Skip to main content

​
Overview

Provider networks connect tenant virtual networks directly to the physical underlay. Administrators define the physical interface mapping and segmentation type during deployment or reconfiguration. Tenants cannot modify provider network attributes — they select from the options an administrator has made available.
Administrator Access Required — This operation requires the admin role. Contact your Xloud administrator if you do not have sufficient permissions.
Prerequisites
  • Admin credentials sourced from admin-openrc.sh
  • XDeploy access for cluster-level interface configuration
  • Physical network interfaces identified and mapped in XDeploy

​
Network Type Comparison

TypeSegmentationScaleUse Case
FlatNone1 per physical interfaceUntagged management or public networks
VLAN802.1Q VLAN ID (1–4094)~4000 per physical interfaceTraditional data centre integration
VXLANVNI (1–16 million)Virtually unlimitedLarge-scale multi-tenant clouds

​
Configure Physical Interface Mappings

Provider network parameters are set during initial cluster deployment or reconfiguration via XDeploy. These settings apply to all cluster nodes.

Open Networking configuration

In XDeploy, navigate to Configuration → Networking.

Configure physical interface mapping

Set the interface-to-bridge mapping for each network type:
ParameterExample ValueDescription
neutron_bridge_mappingsphysnet1:br-exMaps a physical network name to a bridge
neutron_flat_networksphysnet1Networks carrying untagged (flat) traffic
neutron_network_vlan_rangesphysnet1:100:200VLAN ID range allocated to tenants
neutron_tunnel_typesvxlanOverlay type for tenant networks

Apply the configuration

Click Save and Deploy. XDeploy applies the settings to all cluster nodes via xavs-ansible.
Modifying bridge mappings on a running cluster briefly interrupts networking on affected nodes. Schedule this change during a maintenance window and notify tenants in advance.

​
Create Provider Networks

Authenticate as admin

Source your credentials file to authenticate with the Xloud platform:
Load credentials
source admin-openrc.sh
Download the OpenRC file from Xloud Dashboard → Project → API Access → Download OpenStack RC File.

Create a VLAN provider network

Create VLAN provider network
openstack network create provider-vlan100 \
  --provider-network-type vlan \
  --provider-physical-network physnet1 \
  --provider-segment 100 \
  --share
OptionDescription
--provider-network-typevlan, flat, or vxlan
--provider-physical-networkName matching neutron_bridge_mappings key
--provider-segmentVLAN ID (VLAN type) or VNI (VXLAN type)
--shareMakes the network accessible to all projects

Create a flat provider network

Create flat provider network
openstack network create external-flat \
  --provider-network-type flat \
  --provider-physical-network physnet1 \
  --external \
  --share
Use --external to mark the network as a valid target for router external gateways.

Create a VXLAN network

Create VXLAN tenant network
openstack network create overlay-vxlan \
  --provider-network-type vxlan \
  --provider-segment 10001
VXLAN networks use a VNI as the segment identifier. Omit --share to scope the network to a specific project.

​
Provider Network Administration

​
List Provider Networks

List all networks with provider attributes
openstack network list --long

​
Update a Provider Network

Update provider network description
openstack network set provider-vlan100 --description "VLAN 100 for production tier"

​
Delete a Provider Network

Delete provider network
openstack network delete provider-vlan100
Deleting a provider network disconnects all instances attached to it. Confirm that no instances, routers, or floating IPs are using the network before deleting.

​
Segmentation Reference

Network TypeSegment IdentifierRangeNotes
VLANVLAN ID1–4094Requires upstream switch trunk configuration
VXLANVNI1–16,777,215Software overlay — no switch config required
FlatNoneN/A — 1 per physical interfaceUntagged — use only for management networks
VXLAN tenant networks are the default type in Xloud deployments. They require no switch configuration and scale to tens of thousands of isolated tenant networks. VLAN is recommended when direct integration with physical data centre switching is required.

​
Next Steps

Network Agent Management

Verify L2 agents are healthy on all compute nodes after changing bridge mappings

L3 Router Configuration

Configure routers to use the provider networks you just created as external gateways

Service Architecture

Understand how L2 agents program provider network attachments

Admin Troubleshooting

Resolve VXLAN tunnel and provider network connectivity issues