Word of the Day: leaf-spine

Word of the Day Daily updates on the latest technology terms | April 23, 2019 leaf-spine Leaf-spine is a two-layer network topology composed of leaf switches and spine switches. Leaf-spine is a two-layer data center network topology that's useful for data centers that experience more east-west network traffic than north-south traffic. The topology is composed of leaf switches (to which servers and storage connect) and spine switches (to which leaf switches connect). Leaf switches mesh into the spine, forming the access layer that delivers network connection points for servers. Every leaf switch in a leaf-spine architecture connects to every switch in the network fabric. No matter which leaf switch a server is connected to, it has to cross the same number of devices every time it connects to another server. (The only exception is when the other server is on the same leaf.) This minimizes latency and bottlenecks because each payload only has to travel to a spine switch and another leaf switch to reach its endpoint. Spine switches have high port density and form the core of the architecture. A leaf-spine topology can be layer 2 or layer 3 depending upon whether the links between the leaf and spine layer will be switched or routed. In a layer 2 leaf-spine design, Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links or shortest path bridging takes the place of spanning-tree. All hosts are linked to the fabric and offer a loop-free route to their Ethernet MAC address through a shortest-path-first computation. In a layer 3 design, each link is routed. This approach is most efficient when virtual local area networks are sequestered to individual leaf switches or when a network overlay, like VXLAN, is working. Quote of the Day "A leaf-spine design scales horizontally through the addition of spine switches, which spanning-tree deployments with a traditional three-layer design cannot do." - Ethan Banks Trending Terms bridge shortest path bridging TRILL virtual LAN spanning tree protocol Learning Center How security, compliance standards prevent OSI layer vulnerabilities To establish the best network cybersecurity, organizations should focus on creating a security and compliance framework for each OSI model. Read this tip to learn more about OSI layer vulnerabilities and the strategies to mitigate them. The case for a leaf-spine data center topology Virtualization and consolidation forced a wholesale shift in network data center topologies. With a three-layer network model losing popularity, leaf-spine is swooping in, but not without its faults. Pica8 wooing campus with white box network switch software Pica8 is releasing PicaPilot, white box network switch software engineered for campus and remote-office deployments. NIC teaming software enables load balancing and failover NIC teaming software provides load balancing, by routing traffic based on switch port ID, and failover, by sending traffic to an alternate port during failure. What CMDB benefits can we expect beyond a network management system? CMDB benefits for IT organizations differ from those of NMS, and the two tools can work in tandem. Compare CMDB to IT asset management systems instead. Quiz Yourself The bottom line seems to be that you can't browse securely on an ________ network. a. insecure b. unsecure Answer Stay in Touch For feedback about any of our definitions or to suggest a new definition, please contact me at: mrouse@techtarget.com Visit the Word of the Day Archives and catch up on what you've missed! FOLLOW US About This E-Newsletter This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for. TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com Copyright 2018 TechTarget. All rights reserved.