--- title: netlab VXLAN Router-on-a-Stick Example « ipSpace.net blog description: A walkthrough of building a VXLAN router-on-a-stick lab using netlab release 1.4, where a single router performs VXLAN-to-VXLAN routing between two VLANs (red... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: netlab VXLAN Router-on-a-Stick Example « ipSpace.net blog | daily.dev og:description: A walkthrough of building a VXLAN router-on-a-stick lab using netlab release 1.4, where a single router performs VXLAN-to-VXLAN routing between two VLANs (red... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Q4cHwxp4W.png og:image:alt: netlab VXLAN Router-on-a-Stick Example « 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 VXLAN Router-on-a-Stick Example « ipSpace.net blog **[ipSpace.net Blog](https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace)** · 4 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A walkthrough of building a VXLAN router-on-a-stick lab using netlab release 1.4, where a single router performs VXLAN-to-VXLAN routing between two VLANs (red and blue) placed in a VRF. The topology includes a VXLAN-enabled layer-2 switch (S1), a pure IP transport device (S2), and a router-on-a-stick (ROS) with IRB VLAN interfaces. Key configuration details cover netlab group definitions, vlan.mode settings (bridge vs irb), VRF setup, and the fix for ensuring VLANs are instantiated on the router node. A complete Arista cEOS configuration is provided as a reference, along with instructions to run the lab with alternative devices using the netlab up -d flag. ## 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 a VXLAN router-on-a-stick in netlab so that VLAN interfaces are actually created on the router node? The router node must have the VLANs explicitly defined in its node data or group configuration. Without this, netlab skips creating VLAN interfaces on the router because it sees no local VLAN membership. Adding the VLANs under the routers group (e.g., vlans: red: blue:) ensures the interfaces are created, enabling inter-VLAN routing via VXLAN-backed VLAN interfaces with vlan.mode set to irb. _Network engineers building VXLAN lab topologies with netlab track configuration gotchas like this on daily.dev._ ### What is the difference between vlan.mode bridge and vlan.mode irb in netlab? In netlab, vlan.mode bridge configures a node to forward VLAN traffic at layer 2 without assigning IP addresses to VLAN interfaces, suitable for pure switching roles. vlan.mode irb (Integrated Routing and Bridging) creates VLAN interfaces with IP addresses, enabling a node to route between VLANs. A router-on-a-stick requires irb, while layer-2-only switches use bridge. _Those choosing between netlab VLAN modes for lab designs find relevant comparisons and examples 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 --- Tags: [#networking](https://daily.dev/tags/networking) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w) ```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 VXLAN Router-on-a-Stick Example « ipSpace.net blog","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w"},"datePublished":"2026-08-11T08:53:22.971Z","dateModified":"2026-08-11T09:07:39.086Z","description":"A walkthrough of building a VXLAN router-on-a-stick lab using netlab release 1.4, where a single router performs VXLAN-to-VXLAN routing between two VLANs (red...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/35562043415a72614ab541ae913e946b?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/35562043415a72614ab541ae913e946b?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"ipSpace.net Blog","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ipSpace.net Blog","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--xS7E82MT--/f_auto,q_auto/v1786438303/logos/ipspace?_a=BAMAMicg0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"networking","timeRequired":"PT4M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ipSpace.net Blog","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/ipspace"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"netlab VXLAN Router-on-a-Stick Example « ipSpace.net blog"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/netlab-vxlan-router-on-a-stick-example-ipspace-net-blog-q4chwxp4w#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I configure a VXLAN router-on-a-stick in netlab so that VLAN interfaces are actually created on the router node?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The router node must have the VLANs explicitly defined in its node data or group configuration. 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