Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) allows multiple "virtual routers" to exist within a single physical router.
Think of it as "VMWare for ROUTERS" where the physical router will maintain separate and instinct routing tables for each "virtual router". This allows the physical router to store routes and forward packets even if the "virtual routers" are using identical addressing.
Why use VRF?
VRF is commonly used by Service Providers to create Virtual Private Networks (VPN) for customers.This is why VRF is also sometimes called VPN Routing and Forwarding.
Without VRF
With VRF
- Network paths can be segmented without using multiple devices.
- Since the network traffic is isolated, this increases network security and eliminates the need for authentication and encryption
- Can provision scalable IP MPLS VPN services, generate reports, SLAs and many more...
