Cabletron Systems SFCS-200WG - Manual (Page 68)

5-2
Hardware Maintenance Procedures
5.1.2 Multicast Mode
When hot-inserting or hot-swapping a network module, the mode in which
the switch is running must also be considered. A Cabletron 200 Series switch
can operate in one of two multicast modes: extended mode or non-extended
mode.
• Extended mode - The added features of Series C network modules
give Cabletron switches greater flexibility when choosing VCIs for
multicast connections. This flexibility provides more successful mul-
ticast (point-to-multipoint, or PMP) connection setups. If a switch
fabric contains no network modules or if it contains only Series C net-
work modules, the switch will operate in extended mode.
• Non-extended mode - If a switch fabric contains at least one Series A
or at least one Series B network module, that switch fabric will oper-
ate in non-extended (or mixed) mode.
NOTE: The mode in which the switch operates is
determined each time the SCP restarts. If a
switch is running in extended mode and a
Series A or B network module is hot-inserted,
the switch will not automatically revert to
non-extended mode. The switch must be
restarted immediately so that it operates in
non-extended mode. If it is not restarted, all
multicast connections fail on the Series A or B
network module.
You can display the multicast mode in which your switch is operating by
using the configuration board show command in the ATM Management
Interface (AMI).
NOTE: If a switch is running in non-extended mode,
originating path 0 should always exist on
port 1 of each Series C network module for
multicast connection setups to succeed.
Multicast connection information for all of
the ports of Series C network modules is
stored in the space allocated for port 1 and
path 0 on each Series C network module.