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Cisco Nexus 7000 Series NX-OS Unicast Routing Configuration Guide, Release 4.x
OL-20002-02
Chapter 1      Overview
Related Topics
Layer 3 Virtualization
Virtualization allows you to share physical resources across separate management domains. Cisco 
NX-OS supports Virtual Device Contexts (VDCs) which allow you to create separate virtual systems 
within a Cisco NX-OS system. Each VDC is isolated from the others, which means that a problem in one 
VDC does not affect any other VDCs. VDCs are also secure from the other. You can assign separate 
network operators to each VDC and these network operators cannot control or view the configuration of 
a different VDC.
Cisco NX-OS also supports Layer 3 virtualization with VPN Routing and Forwarding (VRF). A VRF 
provides a separate address domain for configuring layer 3 routing protocols. For more information, see 
Chapter 14, “Configuring Layer 3 Virtualization.”
Route Policy Manager
The Route Policy Manager provides a route filtering capability in Cisco NX-OS. It uses route maps to 
filter routes distributed across various routing protocols and between different entities within a given 
routing protocol. Filtering is based on specific match criteria, which is similar to packet filtering by 
access control lists. For more information, see Chapter 16, “Configuring Route Policy Manager.”
Policy-Based Routing
Policy-based routing uses the Route Policy Manager to create policy route filters. These policy route 
filters can forward a packet to a specified next hop based on the source of the packet or other fields in 
the packet header. Policy routes can be linked to extended IP access lists so that routing might be based 
on such things as protocol types and port numbers. For more information, see Chapter 17, “Configuring 
Policy-Based Routing.”
First-Hop Redundancy Protocols
First-hop redundancy protocols allow you to provide redundant connections to your hosts. In the event 
that an active first-hop router fails, the FHRP automatically selects a standby router to take over. You do 
not need to update the hosts with new IP addresses since the address is virtual and shared between each 
router in the FHRP group. For more information on the Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP), see 
Chapter 18, “Configuring GLBP”. For more information on the Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP), 
see Chapter 19, “Configuring HSRP”. For more information on the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol 
(VRRP), see Chapter 20, “Configuring VRRP”.
Object Tracking
Object tracking allows you to track specific objects on the network, such as the interface line protocol 
state, IP routing, and route reachability, and take action when the tracked object’s state changes. This 
feature allows you to increase the availability of the network and shorten recovery time if an object state 
goes down. For more information, see Chapter 21, “Configuring Object Tracking”.
Related Topics
The following Cisco documents are related to the Layer 3 features: