Brocade Communications Systems Brocate Ethernet Access Switch 6910 - Manual (Page 57)

Brocade 6910 Ethernet Access Switch Configuration Guide 7
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Description of Software Features
1
• Use private VLANs to restrict traffic to pass only between data ports and the uplink ports,
thereby isolating adjacent ports within the same VLAN, and allowing you to limit the total
number of VLANs that need to be configured.
• Use protocol VLANs to restrict traffic to specified interfaces based on protocol type.
IEEE 802.1Q
Tunneling (QinQ)
This feature is designed for service providers carrying traffic for multiple customers across their
networks. QinQ tunneling is used to maintain customer-specific VLAN and Layer 2 protocol
configurations even when different customers use the same internal VLAN IDs. This is
accomplished by inserting Service Provider VLAN (SPVLAN) tags into the customer’s frames when
they enter the service provider’s network, and then stripping the tags when the frames leave the
network.
Traffic
Prioritization
This switch prioritizes each packet based on the required level of service, using eight priority
queues with strict priority, Weighted Round Robin (WRR), or a combination of strict and weighted
queuing. It uses IEEE 802.1p and 802.1Q tags to prioritize incoming traffic based on input from the
end-station application. These functions can be used to provide independent priorities for
delay-sensitive data and best-effort data.
This switch also supports several common methods of prioritizing layer 3/4 traffic to meet
application requirements. Traffic can be prioritized based on the priority bits in the IP frame’s Type
of Service (ToS) octet using DSCP or IP Precedence. When these services are enabled, the priorities
are mapped to a Class of Service value by the switch, and the traffic then sent to the corresponding
output queue.
Quality of
Service
Differentiated Services (DiffServ) provides policy-based management mechanisms used for
prioritizing network resources to meet the requirements of specific traffic types on a per-hop basis.
Each packet is classified upon entry into the network based on access lists, IP Precedence or DSCP
values, or VLAN lists. Using access lists allows you select traffic based on Layer 2, Layer 3, or Layer
4 information contained in each packet. Based on network policies, different kinds of traffic can be
marked for different kinds of forwarding.
Multicast
Filtering
Specific multicast traffic can be assigned to its own VLAN to ensure that it does not interfere with
normal network traffic and to guarantee real-time delivery by setting the required priority level for
the designated VLAN. The switch uses IGMP Snooping and Query to manage multicast group
registration. It also supports Multicast VLAN Registration (MVR) which allows common multicast
traffic, such as television channels, to be transmitted across a single network-wide multicast VLAN
shared by hosts residing in other standard or private VLAN groups, while preserving security and
data isolation for normal traffic.
Link Layer
Discovery
Protocol
LLDP is used to discover basic information about neighboring devices within the local broadcast
domain. LLDP is a Layer 2 protocol that advertises information about the sending device and
collects information gathered from neighboring network nodes it discovers.
Advertised information is represented in Type Length Value (TLV) format according to the IEEE
802.1ab standard, and can include details such as device identification, capabilities and
configuration settings. Media Endpoint Discovery (LLDP-MED) is an extension of LLDP intended for
managing endpoint devices such as Voice over IP phones and network switches. The LLDP-MED
TLVs advertise information such as network policy, power, inventory, and device location details.
The LLDP and LLDP-MED information can be used by SNMP applications to simplify
troubleshooting, enhance network management, and maintain an accurate network topology.