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VRF – virtual routing and forwarding

Vangie Beal
Last Updated May 24, 2021 7:58 am

Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) is an IP (Internet Protocol) technology in some network routers that can be configured to allow multiple instances of a routing table on your router to work at the same time. The multiple routing instances are independent, allowing the same or overlapping IP addresses to be used without conflict. You can use the same IP address assigned to two different interfaces on a router at the same time.

VPN Routing and Forwarding

Service providers often use virtual routing and forwarding technology to create separate virtual private networks (VPNs) for customers where a routing table instance that can exist in one or multiple instances per each VPN on a Provider Edge (PE) router. When this IP technology is used in VPNs it is often referred to as VPN routing and forwarding.