Design Reference

Chapter 14: SPBM design guidelines
Shortest Path Bridging MAC (SPBM) is a next-generation virtualization technology that
revolutionizes the design, deployment, and operations of enterprise edge campus core networks
and data centers. The benefits of the technology are clearly evident in its ability to provide massive
scalability while at the same time reducing the complexity of the network. SPBM makes network
virtualization a much easier paradigm to deploy within the enterprise environment than other
technologies.
This chapters provides design guidelines that illustrate the operational simplicity of SPBM. It also
lists best practices to configure SPBM in your network. For more information about SPBM
fundamental concepts, command structure, and basic configuration, see Configuring Avaya Fabric
Connect on VSP Operating System Software, NN47227-510.
802.1aq standard
Avaya Virtual Services Platform 4000 Series supports the IEEE 802.1aq standard of SPBM. SPBM
makes network virtualization easy to deploy within the enterprise environment by reducing the
complexity of the network while at the same time providing greater scalability. This technology
provides all the features and benefits required by carrier-grade deployments to the enterprise
market without the complexity of alternative technologies traditionally used in carrier deployments,
for example, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). SPBM integrates into a single control plane all
the functions that MPLS requires multiple layers and protocols to support.
IS-IS
SPBM eliminates the need for multiple overlay protocols in the core of the network by reducing the
core to a single Ethernet-based link-state protocol, Intermediate System to Intermediate System (IS-
IS). IS-IS provides virtualization services, both Layer 2 and Layer 3, using a pure Ethernet
technology base. SPBM also uses IS-IS to discover and advertise the network topology, which
enables it to compute the shortest path to all nodes in the SPBM network.
Spanning Tree is a topology protocol that prevents loops but does not scale very well. Because
SPBM uses IS-IS, which has its own mechanisms to prevent loops, SPBM does not have to use
Spanning Tree to provide a loop-free Layer 2 domain.
SPBM uses the IS-IS shortest-path trees to populate forwarding tables for the individual backbone
MAC (B-MAC) addresses of each participating node. Depending on the topology, SPBM supports as
many Equal Cost Multipath trees as there are backbone VLAN IDs (B-VIDs) provisioned (with a
maximum of 16 B-VIDs allowed by the standard and two allowed in this release) per IS-IS instance.
June 2015 Network Design Reference for Avaya VSP 4000 Series 93
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