What is the role of Active Virtual Forwarders (AVFs) in GLBP?

Active Virtual Forwarders (AVFs) play a critical role in Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP) by enabling load balancing across multiple gateways. In a GLBP configuration, multiple routers can share the responsibility of forwarding packets for a virtual IP address, and each router can act as an AVF. The primary function of AVFs is to distribute the traffic load among them efficiently, ensuring that no single gateway becomes overwhelmed with traffic. This distribution of traffic not only optimizes the utilization of resources but also enhances overall network performance by improving redundancy and availability.

By having AVFs, GLBP can facilitate a more effective use of bandwidth while maintaining a steady flow of information, contributing to a balanced load across the network’s gateways. The protocol allows for multiple active gateways to coexist, strengthening the network's resilience and ensuring that failover processes are seamless and do not disrupt service continuity. This capability contrasts with some other redundancy protocols, which may only allow for one active gateway at a time, making GLBP's load balancing and redundancy features particularly advantageous.