Networking terminology

A physical network switch without a proprietary operating system. For example, a switch purchased directly from Edgecore and you can install Cumulus Linux or another open OS.

Unnumbered interfaces don't have unique IP addresses. For BGP, you configure unnumbered interfaces using extended next-hop encoding (ENHE).

An exterior gateway protocol that exchanges routing and reachability information among autonomous systems

3 types of network traffic. Unicast involves communication from one single point to another single point. Broadcast is when information is sent from a single point to multiple points. Multicast is communication of information from multiple points to other points.

A computer program that tells the OS how to communicate with a piece of hardware

A protocol that translates domain names into IP addresses

A way to automatically assign IP addresses and settings to a network device

A modern open source routing application that evolved from the original Quagga project

A list of all hardware that is compatible with the Cumulus Linux OS

Used to generate BUM traffic in hardware to multiple VXLAN destinations (VTEPs)

A form of rapid trading that is based on highly sophisticated programs and algorithms. They are usually short-term investments, characterized by high speed and sensitivity to latency.

The layer of the OSI stack concerned with IP addresses; the routing layer.

An open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet protocol network

A technique for deploying VXLANs without a central controller on bare metal switches

A method to control the bundling of several physical ports together to form a single logical channel

Used by network devices to advertise their identity, capabilities and neighbors on an Ethernet network

A computer network that interconnects computers within a limited geographic area

A set of protocols to define and implement a policy that describes how to secure access to network nodes by devices when they initially attempt to access the network

The Cumulus CLI, a rich and simple command line interface for easy network configuration and operation

The operating system that runs on network switches. Cumulus Linux is a NOS.

A network protocol that enables Ethernet cables to carry electric power for devices

A dynamic cabling verification tool developed by Cumulus Networks. With PTM, you can program your data center to verify network connections and resolve issues faster.

A link-level flow control mechanism that can be controlled independently for each Class of Service (CoS) with the intention to ensure no data frames are lost when congestion occurs in a bridged network

A multicast control plane protocol that advertises multicast sources and receivers over a routed layer 3 network. Has sparse and dense modes of operation.

A Cumulus Networks solution that provides an out-of-band management switch preinstalled with a NOS

A protocol for writing to compute or storage elements using remote direct memory access (RDMA) over an Ethernet network instead of using host CPUs

A mechanism for IP subnets to span racks without forcing the end hosts to run a routing protocol

A protocol that provides centralized authentication, authorization and accounting management (AAA) for users connected to a network device or service

The ability for an ASIC to do VXLAN Routing

A network routing component for BGP that acts as an alternative to the full-mesh of IBGP

An authentication protocol used for remote authentication and related services for networked access control through a centralized server

A network architecture where servers within a rack are connected to one or two network switches within the same rack

The combined cost of CapEx and OpEx

A standard overlay protocol that abstracts logical virtual networks from the physical network underneath. You can deploy simple and scalable layer 3 Clos architectures while extending layer 2 segments over that layer 3 network.

Separate virtual networks on the same physical network; network packets are tagged so traffic flows to the appropriate VLAN. Thus you can keep network applications separate despite being connected to the same physical network, and without requiring multiple sets of cabling and networking devices to be deployed.

An isolated or abstracted network within a larger network.

Enables hosts to communicate with any redundant router without reconfiguration, running dynamic router protocols or running router redundancy protocols. Thus, redundant routers will respond to ARP requests from hosts.

Run multiple network paths without the need for multiple switches, giving you traffic isolation and network segmentation for multiple devices. It's achieved through the presence of multiple independent routing tables working simultaneously on the same router or switch.

Physical or virtual switch that is the termination point for one member of a multi-tenant network. A VTEP connects to other VTEPs in other tenants via VXLAN tunnels.

The ID used by VXLAN for a VXLAN tunnel

Sometimes referred to as inter-VXLAN routing, it provides IP routing between VXLAN VNIs in overlay networks. The routing of traffic is based on the inner header or the overlay tenant IP address.

A switch feature that enables automation of provisioning and configuration