VLAN Connectivity - Points to Consider

When setting up your L2 resources, take these points into consideration.

Compatibility

  • CloudShell cannot create connectivity paths involving both L1 and L2 networking devices. Only pure L1 or pure L2 paths are supported. For example, "DUT1 - L1 - L2 - DUT2" path is not supported.

Out-of-the-box support

  • CloudShell automatically deploys and tears down L2 connections when starting and ending the sandbox.
  • CloudShell provides out-of-the-box support for multiple VLAN networks in the same sandbox.

Networking

  • CloudShell only controls and models the leaf switches (those connected to the endpoints). All L2 switches in the fabric must be fully trunked.
  • To enable the use of VLANs between physical end points, make sure you connect the physical devices to the appropriate L2 switch resources, as explained in Define the Resource Connections of the Switch or Patch Panel.
  • To auto-discover an L2 switch resource and add it to the CloudShell inventory, you should use an appropriate CloudShell L2 Shell (from the Quali Community website) that provides all the required VLAN connectivity capabilities.
  • To enable connections for virtual machines deployed in a private cloud, make sure to configure networking in their cloud provider resource. For example, define the vCenter dvswitch when configuring the cloud provider resource.
  • CloudShell supports L2 connections based on SDN. For details, see the SDN Controller Shell Standard and shells in the Quali Community Integrations page.

VLAN services

  • VLAN service customizations: Additional VLAN services can be created. For example, you could set up multiple VLAN Auto services in the same domain, each with a different allocation range. Simply duplicate an existing VLAN service and edit the settings, as appropriate. Then, in the Scripts - Resource management page, add the new VLAN service model to the Vlan Service Connect All script.
  • Modifying a range on a VLAN service does not affect VLANs that are currently in use.

  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) connections:

    • P2P VLAN Default is an admin-level service that is only visible to domain and system administrators in CloudShell Portal.

    • When a peer-to-peer connection is being resolved, CloudShell selects a VLAN to use according to the following logic:

      1. CloudShell selects the P2P VLAN Default service that exists in the blueprint.
      2. Otherwise, it uses a P2P VLAN Default service in a category associated to the user's domain.
      3. Otherwise, it uses a P2P VLAN Default service in CloudShell.
      4. Otherwise, the VLAN Auto preset's settings are used.

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