When using spine and leaf fabric architectures, what is the role of each device?

In aspine-leaf fabric architecture, which is commonly used in data center designs, each device has a distinct role to ensure efficient and scalable network traffic flow.

Step-by-Step Breakdown:

Spine Nodes:

Thespine nodesform the backbone of the fabric and are responsible fortransit traffic between leaf nodes. They connect to every leaf switch and provide multiple paths for traffic between leaf nodes, ensuring redundancy and load balancing.

Leaf Nodes:

Theleaf nodesare used forhost connectivity. These switches connect to servers, storage, or edge routers. They also connect to the spine switches to reach other leaf switches.

Juniper Reference:

Spine-Leaf Architecture: In Juniper's IP fabric designs,spine switcheshandle inter-leaf communication, whileleaf switchesmanage host and endpoint connectivity.