WHAT TO EXPECT
In this article, users will learn how the swXtchBridge fits into the cloudSwXtch network.
swXtchBridge
The swXtchBridge application enables bi-directional multicast traffic between a non-cloud and cloud network. The source network can be bare-metal and on-premises. The destination network can be a cloud virtual network with a cloudSwXtch instance deployed. With cloudSwXtch, multicast traffic generated from the on-prem network can be received and processed in the cloud, which then, in turn, can be sent back to the on-prem network.
The swXtchBridge is bi-directional. It sends multicast traffic from the on-premises network to the cloud and from the cloud to on-premises.
From on-prem to the cloud, the bridge is dynamic. This means that users in the cloud can subscribe to a multicast group via IGMP joins. Then, the bridge will allow that traffic through. This ensures that only necessary traffic goes through the VPN or Express Route/Gateway into the cloud. It guarantees the best use of the gateway and incurs less ingress bandwidth into the cloud.
Operation
The operation of the swXtchBridge varies based on direction.
Ground-->Cloud (G2C)
For Ground to Cloud, the operation is dynamic, meaning the user does not need to map multicast addresses to go into the cloud. Instead, when a user is in an application and uses an IGMP join, then a message is sent to the swXtchBridge via the cloudSwXtch through the mesh, and then the Bridge allows that traffic through. When the user stops using the multicast group and does an IGMP leave, then the bridge stops sending multicast data.
Cloud-->Ground (C2G)
For Cloud to Ground, there is no current support to propagate IGMP joins and leaves from cloudSwXtch to on-prem. In this case, multicast groups must be explicitly configured to let the bridge know what traffic is allowed.
See swXtchBridge Installation on how to install the swXtchBridge and the requirements. If the user needs to use the High-Performance mode, check the supported NICs. Using this mode, the Bridge can achieve a higher throughput of more than 10 GB of traffic.