VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) is an encapsulation that carries Layer 2 Ethernet frames across a Layer 3 IP network. It solves two problems of traditional VLANs. First, the 12-bit VLAN ID allows only about 4,000 segments, which is not enough for large data centers and multitenant clouds. Second, stretching VLANs across a network requires Layer 2 trunks and spanning tree, which limit scale and create large failure domains. VXLAN lets you build Layer 2 segments on top of a routed network. It is the data plane of SD-Access and of most modern data center fabrics.
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