Software Defined Networking & Virtual Extensible LAN

Question 1

SDN

Answer 1

Software Defined Networking → A network architecture that separates the control plane, data plane, and management plane, allowing centralized, programmable control over network traffic.

Question 2

Infrastructure Layer / Data Plane

Answer 2

Data Plane → The layer responsible for physically forwarding packets and frames based on instructions from the control plane; includes switches and routers that handle real-time data movement.

Question 3

Control Layer / Control Plane

Answer 3

Control Plane → The layer that makes traffic forwarding decisions and manages routing tables, sending instructions to the data plane; often centralized in SDN controllers.

Question 4

Application Layer / Management Plane

Answer 4

Management Plane → The top SDN layer where administrators define policies, monitor performance, and configure the network using applications or APIs.

Question 5

SD-WAN

Answer 5

Software Defined Wide Area Network → Uses SDN technology to manage and optimize WAN connections across multiple sites, improving performance and reducing cost compared to traditional MPLS links.

Question 6

DCI

Answer 6

Data Center Interconnect → A high-speed link that connects multiple data centers, enabling synchronization, redundancy, and resource sharing between them.

Question 7

VXLAN

Answer 7

Virtual Extensible LAN → A Layer 3 overlay network protocol that encapsulates Layer 2 Ethernet frames inside Layer 3 UDP packets, allowing scalable virtual networks across data centers.

Question 8

VLAN

Answer 8

Virtual Local Area Network → A Layer 2 technology that segments a physical network into multiple logical networks for isolation, security, and efficient traffic management.

Question 9

VTEP

Answer 9

VXLAN Tunnel Endpoint → A device or interface that encapsulates and decapsulates VXLAN traffic, enabling communication between VXLAN segments across Layer 3 boundaries.

Question 10

VNI

Answer 10

VXLAN Network Identifier → A 24-bit value used to uniquely identify each VXLAN segment, similar to how VLAN IDs separate Layer 2 domains.