CCNA 200-301 v1.1 reference — Network Fundamentals
Virtualization and VRFs
Hypervisors, virtual machines and containers, and how VRFs create separate routing instances on one physical device.
Objective 1.12v1.1 exam target
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VMs versus containers
| Property | Virtual machine | Container |
|---|---|---|
| Isolation unit | Whole guest OS kernel | Shared host kernel, isolated namespace |
| Boot time | Minutes | Milliseconds–seconds |
| Overhead | Full OS per instance | Only app + dependencies |
| Use | Strong isolation, different OSes | Dense packaging of one app's processes |
A VRF (Virtual Routing and Forwarding) instance is a separate routing table and set of interfaces inside one physical device. Each VRF has its own routes, ARP table and forwarding decisions — interfaces assigned to different VRFs cannot reach each other unless routes are deliberately leaked. One router can therefore host a management VRF, a guest VRF and a production VRF that never mix.
$ show ip vrf (example output)
Name Default RD InterfacesEach VRF lists its bound interfaces. MGMT <not set> Gi0/0A management VRF keeps OOB traffic separate. GUEST <not set> Gi0/1.30Guest traffic gets its own table.Related resources
Sources
- Cisco CCNA 200-301 v1.1 Exam Topics (official PDF) — reviewed 2026-11-02
Targets CCNA 200-301 v1.1 objectives. Supplemental blocks are labeled beyond exam scope.