Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV)

Extend Layer 2 Applications Across Distributed Data Centers

Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV) on the Nexus 7000 is an industry-first technology that significantly simplifies extending Layer 2 applications across distributed data centers. You can now deploy Data Center Interconnect (DCI) between sites without changing or reconfiguring your existing network design.

With OTV you can deploy virtual computing resources and clusters across geographically distributed data centers, delivering:

• Transparent workload mobility
• Business resiliency
• Superior computing resource efficiencies

As customers deploy multiple geographically disparate data centers, they're looking for scalable and simplified network solutions to extend virtualization and cluster domains between multiple data centers.

Important OTV Features

Scalability

• Extends Layer 2 LANs over any network that supports IP
• Designed to scale across multiple data centers

Simplicity

• Supports transparent deployment over existing network without redesign
• Requires minimal configuration commands (as few as four)
• Provides single-touch site configuration for adding new data centers

Resiliency

• Preserves existing Layer 3 failure boundaries
• Provides automated multihoming
• Includes built-in loop prevention

Efficiency

• Optimizes available bandwidth, by using equal-cost multipathing and optimal multicast replication