SNo |
VPC |
VSS |
1 |
Feature specific to Nexus |
Feature specific to catalyst 6500,4500 Series |
2 |
Separate control plane for both switches. |
2 Switches merge to form 1 logical Switch with a single control plane. |
3 |
Separate IP for each switch management and configuration. |
Single IP for management and configuration of 1 Logical Unit (2 Physical Chassis) |
4 |
HSRP is required. |
First Hop Redundancy Protocol like HSRP not required. |
5 |
Separate instance of STP, FHRP, IGP, BGP etc. will be required on each physical Switch of VPC. |
Same instance of STP, FHRP, IGP, BGP etc. will be used on each physical Switch of VSS. |
6 |
Both the switches are active and work individually. Only from VPC perspective are they elected primary and secondary. |
Switches are always primary and secondary from all aspects. |
7 |
Supports L2 Port Channels |
Supports L3 Port Channels |
8 |
Supports LACP |
Supports PAGP and LACP |
9 |
Control messages are carried by CFS over Peer Link and a Peer keep alive link is used to check heartbeats and detect dual-active condition |
Control messages and Data frames flow between active and standby via VSL |