LAN extension technology called Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV). OTV is an IP-based functionality that has been designed from the ground up to provide Layer 2 extension capabilities over any transport infrastructure: Layer 2 based, Layer 3 based, IP switched, label switched, and so on. The only requirement from the transport infrastructure is providing IP connectivity between remote data center sites. In addition, OTV provides an overlay that enables Layer 2 connectivity between separate Layer 2 domains while keeping these domains independent and preserving the fault-isolation, resiliency, and load-balancing benefits of an IP-based interconnection.
As of this writing, the Nexus 7000 is the only Cisco platform supporting OTV. All the technology and deployment considerations contained in this paper focus on positioning the Nexus 7000 platforms inside the data center to establish Layer 2 connectivity between remote sites. OTV support on Nexus 7000 platforms has been introduced from the NX-OS 5.0(3) software release. When necessary, available OTV features will be identified in the current release or mentioned as a future roadmap function. This document will be periodically updated every time a software release introduces significant new functionality