VLAN vs VXLAN in Cloud Networking
Virtualization has revolutionized the way that businesses deploy and manage their networking infrastructure. In recent years, VLANs and Virtual Extensible LANs (VXLANs) have emerged as two popular technologies for partitioning network traffic in the virtual environment. Both VLAN and VXLAN have their own advantages and disadvantages, and in this article, we will compare them to help you decide which one suits your networking needs.
What Is VLAN?
VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) is a technology that allows you to create multiple virtual networks within a single physical network. It divides the broadcast domain of a physical network into smaller logical pieces and isolates traffic within a network. It is done by adding VLAN tags to Ethernet frames.
How Does VLAN Work?
Each VLAN is assigned a unique identifier number that is added to the Ethernet frames being transmitted between devices. This identifier is called a VLAN tag or VLAN ID. The switches in the network use the VLAN ID to route traffic between different VLANs.
Pros and Cons of VLAN
Pros
- VLANs can be easily configured and managed, and they allow better traffic management
- They are effective in isolating traffic within a network and reduce broadcast traffic, which improves security and performance
- Expandable when required
Cons
- The number of VLAN tags is limited to 4094, which can cause problems for extremely large virtual networks, which can be a problem in multi-tenant scenarios.
- They are not viable for extending networks beyond the data center without additional hardware.
What Is VXLAN?
VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) is a newer technology for virtualizing network traffic. It is an extension of Layer 2 Ethernet networks and allows you to construct and stretch Layer 2 networks over a Layer 3 network, such as the Internet.
How Does VXLAN Work?
In VXLAN, a tunnel is created between the devices that need to communicate with each other. The data is encapsulated in a VXLAN packet, which includes the original Layer 2 frame plus a new VXLAN header. The header contains a Network Identifier (VNI), which is used to distinguish between different VXLAN networks.
Pros and Cons of VXLAN
Pros
- VXLANs support up to 16 million network segments, making them highly scalable
- They can extend Layer 2 networks beyond a single data center, which reduces costs and improves flexibility.
- They can be used for disaster recovery and business continuity scenarios.
Cons
- VXLANs are more complex to configure and manage than VLANs which requires extra skills and training from the team
- They may incur more overheads as they require additional software and hardware resources.
Conclusion
Both VLAN and VXLAN are popular virtualization technologies for partitioning network traffic in the virtual environment. The choice between the two largely depends on the specific networking needs and constraints. VLAN is a simpler and more manageable technology for small-scale deployments, while VXLAN offers more scalability and flexibility for larger operations.
We highly recommend consulting experts while choosing and implementing a networking solution based on your needs.