Cisco Spine-leaf Network Topology | Cisco CCNA 200-301

In a previous video we discussed the 2 and 3 tier hierarchical models. (Previous video • Network Topology Archi...
This video explains the Spine-Leaf model and also introduces the concept of VXLANs (Virtual eXtensible Local Area Networks).
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[@parimi001]

Clarity makes all the difference. You simple inspire tons of people to learn.

[@salihahassan7029]

Thank you very much for this transparent description of datacenter modle network, I have just started working in data center and this really helped me .

[@KeithBarker]

You are welcome!

[@99bablefish]

this is the best networking video I've watched. Clearly explained, illustrated, diagramed and labbed. Well done!

[@KeithBarker]

Wow, thanks!

[@weavingthevaluess]

agreed!! amazing video thanks so much

[@venkatesh4760]

Thanks Keith for this very clear explanation!

[@KeithBarker]

Glad it was helpful!

[@owenmorgan857]

Such a great explanation as always Keith

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Owen Morgan!

[@CiscoSaeed]

I am always find you the best explanation and configuration in every network concepts! Alwaays

[@KeithBarker]

I appreciate that!

[@sayantanmitra4879]

Excellent video Keith.. If someone need to clear the basics of Vxlan it is the ultimate choice.

[@G1rlyG33k]

Great way to explain Spine/Leaf and VxLAN's ... Perfect timing for me to learn. Thank You

[@KeithBarker]

Glad you liked it!

[@ve55]

Perfect .. .we're getting new cisco datacenter switches in spine/leaf style in a few months. This gives a lot of information about how this works! Thank you.

[@KeithBarker]

Best of luck!

[@ericktapia775]

Wonderful training, thanks Keith 😊

[@popquizzz]

This is brilliant using UDP for the delivery of the packet, not having to care if it gets there or not because the higher level TCP protocol is still in tact from the original frame. This seems to be a brilliant way to flatten a network in a homogenously environment like a datacenter. Do you see VXLAN technology being used external uf the DC?

[@hcetc]

Thanks Keith. This is one of the clearest videos on the spine-leaf architecture that I have had the privilege to watch. Good job.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Samuel Chege!

[@YouSharp1]

Fantastic!

[@ryanrrothwell]

Thanks Keith!

[@KeithBarker]

Happy to do it, thanks for the feedback Ryan Rothwell.

[@jalewando9214]

Wow… thank you !!!

[@KeithBarker]

You are welcome!

[@rumesh.official6850]

Wonderful explanation Keith

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Rumesh.Official!

[@profileman1083]

Great explanation. You are an expert

[@KeithBarker]

I appreciate that!

[@alejandroherreraulloa1055]

awesome video Keith, thanks a lot... with you this topic is more simple now :D

[@KeithBarker]

Glad it was helpful!

[@muhammaduzairahmed8694]

Thank you sir!

[@KeithBarker]

You are welcome!

[@helinaemeru2174]

the best video

[@dimea.atomic.seijin]

Keith, greatest explanation of Spine-Leaf network topology in the internet. Greatest teacher in the internet after all. Thnx

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Dime Atomic!

[@jubrilak]

great explanation

[@KeithBarker]

Glad it was helpful!

[@elsilonsilva5379]

Wonderful explanation of the Spine-Leaf architecture. Could you provide the configuration script and mounted images of the spine and leaf switches in the EVE LAB. I want to play the same.

[@majorburly2007]

6783 is The OG of IT and probably still has an IBM 101 KB ✌

[@ewsdneax61eaxe10]

There are only two Keiths that i really admired in teaching networking 1. Keith Barker and the other 2. Keith Boggart. Thank you Sirs you really helped me passed my Cisco exams👍👍👍

[@madjedsolt5878]

And Chuck Keith

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you TRAXX!

[@somasisrakkhit5605]

That was really a great session Keith! You are not only a very good teacher, but also a very good human being. Love your advice at the end - Be happy and treat everybody well!

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Somasis Rakkhit!

[@kellymoses8566]

I like to think of VXLAN as a replacement for STP.

[@xrellikgr]

Instead of VMs connected to the layer 3 switches you can also have layer 2 switch and you can isolate any loops that happen to a single rack.

[@carlosmalovini5319]

Man, I can't thank you enough for all you do for us.

[@KeithBarker]

Happy to do it, thanks for the feedback Carlos Malovini.

[@susmitamazumder8390]

@@KeithBarker hi good morning. After 23rd you are not uploading any quiz videos. only I see the office hour videos. Is it possible to upload the quiz videos. I checked on discord. they are not even there. thanks in advance . and please upload.

[@lahirupriyankara2183]

this guy rocks

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Lahiru Priyankara!

[@erothwell]

I love it when technology is explained in an easy-to-understand way (with illustrations 😁) and Keith Barker is on my top three MVTs (Most Valuable Trainers)

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @erothwell!

[@comayo07]

Thank you

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you CA se!

[@AnkitTripathi]

Keith is the best teacher I have come across in the network industry

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you ANKIT TRIPATHI!

[@mw9463]

Excellent video! One question. Communication between switches is L3. So each switch is maintaining routing table. Maybe there is ospf there between leaves and spines. What if we have that situation from the film that we want to use vxlan to connect with l2 two different segments? Routing table on spine/leaf switches will show the route to the same subnet but via morę than one different interfaces? On the spines it will be interfaces towards sw3 and sw6. And on sw3 there will be 3 entries to that subnet: directly connected, via spine1 and via spine2. My brain is confusing something so please explain it to me :) best regards!

[@kevinjohnson2380]

Happy new year, it’s been a while since I have seen your CCNA nuggets. The content is exactly what I expect from you, first class. All the best Jedikj95

[@KeithBarker]

Happy new year!

[@pace1134]

Great explanation of spine/ leaf as well as vxlan, would love to see a follow up video on how to lab this up using eve-ng

[@Mes21211]

This is awesome explanation of VXLAN, may I know K9 and leaf switches versions?

[@surajrajendrapandey6917]

Great ...

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @surajrajendrapandey6917!

[@redadz9105]

Hey, Keith, thx. Are we supposed to know these details at CCNA Level?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question Reda DZ. The blueprint doesn't ask for the nitty gritty details, but rather wants the CCNA to be able to: Describe characteristics of network topology architectures 1.2.a 2 tier 1.2.b 3 tier 1.2.c Spine-leaf 1.2.d WAN 1.2.e Small office/home office (SOHO) 1.2.f On-premises and cloud Hope that helps, and happy studies.

[@billmutombomasanka9793]

Thank you Mr Keith Parker, I really appreciate thats amazing friend, Wow !

[@MinisterOfGuam]

at what point, if ever would you consider vPC between two leaf switches?

[@snawuma7]

Keith Barker is the most awesome IT skills teacher who has a very deep knowledge of Networking and even better explaining skills. You are the one whose finger i have held in my journey in the Networking world. Hats off for you Sir...Please show eve-ng lab setup with the configuration to further master this technology.

[@zaksteve4942]

If I want to add firewall & WAN connections, where it would be the interconnection, on the leaf or spine? Unfortunately, I saw both but I belive it must be on the leaf. would you please verify this point? thanks

[@tolgayucel1442]

Is there any specific reason not to connect spines each other? Because if sw3-spine1 and sw6-spine2 goes down, than there would be no communication between sw3-sw6. And i know we should not care 2 level disaster while designing the network but is it harmful to connect spines each other? Thanks!

[@iBl0b]

Hi Keith, thanks for this learning episode ! In order to make a physical lab on Spine/Leaf and VxLAN, what is the minimal hardware config for spine and leaves ? Is there any old hardware which can manage that ? And, even if it's not the topic, what is the minimal switch type to use MLAG (without stacking) ? (I know that staking is much better for production, easier, faster, etc. It's just for lab) Thanks ! Fred

[@m-electronics5977]

7:01 but then the routing process is in both of the Switches? In leaf and spine? Because when some host is connected to the ToR / LEAF Switch of Rack 3 this Switch must be the gateway for that address?

[@MamaliFeshFesh]

Hi There's something I cannot understand here. The spine switches seem to be doing nothing but making routing decisions (all their interfaces have different network addresses). How come they are referred to as switches. Can you please shed some light on that? An I missing something?

[@AhmadShrif]

anyone knows the name of the lab software used here, it is really cool.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @AhmadShrif. I use a few. For this one it was Eve-NG.

[@rick777888]

Can't the 9K spine switches be connected with a keepalive link and peer link, so as to create a shared backplane for VPC?

[@michaelgodwin7702]

What type of connections should be between the spines and leaves? Trunk with no specified allowed vlans?

[@emersonnatividad5948]

Great Video Keith, Just want to know where did you configure the svi of vlan 9 and the end devices how they get their IP from vlan 9? Thank you Keith

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question Emerson Natividad. The SVIs would be on the leaf switches. Fort DHCP, the relays could be on the leaf switches, or the leaf switches could provide dhcp service directly.

[@charlesyaw6514]

Keith what code/link did you use for the Secure CRT program fonts?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question Charles Yaw. www.vandyke.com/support/tips/colorconfig.html

[@majiddehbi9186]

realy thanks Mr Barker , u couldn't imagine a such respect and estim that u have here in Afric and in Algeria

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you majid dehbi!

[@EnriqueVillarMavila]

Hi. I understand when a tenant have a vlan 3 and a vni 3000 and other tenant have a vlan 5 and vni 5000. But what happens when I have a tenant 1 with vlan 3 and another tenant with vlan 3? Thanks!

[@uvarbt]

In this scenario When using the VNI interface is configured and and vlan 9 associated with it for an access interface and a the VM is communication are ok. But is this still be possible in case of VMware VM which is having NSX as a sdn? Or it's not appropriate to use both ? Or both can be used ? Could you please post a vblog in this ?

[@Marbell26]

The Leafs have the default gateways for each subnet correct? If so, are you using Anycast gateways so that the same gateway exists on each Leaf? Or is that something that is proprietary for Cisco ACI?

[@yannelanga6010]

beautiful, waiting for the configurations on the spine side.

[@eoeoeovideos]

This Lead or Spin switches, can be any switches or is an specific model ? I am not talking only for CISCO but also for others switching model.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @eoeoeovideos. For the leaf/spine switches, they would be multi-layer switches, capable of L2 forwarding and L3 routing.

[@aliabdulrazaq3852]

Thanks for the great video as usual Keith, can you post the documentation to do such config? Thanks

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question Ali Abdulrazaq. these are my working notes, from that video. conf t boot nxos bootflash:nxos.9.3.6.bin end copy run start !Spines and Leafs conf t feature nv overlay nv overlay evpn feature ospf feature bgp feature vn-segment-vlan-based system jumbomtu 9216 router ospf 1 int e1/1-6 no switchport no shutdown ip router ospf 1 area 0 int loop 0 ip router ospf 1 area 0 end ! Leaf-3 only conf t int nve1 source-interface loopback0 member vni 6783 no ingress-replication protocol bgp no host-reachability protocol bgp member vni 6783 ingress-replication protocol static peer-ip 10.10.10.6 no shutdown exit interface e 1/7 switchport switchport access vlan 9 no shutdown exit vlan 9 vn-segment 6783 end ! Leaf-6 only conf t int nve1 source-interface loopback0 member vni 6783 no ingress-replication protocol bgp no host-reachability protocol bgp member vni 6783 ingress-replication protocol static peer-ip 10.10.10.3 no shutdown exit interface e 1/7 switchport switchport access vlan 9 no shutdown exit vlan 9 vn-segment 6783 end ! spine conf t router bgp 123456 router-id 10.10.10.x address-family ipv4 unicast address-family l2vpn evpn neighbor 10.10.10.3 remote-as 123456 update-source loopback0 address-family l2vpn evpn send-community both route-reflector-client address-family ipv4 unicast update-source loopback 0 end conf t router bgp 123456 address-family ipv4 unicast address-family l2vpn evpn neighbor 10.10.10.4 remote-as 123456 update-source loopback0 address-family l2vpn evpn send-community both route-reflector-client address-family ipv4 unicast update-source loopback 0 end conf t router bgp 123456 address-family ipv4 unicast address-family l2vpn evpn neighbor 10.10.10.5 remote-as 123456 update-source loopback0 address-family l2vpn evpn send-community both route-reflector-client address-family ipv4 unicast update-source loopback 0 end conf t router bgp 123456 address-family ipv4 unicast address-family l2vpn evpn neighbor 10.10.10.6 remote-as 123456 update-source loopback0 address-family l2vpn evpn send-community both route-reflector-client address-family ipv4 unicast update-source loopback 0 end ! leafs conf t router bgp 123456 router-id 10.10.10.x address-family ipv4 unicast neighbor 10.10.10.1 remote-as 123456 update-source loopback0 address-family ipv4 unicast address-family l2vpn evpn send-community send-community extended neighbor 10.10.10.2 remote-as 123456 update-source loopback0 address-family ipv4 unicast address-family l2vpn evpn send-community send-community extended end show nve peers detail show nve vni show run | include vlan|6783 show nve peers show nve peers detail show ip route 10.10.10.3

[@randallpittman3498]

Awesome explanation, vxlan makes loads more sense now. I wonder what the routing pattern and typical connection layout would be for a dual ToR system.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @randallpittman3498! That is a good question.

[@TheRealOGChill]

Which packet tracer lab on your website follows along with this video if you happen to have one? I am a little confused about the two different networks, do I need one network on the left side and another network on the right side, or am I misunderstanding something?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @TheRealOGChill. I didn't use Packet Tracer for the spine-leaf video.

[@charlesyaw6514]

Love your countdown design Keith. Well and simply explained

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Charles Yaw!

[@Udanoob]

This video should be added to the CBT Nuggets CCNP and CCNA curriculum. I've read up and watched several videos on VXLAN/Spine/Leaf and somewhat understood the topic, but five minutes into this video a light bulb went off. I do have a recommendation; when you make labs like this, please provide the command list. I like to follow along by doing rather than watching. Excellent work again Keith, thank you sir.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @user-rr3fo6hy9q!

[@indrajittalukdar4904]

Keith, why we dont have a cross connect between the leafs ? What is the reason ? Is it because we want the switches to be fully NON-Blocking ?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question Indrajit Talukdar. The answer is here: www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/white-paper-c11-737022.html

Great video! I appreciate you taking time to explain spine-leaf topology. I would like to learn more about spine-leaf and VXLAN. Could you please recommend some books or any other learning material about this stuff? Thank you!

[@djthomassmith]

Hi Keith! I am preparing for CCNA from your videos. May I have the track ID of the background music you used on the CBT Nuggets Cisco CCNA 200-301 review trainings videos? One example:CCNA 38-Interpret and Describe a Cisco IP routing table. 9. Review of Interpret and Describe a Cisco IP routing table.

[@changoramos5571]

Hello Keith, are these vids part of a series and can one purchase these?

[@aaronriggan2373]

This is my first introduction to Spine-Leaf / VXLANs and all I can say is WOW. There's definitely a few possibilities this opens up! How does inter-vlan (inter-vxlan?) routing work at this stage? Is it VRRP or similar to virtualize the gateway address, or is there a different mechanism altogether?

[@abdelrahmangamalmahdy]

Thanks so much for the demo. But I think there's a small misunderstanding at 20:10 as it's normal that the response to the first ping request to get lost due to ARP broadcasting. Even though there are two ECMP paths, each L4 socket will go through the same path due to hashing which helps the packets come in the same order they were sent in

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @abdelrahmangamal5875!

[@somanathsshenoy]

I have been following many of your videos. They are highly educational. I observed in this video you look tired. Please take good care of yourself / your health. Every enthusiastic student is highly indebted to you. We need you.

[@IceSmacker123]

Thanks a lot Keith! I'm engaging in the CCNP Data Center and that's my first video i'm watching!

[@KeithBarker]

Welcome!

[@uvarbt]

Hi sir, Is this covered as a course from you to achieve ccna and the get to know all about Networking fundamentals and to become more proficient?

[@rjnasr8078]

Great job, It was great that you explained this from the hosts point of view. Would it be possible to share the YAML file please.

[@lara400notout]

Wow. What a video that was. I am not a network person but had an email from networking team stating "spine and leaf", me being me I wanted to understand what that is and this video just blew my mind with all the details and the presentation. You have earned a new subscriber!

[@jovsta]

What are you using as a whiteboard?

[@sidhardhakoppolu1319]

CCNP CLASSES will do sir please

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Sidhardha Koppolu for the suggestion. Currently I am focusing most of my KZbin content at the Cisco CCNA level, but will keep your suggestion in the queue as a possibility in the future. Thanks again for the idea.

[@saibot293]

So I can use use EvNG to get hands on with Data center technologies? or Automation?

[@jerrysanchez8361]

Wow you my man are a goat . I haven’t done networking in some time just got bored reviewed this video and got the sync I needed

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @jerrysanchez8361!

[@andreiantonescu8827]

Is VXLAN something relatively new? I got my CCNA over three years ago and don't recall it being mentioned in the curriculum. Sounds easier than using router on a stick layer 3 routing on the backend or messing with lots of layer 2 trunking.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question Andrei Antonescu. VXLAN isn't on the list of topics for the current CCNA either, but the Spine-Leaf topology is, and that was my main point of the video.

[@pacoz5359]

This explanation was very interesting, why would we need two servers or endpoints to be on the same vlan? what is the benefit?

[@jepotsalvatore2748]

Awesome video! Thanks!

[@fergeraci]

Excellent vid. Thank you.

[@KeithBarker]

Very welcome

[@patrickoneill7964]

I know its not packet tracer but that lab simulation are you using

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question patrick oneill. In this video I used Eve-NG

[@arthurherringiii]

What emulator is he using? GNS3?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @arthurherringiii. For this video I used Eve-NG.

[@jaffatherealest]

"YOUVE GOT TO KNOW WHEN TOO HOLD THEM..... KNOW WHEN TO FOLD THEM" - this song is so good. Reminds me of your STP video. Thanks for your service to this wonderful community. More cisco!

[@KeithBarker]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@ashalan767]

Keith, to be clear, the ToR switches are L3 and the subnet that the ToR is using for the hosts in the rack is an SVI that is using OSPF correct? Then we put OSPF on the spine connections so routing is then achieved. Is my thinking correct?

[@venkateswarwunnava6911]

Spine-Leaf architecture uses BGP. Typically eBGP....

[@Androcentus]

Keith continue to be the best at explaining how things work, regardless of complexity. Him and Jeremy are the best! Thank you.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you!

[@hamzaghazi7485]

Thanks Keith, now I understood TOR switches and their purpose and how we use them in Spine/Leaf Topology. Looking forward to more videos, related to Data center networking topics.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Hamza Ghazi!

[@ch.idir.immoune]

This video is part of which course ?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you for the question @user-ti9hj5lu6t. This topic is in lots of Cisco content including the CCNA and CCNP courses.

[@Kiran-vq7jx]

I like Keith Barker and Jermy Coira for there best teachings. They explain with real world examples thts the best way to understand and when we are actually working on the project we can apply those concepts easily. Thanks 🙏 to both of them and all other best tutors of CBTnuggets

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Kiran!

[@mmad3130]

how is this different from building gre tunnels between switches?

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you M Mad. Feel free to join my Discord sever. Lots of people there helping each other out. Each Saturday at 10am Pacific I hold my "Office Hour" where learners can ask questions about the topics they are studying. Mostly focusing on Cisco CCNA 200-301 topics. Feel free to join us there live if you are available. Here is the link ogit.online/Join_OGIT_on_Discord Thanks again M Mad!

[@Movieman257]

Great job explaining the subject matter! Thank you.

[@KeithBarker]

Happy to do it, thanks for the feedback Skater Jeff.

[@matthewcardinal4186]

You are a gentleman and a scholar :)

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Matthew Cardinal!

[@albert54505]

Awesome video! Can you make a video how did you setup your EVE-NG and ACi?

[@KeithBarker]

Yes, soon

[@david_108]

impressive explanation!

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you David Lopez!

[@boros123]

I have few questions, Keith sir. Are leaf switches only layer 2 switches and not layer 3 switches? If they are only layer 2 switches, then are all servers in that same rack lies in same network subnet?

[@BryanPike]

Thanks Keith! You are not the only one who may get a bit overly excited when stuff just works out of the gate. This was a fantastic refresher for me.

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you Bryan Pike!

[@Rahul_patera]

Amazing content. Keith is a real guru ❤

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you @RahulChaudhary-cw9rn!

[@shezzy97]

Keith what are you using to simulate the lab? Does not look like GNS

[@s9009]

Eve-ng

[@riff1175]

Thank you Keith , so much knowledge in this video, it's amazing !

[@KeithBarker]

Thank you RiFF!