--- title: netlab: VRF Lite Topology with VLAN Trunks « ipSpace.net... description: A concise walkthrough showing how to build a routed multi-hop VRF Lite topology using VLAN trunks in netlab. The topology uses three routers and four Linux... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vrf-lite-topology-with-vlan-trunks-ipspace-net-blog-ocwpfpsgk twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: netlab: VRF Lite Topology with VLAN Trunks « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: A concise walkthrough showing how to build a routed multi-hop VRF Lite topology using VLAN trunks in netlab. The topology uses three routers and four Linux... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vrf-lite-topology-with-vlan-trunks-ipspace-net-blog-ocwpfpsgk og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/OcwPFPSgk.png og:image:alt: netlab: VRF Lite Topology with VLAN Trunks « ipSpace.net blog og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # netlab: VRF Lite Topology with VLAN Trunks « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A concise walkthrough showing how to build a routed multi-hop VRF Lite topology using VLAN trunks in netlab. The topology uses three routers and four Linux hosts, with two VRFs (red and blue) and two VLANs configured in 'route' mode so each physical link gets its own IP subnet. The post includes the full netlab topology YAML, explains the key 'mode: route' trick that enables VRF Lite, and shows the resulting Arista EOS configurations with dot1q subinterfaces, per-VRF OSPF instances, and IP routing enabled per VRF. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How do I configure VRF Lite with VLAN trunks in netlab so each inter-router link gets a separate IP subnet per VRF? Set 'mode: route' in the VLAN definition within netlab. This changes the VLAN from a stretched bridging domain to an interface encapsulation, assigning a different IP subnet to the VLAN instance on every physical link. You then assign each VLAN to a VRF and define inter-router links as 'vlan.trunk' lists, which netlab translates into dot1q subinterfaces with per-VRF OSPF instances on the target device. _Engineers building VRF Lite labs with netlab track topology patterns and device quirks on daily.dev._ ### What does 'mode: route' do in a netlab VLAN definition? 'mode: route' changes a VLAN from a bridging construct (one stretched L2 domain) to an interface encapsulation construct. Instead of sharing a single IP subnet across all links in the VLAN, netlab assigns a distinct IP subnet to each physical link that carries the VLAN, enabling routed point-to-point segments — the foundation of a VRF Lite design without a shared broadcast domain. _Network engineers exploring netlab VLAN modes find related topology examples and discussions on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [EVPN with SR-MPLS Core « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/evpn-with-sr-mpls-core-ipspace-net-blog-taobtibzc) · ipSpace.net Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [MPLS/VPN with SR-MPLS Core « ipSpace.net blog](https://daily.dev/posts/mpls-vpn-with-sr-mpls-core-ipspace-net-blog-nw3uwiphe) · ipSpace.net Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vrf-lite-topology-with-vlan-trunks-ipspace-net-blog-ocwpfpsgk) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"netlab: VRF Lite Topology with VLAN Trunks « ipSpace.net blog","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vrf-lite-topology-with-vlan-trunks-ipspace-net-blog-ocwpfpsgk","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vrf-lite-topology-with-vlan-trunks-ipspace-net-blog-ocwpfpsgk"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:52:16.684Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T08:57:15.259Z","description":"A concise walkthrough showing how to build a routed multi-hop VRF Lite topology using VLAN trunks in netlab. 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