VRF

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Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) is a technology used in computer networks. It allows multiple instances of a routing table to co-exist within the same router at the same time. Because the routing instances are independent, the same or overlapping IP addresses can be used without conflicting with each other.

A VRF may be implemented in a network device by having distinct routing tables, also known as forwarding information bases (FIBs), one per VRF.

Alternatively, a network device may have the ability to configure different virtual routers, where each one has its own FIB, not accessible to any other virtual router instance on the same device.

VRF technology is commonly found in the ISP marketplace, notably in MPLS VPN configurations.