF takes multiple IP addresses and assigns different labels to each based on their virtual network. As such, the router is able to differentiate between several virtual networks as it forwards traffic.
Why is VRF important?
VRF has become an important tool for companies because it allows them to create logical networks while consolidating their physical infrastructure. Instead of buying and maintaining separate hardware for each virtual network, VRF allows administrators to leverage the existing hardware and further optimize it via virtualization. With VRF, companies can do more with less and scale their networks more efficiently and securely.
Conclusion
Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) is the latest innovation designed to create separation within physical networks, allowing companies to create secure and isolated virtual networks via a software-defined separation mechanism. By separating the routing and forwarding tables and employing lookup and labeling technologies, VRF improves the efficiency of a company’s network and reduces the infrastructure footprint. As an increasing number of companies are moving toward a virtualized network, it’s important to understand the basics of VRF to keep pace with the industry and stay ahead of the competition.