VPLS Configuration help.

[Andrew Battersby]

I'm setting up a test network using GNS3 for a VPLS network using a route reflector. This works great so far with other devices but I'm having a problem getting a CSR1000V router to participate as a PE device.

I have a CSR1000V which act's as the route reflector and a couple of Juniper VSRX's as PE devices which can see each other great with broadcast traffic passing fine. 

When I try to add another CSR1000V this time as a PE however I cannot get it to participate in the VPLS domain.

I've tried autoconfig VPLS and manual. I suspect it's due to not having switch interfaces on the CSR1000V but it may honestly just be me configuring it wrong. Could someone advise on a sample configuration for connecting a CSR1000V as a PE device on a VPLS network?

Thanks

[Philip D'Ath]

I found this using Google.

https://www.reddit.com/r/networking/comments/3x2qp9/cisco_vpls_configuration_help/

[Andrew Battersby]

Thanks. That's actually my own post on Reddit asking the question :)

[Peter Paluch · Accepted solution]

Andrew,

This config works for me in VIRL with CSR1000v:

l2vpn vfi context V1
 vpn id 1
 member 10.255.255.4 encapsulation mpls
 member 10.255.255.3 encapsulation mpls
 member 10.255.255.2 encapsulation mpls
!
bridge-domain 1
 member GigabitEthernet3 service-instance 1
 member vfi V1
!
interface GigabitEthernet3
 no shutdown
 service instance 1 ethernet
  encapsulation default

I have also played with CSR1000v in plain KVM, and I also had troubles getting VPLS working with the same config. Ultimately, it turned out that some sort of optimizations, accelerations or offloading in the emulated NIC drivers causes CSR1000v to somehow fail the VPLS operations. These KVM command-line switches helped to solve the problem (I am not sure which ones have helped - I was in a hurry so I deactivated all I could find):

-device virtio-net-pci,ctrl_vlan=off,ctrl_guest_offloads=off,host_ufo=off,host_tso6=off,host_tso4=off,guest_ufo=off,guest_tso6=off,guest_tso4=off,gso=off,guest_csum=off,csum=off,mac=02:00:00:00:04:01,netdev=B7

If you can force your GNS3 to use these flags then perhaps VPLS will be working for you, too.

Best regards,
Peter

[Andrew Battersby]

Thanks Peter,

I'll have a try of that and let you know how it goes :)

Andy

[Andrew Battersby]

It works :)

I didn't have to use the extra command-line switches however but that's even better from my perspective :)

Thanks Peter. Much appreciated :)