Category: Overlay Networks
Why Would You Need an Overlay Network?
I got this question from one of ipSpace.net subscribers:
My VP is not a fan of overlays and is determined to move away from our legacy implementation of OTV, VXLAN, and EVPN1. We own and manage our optical network across all sites; however, it’s hard for me to picture a network design without overlays. He keeps asking why we need overlays when we own the optical network.
There are several reasons (apart from RFC 1925 Rule 6a) why you might want to add another layer of abstraction (that’s what overlay networks are in a nutshell) to your network.