Creating a BGP EVPN Full Mesh Profile

Create a BGP EVPN Full Mesh Profile to decentralize distribution of client EVPN routes among VTEPs, allowing all routers in the network to communicate.

A full mesh setup in BGP networks involves each router establishing a direct iBGP session with every other router within the Autonomous System (AS). This design ensures that all routers have complete visibility of the network routes, providing maximum redundancy and fault tolerance. In a full mesh topology, if one router or connection fails, the network can reroute traffic through alternative paths, ensuring uninterrupted service. However, the number of required BGP sessions increases quadratically with the number of routers, making this setup more suitable for smaller networks or specific scenarios where redundancy is critical.

Attention: Before creating a Full Mesh profile, the VLANs to be assigned to the EVPN instances must already exist in the configuration of the selected switches, otherwise, the creation of the profile will result in conflict and the profile cannot be saved.

Complete the following steps to configure a BGP EVPN Full Mesh (FM) profile.

From the main menu, navigate to Network > Wired > Switches.
The Switches window is displayed.

In the left navigation pane, select a switch group.

Click the Configuration tab.

Under the Configuration tab, click the BGP EVPN button.
The BGP EVPN profile page is displayed.
Note: The BGP EVPN page lists BGP EVPN profiles for all switch groups in the System domain, irrespective of the currently selected switch group.

Configuration - BGP EVPN

In the BGP EVPN page, click Create Full Mesh Profile to create a full mesh BGP EVPN profile.

(Optionally) On the Create Full Mesh Profile page, click the icon in the upper right corner to view a topology diagram showing multiple VTEPs and access switches in Full Mesh and Full Mesh with Dual Homing setups.

Full Mesh Diagram Available in the SmartZone UI

Configure the following fields.

Full Mesh Profile
1. Name: Enter the name of the BGP EVPN full mesh profile.
2. Local-As: Enter the Autonomous System (AS) number you want to use for the BGP EVPN fabric. All the routers participating in this fabric should share the same AS number.
3. In the iBGP Neighbors section, click Create.
  
  Configuring the iBGP Neighbor Fields
4. iBGP Neighbor: Click the Select button; in the iBGP Neighbor pop-up window, select a switch to designate as the iBGP Neighbor Switch and click OK.
  
  Choosing a Switch from the List
  
  Note: If the switch is already configured as a RR Server, RR Client, or has Network Segmentation settings, the function to select it will be deactivated.
5. Source Interface for BGP: Select the source interface for BGP from the switch's pre-existing loopback interfaces in the drop-down list or click to create a new Source Interface.
  
  Creating a Source Interface for BGP
  If creating a new Source Interface, configure the following parameters and click OK.
  - ID: Enter a unique identifier for the source interface within the range of 1 through 255.
  - IP Address: Enter the IP address assigned to the source interface.
  - Subnet Mask: Enter the subnet mask associated with the IP address.
  - OSPF Area: Enter the Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) area to which the interface belongs. This area should correspond to the OSPF area assignment of the underlay network.
  Note: When creating a new Source Interface, the new interface will be created and saved in the switch configuration as soon as you enter the parameters for the interface and click OK. The switch will keep this configuration even if this profile is discarded.
6. Source Interface for Overlay Gateway: Select the switch's pre-existing loopback interface for the Overlay Gateway from the drop-down list, or select the Same as BGP check-box if you want to retain the same source interface, or click to create a new source interface in the switch.
  
  Note: If you are selecting the source interface from the pre-existing loopback interfaces of the switch, make sure the interface has been assigned to the appropriate OSPF area for the BGP EVPN profile.
7. Overlay Gateway Name: Enter the name of the overlay gateway for the VTEP. Provide a descriptive name to differentiate it from other overlay gateways in your network.
  
  Note: The Overlay Gateway is the logical component that intercepts the overlay and underlay networks of the configured BGP EVPN fabric (VLANs-to-VNIs mapping). You must use loopback interfaces for this function.
8. VLAN List: Enter the VLAN numbers. Use a comma to separate individual VLAN numbers or a dash to specify a range of VLANs.
9. VNI Start: Enter the starting Virtual Network Identifier (VNI) of the VxLAN to map with the VLAN numbers. The system automatically assigns subsequent VNIs to the VLANs in ascending order.

In the EVPN Instance for VNI section, click Load Default. This option automatically assigns VLAN-to-VNI mappings in ascending order, starting from the configured VNI Start.

Loading the Default Mappings

To configure a VNI, select a specific VNI row in the table and click Configure.

Editing an EVPN Instance for a VNI
1. VLAN: Displays the associated VLAN identifier.
2. Route Target Export: Tags export routes to adjacent BGP domains. Optionally, to manually configure the settings, select Manual from the list. Enter the AS number followed by a colon and the VLAN ID for the exported routes.
  
  Note: By default, the setting for Route Target Export is set to Auto. The switch automatically calculates the necessary information based on a BGP algorithm when the settings are set to Auto.
3. Route Target Import: Configure up to three tags for importing routes from adjacent BGP domains. Optionally, select Manual and type the AS number followed by a colon and the VLAN ID for the imported routes.
  - By default, the setting for Route Target Import is set to Auto. The switch automatically calculates the necessary information based on a BGP algorithm when the settings are set to Auto.
  - If the initial Route Target Import setting is Auto, you cannot add another Route Target Import setting. Conversely, if the first setting is Manual, adding an Auto setting is not allowed.
4. Route Distinguisher: Optionally, select Manual from the list and enter the IP address followed by a colon and the VLAN ID in the adjacent textbox.
  
  The Route Distinguisher is a unique identifier that distinguishes identical IP prefixes across different BGP domains.
  
  Note: By default, the setting for Route Distinguisher is set to Auto. The switch automatically calculates the necessary information based on a BGP algorithm when the settings are set to Auto.
5. ARP Suppression Enable: Optionally, when ARP Suppression is enabled, the VTEP responds to ARP requests on behalf of the end devices, thereby minimizing broadcast traffic and improving network efficiency.
6. MAC Duplication Limit: Suppresses processing and advertisement of Type-2 routes related to MAC addresses that have moved more times than the configured limit, within a specified timeout value (Expiry Timer). Valid values for this limit range from 1 through 1000 MAC movements.
  
  Note: The default value is 5.
7. Expiry Timer (Seconds): Specifies the MAC duplicate detection timeout interval. Valid values range from 2 through 36000 seconds.
  
  Note: The default value is 180 seconds.
8. Click OK to close the EVPN Instance for VNI pop-up window.

(Optional) Toggle the switch for enabling Dual-Homing to ON.

Note: The BGP EVPN Full Mesh profile has Dual Homing turned off by default, and you must enable it manually if needed. When the Dual Homing is disabled, the list of Ethernet Segments will be empty and non-editable.

Enabling Dual-Homing

In the Ethernet Segment (ESIs) section, click Create to create new ethernet segments. To edit an existing Ethernet Segment, select it in the table and click Configure. To remove an Ethernet Segment, select it in the table and click Delete.

Creating an Ethernet Segment

In the Create Ethernet Segment (ESIs) pop-up window, configure the following fields and click OK to save the ESI configuration and close the pop-up window.
1. iBGP Neighbors: One by one, select two VTEPs from the drop-down list. The selected switches will be listed in the format of “Hostname [mac-address]” highlighted in orange on the top of the window. Click the x icon next to the switch name to remove it from the list.
  
  Note: Each Ethernet Segment must include two switches.
2. ID: The ID for the ES. It should be a unique identifier within this BGP EVPN profile. Choose a number between 1 and 63.
  
  Note: The Ethernet Segment ID cannot be duplicated for any switch.
3. LAG ID: Enter the LAG ID. Obtain this info from the switch CLI with the command show lag. Enter a number between 1 and 350.
  
  Note: Each switch supports up to 63 ES-LAGs, with a maximum of 100 tagged VLANs per ES-LAG.
4. Redundancy Mode: Select either Single-active or All-active redundancy mode from the list. In All-Active mode, all member links of the LAG are operational. In Single-Active mode, only one member link is operational.
  
  Note: In All-active mode, the ES remains active across all member VTEPs, distributing traffic for load balancing and redundancy. In Single-active mode, only one ES member is active, while others are set to DOWN. If the ES of the active VTEP fails, another VTEP activates and restores the ES member port to UP status. For more information refer to BGP EVPN Multihoming Overview.
5. Type: Select an Ethernet type from the list.
  Note: For more information about how the ESI value is calculated, refer to BGP EVPN Multihoming Overview.
  
  Use type 0 for scenarios with a static LAG. Ensure the following fields are configured:
  - ESI: Manually enter an arbitrary ESI value in the format of “11:22:33:44:55:66:77:88:99”. This value is to identify the ES between the two VTEP switches.
  - MAC Address: Enter the MAC address in the format of “11:22:33:44:55:66”. The MAC address is the address of the system. This value is used to identify the LAG in front of the CE device.
  - Local Discriminator: Enter a unique value for the local discriminator. Choose a number between 1 and 16777215.
  Use type 1 for scenarios where the LAG is using LACP. Ensure the following fields are configured.
  - LACP MAC Address: The MAC Address to be shared with Customer Edge (CE) device.
  - LACP Port Key: This key is shared with the CE device.
  Use type 3 to derive the ESI from the system MAC address of the device and a unique local discriminator value. Ensure the following fields are configured:
  - MAC Address: Enter a MAC address value to identify the ES in front of the CE device.
  - Local Discriminator: This value is shared with the CE device.