VRF

VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) enables network virtualization by creating isolated routing and forwarding instances within a single physical device, supporting MPLS Layer 3 VPNs, multi-tenancy, and network segmentation through separate routing tables, forwarding tables, and interfaces for each VRF instance. It provides comprehensive control over route import and export policies using route targets, route distinguishers for unique route identification across VPN networks, and support for both IPv4 and IPv6 address families with granular policy control. VRF technology is essential for service providers offering VPN services, enterprise network segmentation, and scenarios requiring complete routing isolation between different network domains while maintaining operational efficiency on shared infrastructure.

Diagram

Classes

configuration (iosxe.devices)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
vrfs	List	`[vrfs]`	No

vrfs (iosxe.devices.configuration)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
name	String		Yes
description	String		No
route_distinguisher	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	No
address_family_ipv4	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
address_family_ipv6	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
vpn_id	String	Regex: `^[0-9a-fA-F]{1,6}:[0-9a-fA-F]{1,8}$`	No
import_route_targets	List	`[import_route_targets]`	No
export_route_targets	List	`[export_route_targets]`	No
ipv4_route_target_imports	List	`[ipv4_route_target_imports]`	No
ipv4_route_target_exports	List	`[ipv4_route_target_exports]`	No
ipv6_route_target_imports	List	`[ipv6_route_target_imports]`	No
ipv6_route_target_exports	List	`[ipv6_route_target_exports]`	No

import_route_targets (iosxe.devices.configuration.vrfs)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
value	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	Yes
stitching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ipv4	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ipv6	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

export_route_targets (iosxe.devices.configuration.vrfs)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
value	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	Yes
stitching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ipv4	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
ipv6	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

ipv4_route_target_imports (iosxe.devices.configuration.vrfs)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
value	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	Yes
stitching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

ipv4_route_target_exports (iosxe.devices.configuration.vrfs)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
value	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	Yes
stitching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

ipv6_route_target_imports (iosxe.devices.configuration.vrfs)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
value	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	Yes
stitching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

ipv6_route_target_exports (iosxe.devices.configuration.vrfs)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
value	String	Regex: `^((\d{1,5}:\d{1,10})\|((\d{1,3}\.){3}\d{1,3}:\d{1,10})\|([\da-fA-F]{1,8}:\d{1,10}))$`	Yes
stitching	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No

VRF provides network segmentation and isolation by creating separate routing and forwarding tables on a single device, enabling multi-tenancy and efficient resource utilization.

VRF Parameters

VRF name
Description
Route Distinguisher (RD)
Route Targets (Import/Export)
Address Families (IPv4/IPv6)
VPN ID
Interface association

You can use these VRF parameters to define isolated routing environments on your network device. Customize the name, route distinguisher, route targets, and interface associations to fit your network’s segmentation and multi-tenancy needs. Adjusting these parameters lets you tailor traffic isolation and routing policies for different network domains.

Examples

ip vrf definition VRF-PROD

Defines a new VRF instance named VRF-PROD.

rd 200:1

Configures the Route Distinguisher for the VRF, making routes unique within the MPLS VPN domain.

route-target export 200:10

Specifies a route target for exporting routes from this VRF to other VRFs.

route-target import 300:10

Specifies a route target for importing routes into this VRF from other VRFs.

address-family ipv4

Enters the IPv4 address family configuration mode within the VRF.

interface GigabitEthernet0/1

Selects an interface to associate with a VRF.

ip vrf forwarding VRF-PROD

Assigns the VRF-PROD instance to the selected interface, isolating its traffic.

Sample Configuration

The following configuration describes how to set up a VRF instance on an IOS-XE device. It includes defining the VRF, setting its route distinguisher, configuring route targets for import and export, and associating an interface with the VRF for traffic isolation.

ip vrf definition VRF-PROD
 description Production VRF
 rd 200:1
 route-target export 200:10
 route-target export 300:10
 route-target import 200:10
 route-target import 300:10
 address-family ipv4
  route-target import 200:11 stitching
  route-target export 300:11
 exit-address-family
 address-family ipv6
  route-target import 200:13
  route-target export 300:13 stitching
 exit-address-family
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1
 ip vrf forwarding VRF-PROD
 ip address 10.0.0.1 255.255.255.0

Example YAML Code

The following YAML code sets up a VRF instance on an IOS-XE device, specifying its name, description, route distinguisher, route targets for import and export, and address family configurations for both IPv4 and IPv6.

iosxe:
  devices:
    - name: Device1
      configuration:
        vrfs:
          - name: "VRF-PROD"
            description: "Production VRF"
            route_destinguisher: "200:1"
            address_family_ipv4: true
            address_family_ipv6: true
            vpn_id: 36B:1234
            import_route_targets:
              - value: "200:10"
                stitching: false
                ipv4: true
                ipv6: true
              - value: "300:10"
                stitching: false
                ipv4: true
                ipv6: true
            export_route_targets:
              - value: "200:10"
                stitching: false
                ipv4: true
                ipv6: true
              - value: "300:10"
                stitching: false
                ipv4: true
                ipv6: true
            ipv4_route_target_imports:
              - value: "200:11"
                stitching: true
            ipv4_route_target_exports:
              - value: "300:11"
                stitching: false
            ipv6_route_target_imports:
              - value: "200:13"
                stitching: false
            ipv6_route_target_exports:
              - value: "300:13"
                stitching: true