Route Locator (RLOC) addresses are the IP addresses and prefixes that identify different routers in the IP network. Locator Identity Separation Protocol (LISP) splits the device identity and its location into separate numbering spaces. The Endpoint Identifier (EID) contains the locally relevant device identity and is used for endsite addressing. The RLOC contains the globally routed location of the device and is used to forward traffic between different networks.

The MapServer (MS), not the MapResolver (MR), stores the registered EID prefixes; the MS contains the mapping database of EID to RLOC mappings. The MR receives map request queries from LISP site Ingress Tunnel Routers (ITRs) when they attempt to populate the local mapcache of resolved EIDtoRLOC mappings.

An ITR receives packets from internal hosts and forwards them to external sites. Egress Tunnel Routers (ETRs) receive packets from external sites and forward them to internal hosts. If an edge device is both an ITR and an ETR, it is often called an xTR.

LISP tunnels are dynamically configured and do not require preconfigured endpoints. One advantage of LISP is its ability to offer mobility and scalability to a network. Endpoints can be relocated within a network and retain their configurations, including IP addressing, easing management tasks related to mobile endpoint devices.

LISP does not have to be running on both ends of a tunnel. LISP is designed to communicate with networks that are not using LISP.

LISP is not used as the control plane protocol for Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) Over the Top (OTP); however, LISP is used as the data plane protocol for EIGRP OTP. EIGRP OTP is used to create a single contiguous EIGRP routing domain between sites over a service provider network. All Customer Edge (CE) routers must be configured for EIGRP OTP, and EIGRP neighbors must be manually configured with the neighbor command.