PLANET Web Switch Family Wgsw800.GIF (6460 bytes)

Web / SNMP Intelligent Products

WGSW-801SX

8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Backbone Switch


Using the Web Agent

As well as the menu-driven system configuration program, the WGSW-801SX provides an embedded HTTP Web agent. This agent can be accessed by any computer on the network using a standard Web browser (Internet Explorer 4.0 or above, or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or above).

Using the Web browser management interface you can configure the switch and view statistics to monitor network activity. The Web interface also provides access to a range of SNMP management functions with its MIB and RMON browser utilities.

Prior to accessing the switch from a Web browser, be sure you have first performed the following tasks:

  1. Configure it with a valid IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway using an out-of-band serial connection or BOOTP protocol.
  2. Set the Administrator user name and password using an out-of-band serial connection. Access to the Web agent is controlled by the same Administrator user name and password as the on-board configuration program.

 


8.1 Navigating the Web Browser Interface

To access the Web-browser interface you must first enter a user name and password. The default user name is "admin" with a null password. The administrator has read/write access to all configuration parameters and statistics.
 

Based on the default configuration, a user is allowed three attempts to enter the correct password; on the third failed attempt the current connection is terminated. (See Console Login Configuration in Chapter 2.)

 

8.1.1 Home Page

When your Web browser connects with the switch's Web agent, the home page is displayed as shown below. The home page displays the Main Menu on the left-hand side of the screen and the System Information on the right-hand side. The Main Menu links are used to navigate to other menus and display configuration parameters and statistical data.

Configurable parameters have a dialog box or a drop-down list. Once a configuration change has been made on a page, be sure to click on the "Apply" button at the bottom of the page to confirm the new setting. Alternatively, you can click on "Revert" to clear any changes prior to pressing "Apply".

To ensure proper screen refresh after a command entry, be sure that Internet Explorer 5.0 is configured as follows: Under the menu "Tools/ Internet Options / General / Temporary Internet Files / Settings", the setting for item "Check for newer versions of stored pages" should be "Every visit to the page."

 


 

8.2 Panel Display

The Web Agent displays an image of the switch's ports, showing port link and activity. Clicking on the image of a port displays statistics and configuration information for the port. Clicking on the image of the serial port (labelled "Mgmt") displays the Console Configuration screen.

 

 

8.2.1 Console Configuration

Click on the serial port icon in the switch image to display and configure the out-of-band serial port connection, as shown in the following figure and table.

Parameter

Default

Description

Baudrate

19200

The rate at which data is sent between devices. (Options: 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200 bps, and Auto detection). Note that when AUTO is selected, you need to first press the Enter key once to set the data rate and initialize the connection.

Time Out

0 minutes

If no input is received from the attached device after this interval (in minutes), the current session is automatically closed. (Range: 0 -100 minutes; where 0 indicates disabled.)

Databits

8 bits

Sets the data bits of the RS-232 port. (Options: 7, 8)

Stopbits

1 bit

Sets the stop bits of the RS-232 port. (Options: 1, 2)

Parity

none

Sets the parity of the RS-232 port. (Options: none/odd/even)

Auto Refresh

0 sec.

Sets the interval before a console session will auto refresh the console information, including Spanning Tree Information, Port Configuration, Port Statistics, and RMON Statistics. (Range: 0, or 5 - 255 seconds; where 0 indicates disabled.)

 


 

8.3 Main Menu

Using the on-board Web agent, you can define system parameters, manage and control the switch and all its ports, or monitor network conditions. The figure to the right of the Main Menu and the following table briefly describe the selections available from this program.

Parameter

Description

System

Provides basic system description, including contact information. 

Time Out

If no input is received from the attached device after this interval (in minutes), the current session is automatically closed. (Range: 0 -100 minutes; where 0 indicates disabled.)  

Switch

Shows hardware/firmware version numbers and power status.

Stopbits

Sets the stop bits of the RS-232 port. (Options: 1, 2)

IP

Includes boot state, IP address, and Telnet session count.

SNMP

Configures communities and trap managers; and activates traps.

Security

Sets password for system access..

Upgrade

Downloads new version of firmware to update your system.

 Address

 Provides full address listing, sorted by address or port.

 STA

Enables Spanning Tree Algorithm; also sets parameters for switch priority, hello time, maximum message age, and forward delay; as well as port priority and path cost.

 Port

 Enables any port and enables/disables flow control.

 VLAN

 Assigns switch ports to form up to 16 independent LAN groups.

 Analyzer

 Sets analysis and monitored port.

 Statistics

 Displays statistics on network traffic passing through the selected port.

Broadcast Storm Control

 Enables/disables broadcast suppression on a per-port basis. Also sets the broadcast-rate threshold above which broadcast packets are discarded.

 Apply

 Implement the changes made to the current configuration menu.

 Revert

 Cancel changes made to current configuration menu (prior to pressing Apply).

 Help

 Help on using the Web management interface.



 

8.4 System Information

Use the System Information screen to display descriptive information about the switch, or for quick system identification as shown in the following figure and table.

 

 


 

8.5 Switch Information

Use the Switch Information screen to display hardware/firmware version numbers for the main board and SNMP agent, as well as the power status.

 

8.5.1 Main Board

Parameter

Description

Serial Number

Serial number of the main board.

Number of Ports

Number of built-in ports.

Hardware Version

Hardware version of the main board.

Firmware Version

System firmware version in ROM.

POST ROM Version

System POST version.

Internal Power Status

Power status for the switch.

Redundant Power Status

Redundant power status for the switch.

1. These parameters are not implemented in the current hardware version.

 


8.6 Network Configuration

Use the IP Configuration screen to set the bootup option, configure the Ethernet IP addresses for the agent module, or set the number or concurrent Telnet sessions allowed. The Access Host screen can be used to limit access to the Web management agent to specified subnet groups.

 

8.6.1 IP Configuration

Use the IP Configuration screen to set the bootup option, configure the Ethernet IP addresses for the agent module, or set the number or concurrent Telnet sessions allowed. The screen shown below is described in the following table.

 

Parameter

Description

IP State

Specifies whether IP functionality is enabled via manual configuration, or set by Boot Protocol (BOOTP). Options include:
USER-CONFIG - IP functionality is enabled based on the default or user specified IP Configuration. (This is the default setting.)
BOOTP Get IP - IP is enabled but will not function until a BOOTP reply has been received. BOOTP requests will be periodically broadcast by the switch in an effort to learn its IP address. (BOOTP values include the IP address, default gateway, subnet mask, TFTP boot file name, and TFTP server IP.)

IP Address

IP address of the SNMP agent. The management agent supports SNMP over UDP/IP transport protocol. In this environment, all systems on the Internet, such as network interconnection devices and any PC accessing the agent are assigned an IP address. Valid IP addresses consist of four numbers, of 0 to 255, and separated by periods. Anything outside of this format will not be accepted by the configuration program.

Subnet Mask

IP address of the SNMP agent. The management agent supports SNMP over UDP/IP transport protocol. In this environment, all systems on the Internet, such as network interconnection devices and any PC accessing the agent are assigned an IP address.  Valid IP addresses consist of four numbers, of 0 to 255, and separated by periods.  Anything outside of this format will not be accepted by the configuration program.

Gateway IP

Gateway used to pass trap messages from the switch¡¦s agent to the management station. Note that the gateway must be defined if the management station is located in a different IP segment.

MAC Address

Physical address of the agent module.

Number of Telnet sessions

Sets the number of concurrent Telnet sessions allowed to access the management agent. The default is four sessions.

*The default value is null.

 

8.6.2  Access Host

Use the Access Host screen to specify subnet groups from which the switch's management agent can be accessed. The screen shown below is described in the following table.


 

8.7 SNMP Configuration

Use the SNMP Configuration screen to display and modify parameters for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). The switch includes an on-board SNMP agent which monitors the status of its hardware, as well as the traffic passing through its ports. A computer attached to the network, called a Network Management Station (NMS), can be used to access this information. Access rights to the on-board agent are controlled by community strings. To communicate with the switch, the NMS must first submit a valid community string for authentication. The options for configuring community strings and related trap functions are described in the following sections.

 

8.7.1 SNMP Administration Enable

Access to the management agent from SNMP-based network management software can be enabled/disabled from this screen. Clearing the checkbox disables the SNMP protocol in the agent so that the switch can only be managed through the Web-based interface or a direct connection to the serial port. Note that even when SNMP Administration is disabled, the agent will continue to issue SNMP trap messages.

 

8.7.2 SNMP Community

The following figure and table describe how to configure the community strings authorized for trap management access. All community strings used for IP Trap Managers must be listed in this table. Up to 5 community names may be entered.

 

 

8.7.3 Trap Managers

The following figure and table describe how to specify management stations that will receive authentication failure messages or other trap messages from the switch. Note that all community strings used for IP Trap Managers must be listed in the SNMP Communities table. Up to 5 trap managers may be entered.

 


8.8 Security Configuration

Use the Security Configuration screen to restrict management access based on Administrator user name and password. Only the Administrator has write access for parameters governing the SNMP agent. You should therefore assign a password to the Administrator as soon as possible, and store it in a safe place. (If  for some reason your password is lost, or you can not gain access to the system's configuration program, contact your PLANET distributor for assistance.) The parameters shown on this screen are indicated in the following figure and table.

 

8.8.1 Change Password

 

Passwords can consist of up to 15 alphanumeric characters and are not case sensitive.

 


8.9 Firmware Upgrade Options

8.9.1 Web Upload Management

Use the Web Upload Management menu to load software updates into the switch. The upload file should be a binary file; otherwise the agent will not accept it. The success of the upload operation depends on the quality of the network connection. After downloading the new software, the agent will automatically restart itself. Parameters shown on this screen are indicated in the following figure and table.

 

 

8.9.2 TFTP Download Management

Use the TFTP Download Management menu to load software updates into the switch. The download file should be a binary file; otherwise the agent will not accept it. The success of the download operation depends on the accessibility of the TFTP server and the quality of the network connection. After downloading the new software, the agent will automatically restart itself.

Parameters shown on this screen are indicated in the following figure and table.

 

Parameter

Description

Server IP Address

 IP address of a TFTP server.

Download Mode

You can download to permanent flash ROM or temporary storage in RAM (for test purposes). Note that if you download to temporary memory, this firmware will be lost upon power off.

File Name

 The binary file to download.

Start TFTP Download

 Issues request to TFTP server to download the specified file.

  


 

8.A Address Table Configuration

The Address Table contains the MAC addresses associated with each port (that is, the source port associated with the address). The address table provides search options for a specific port or address. You can also clear the entire address table, or information associated with a specific port or address; or set the aging time for deleting inactive entries. The information displayed in the Address Table is indicated in the following figure and table.

Parameter

Description

Aging Time

Time-out period in seconds for aging out dynamically learned forwarding information.
Range: 10 - 415 secs; default: 300 secs. 

Dynamic Address Count

The number of dynamically learned addresses.

Static Address Count

The number of statically configured addresses.

Address Table Sort by

Entries can be sorted by MAC address or VLAN ID.

Address Table

The system displays the MAC address of each node, and the port whose address table includes this MAC address, the associated VLAN(s), and the address status (i.e., dynamic or static).

New Static Address

Use the "MAC Address", "VLAN" and "Port" fields to add a static entry to the address table.

Add/Remove

Adds/removes the selected address.

Clear Table

Removes all addresses from the address table.

 


 

8.B STA (Spanning Tree Algorithm)

The Spanning Tree Algorithm can be used to detect and disable network loops, and to provide backup links between switches, bridges or routers. This allows the switch to interact with other bridging devices (that is, STA compliant switch, bridge or router) in your network to ensure that only one route exists between any two  stations on the network. For a more detailed description of how to use this algorithm, refer to "Spanning Tree Algorithm". 

 

8.B.1 Spanning Tree Information

The Spanning Tree Information screen displays a summary of the STA information for the overall bridge or for a specific port. To make any changes to the parameters for the Spanning Tree, use the Spanning Tree Configuration screen.

 

Spanning Tree
The parameters shown in the following figure and table describe the current bridge STA Information.  

 

Parameter

Description

Spanning Tree State

Shows if switch is enabled to participate in an STA compliant network.

Bridge ID

A unique identifier for this bridge, consisting of bridge priority plus MAC address (the MAC address of the switch unit).

Max Age

The maximum time (in seconds) a device can wait without receiving a configuration message before attempting to reconfigure.

Hello Time

The time interval (in seconds) at which the root device transmits a configuration message.

Forward Delay

The maximum time (in seconds) the root device will wait before changing states (i.e., listening to learning to forwarding).

Designated Root

The priority and MAC address of the device in the spanning tree that this switch has accepted as the root device.

Root Port

The number of the port on this switch that is closest to the root. This switch communicates with the root device through this port. If there is no root port, then this switch has been accepted as the root device of the spanning tree network.

Root Path Cost

The path cost from the root port on this switch to the root device.

Configuration Changes

The number of times the spanning tree has been reconfigured.

Last Topology Change

The time since the spanning tree was last reconfigured

 

Ports
The parameters shown in the following figure and table are for port STA Information.

Parameter

Description

Port Status

Displays the current state of this port within the spanning tree:

Disabled

Port has been disabled by the user or has failed diagnostics.

Blocked

Port receives STA configuration messages, but does not forward packets.

Listening

Port will leave blocking state due to topology change, starts transmitting configuration messages, but does not yet forward packets.

Learning

Has transmitted configuration messages for an interval set by the Forward Delay parameter without receiving contradictory information. Port address table is cleared, and the port begins learning addresses.

Forwarding

The port forwards packets, and continues learning addresses.

The rules defining port status are:

  • A port on a network segment with no other STA compliant bridging device is always forwarding.
  • If two ports of a switch are connected to the same segment and there is no other STA device attached to this segment, the port with the smaller ID forwards packets and the other is blocked.
  • All ports are blocked when the switch is booted, then some of them change state to listening, to learning, and then to forwarding.

Forward Transitions

The number of times the port has changed status to forwarding state.

Designated Cost

The cost for a packet to travel from this port to the root in the current spanning tree configuration. The slower the media, the higher the cost.

Designated Bridge

The priority and MAC address of the device through which this port must communicate to reach the root of the spanning tree.

Designated Port

The port on the designated bridging device through which this switch must communicate with the root of the spanning tree.

 

8.B.2 Spanning Tree Configuration

The following figures and tables describe Bridge STA configuration.

Switch

Parameter

Default

Description

Usage

Enabled

Enable this parameter to participate in an STA compliant network.

Priority

32,768

Device priority is used in selecting the root device, root port, and designated port. The device with the highest priority becomes the STA root device. However, if all devices have the same priority, the device with the lowest MAC address will then become the root device.
Enter a value from 0 - 65535.
Remember that the lower the numeric value, the higher the priority.

 

When the Switch Becomes Root

Parameter

Default

Description

Hello Time

2

The time interval (in seconds) at which the root device transmits a configuration message.
The minimum value is 1. The maximum value is the lower of 10 or [(Max. Message Age / 2) -1].

Max (Message) Age

20

The maximum time (in seconds) a device can wait without receiving a configuration message before attempting to reconfigure. All device ports (except for designated ports) should receive configuration messages at regular intervals. Any port that ages out STA information (provided in the last configuration message) becomes the designated port for the attached LAN. If it is a root port, a new root port is selected from among the device ports attached to the network.
The minimum value is the higher of 6 or [2 x (Hello Time + 1)].
The maximum value is the lower of 40 or [2 x (Forward Delay - 1)].

 

8.B.3  STA Port Configuration

The following figure and table describe STA configuration for ports.

 

Parameter

Default

Description

Priority

128

Defines the priority for the use of a port in the STA algorithm. If the path cost for all ports on a switch are the same, the port with the highest priority (i.e., lowest value) will be configured as an active link in the spanning tree. Where more than one port is assigned the highest priority, the port with lowest numeric identifier will be enabled.
The range is 0 - 255.

(Path) Cost

100/19/4

This parameter is used by the STA algorithm to determine the best path between devices. Therefore, lower values should be assigned to ports attached to faster media, and higher values assigned to ports with slower media.
The default and recommended range is:
Standard Ethernet: 100 (50~600)
Fast Ethernet: 19 (10~60)
Gigabit Ethernet: 4 (3~10)
The full range is 0 - 65535.
Note: Path cost takes precedence over port priority.

Fast STA Mode

Disabled

This enables/disables the Fast STA Mode for the port. In this mode, ports skip the Blocked, Listening and Learning states and proceed straight to Forwarding.
The Fast STA Mode enables end-node workstations and servers to overcome time-out problems when the Spanning Tree Algorithm is implemented in a network. Therefore, the Fast STA Mode should only be enabled for ports that are connected to an end-node device.



 

8.C  Configuring Bridge MIB Extensions

The Bridge MIB includes extensions for managed devices that support Traffic Classes and Virtual LANs. To display the switch's support for these extensions, use the Extended Bridge Configuration screen as shown below:
 

8.C.1 Bridge Capability

Parameter

Description

Extended Multicast Filtering Services

The switch does not support the filtering of individual multicast addresses based on GMRP (GARP Multicast Registration Protocol).

Traffic Classes

The switch provides mapping of user priorities to multiple traffic classes. (Refer to the Priority menu.)

Static Entry Individual Port

The switch provides static filtering for unicast and multicast addresses. (Refer to the Address Table.)

VLAN Learning

This switch uses Independent VLAN Learning (IVL), whereby each port maintains its own VLAN filtering database.

Configurable PVID Tagging

The switch allows you to override the default PVID setting (Port VLAN ID used in frame tags) and its egress status (VLAN-Tagged or Untagged) on each port. (Refer to VLAN / VLAN Port Configuration.)

Local VLAN Capable

This switch does not support multiple local bridges (that is, multiple Spanning Trees).



 

8.D Bridge Settings

Parameter

Description

Traffic Class

Multiple traffic classes are supported by this switch as indicated under Bridge Capabilities. However, the switch supports just two priority queues and only the default port priority can be configured. The switch does not support the configuration of traffic class mapping. Therefore, this parameter under Bridge Settings is set to disabled and cannot be enabled.

This switch does not support GMRP or GVRP. Therefore, the GMRP and GVRP functions cannot be enabled from this screen.

 


 

8.E Priority

IEEE 802.1p defines up to 8 separate traffic classes. This switch supports Quality of Service (QoS) by using two priority queues, with weighted fair queuing for each port. You can use the Priority menu to configure the default priority for each port, or to display the mapping for the traffic classes as described in the following sections.
 

8.E.1  Port Priority Configuration

The default priority for all ingress ports is zero. Therefore, any inbound frames that do not have priority tags will be placed in the low priority output queue. Default priority is only used to determine the output queue for the current port; no priority tag is actually added to the frame. You can use the Port Priority Configuration screen to adjust default priority for any port as shown below:

Parameter

Description

Port

Numeric identifier for switch port.

Default Ingress User Priority

Default priority can be set to any value from 0~7, where 0~3 specifies the low priority queue and 4~7 specifies the high priority queue.

Number of Egress Traffic Classes

Indicates that this switch supports two priority output queues.

 

8.E.2 Port Traffic Class Information

This switch provides two priority levels with weighted fair queuing for port egress. This means that any frames with a default or user priority from 0~3 are sent to the low priority queue "0" while those from 4~7 are sent to the high priority queue "1" as shown in the following screen:

Parameter

Description

Port

Numeric identifier for switch port.

User Priority

Shows that user priorities 0~3 specify the low priority queue and 4~7 specify the high priority queue.

 


 

8.F Configuring VLANs

Use the VLAN menu to create LAN groups and assign switch ports to any of up to 16 groups. In conventional networks with routers, broadcast traffic is split up into separate domains. Switches do not inherently support broadcast domains. This can lead to broadcast storms in large networks that handle a lot of IPX traffic. By using IEEE 802.1Q compliant VLANs, you can organize any group of network nodes into separate broadcast domains, confining broadcast traffic to the originating group, and provide a more secure and much cleaner network environment. For a more detailed description of how to use VLANs, see "Using Virtual LANs" in Chapter 4.

 

8.F.1 VLAN Basic Information

The VLAN Basic Information screen displays basic information on the VLAN type supported by this switch.

Parameter

Description

VLAN Version Number

The VLAN version used by this switch as specified in the IEEE 802.1Q standard.

Max. VLAN ID

Maximum VLAN ID recognized by this switch.

Max. Supported VLANs

Maximum number of VLANs that can be configured on this switch.

Current Number of VLANs Configured

The number of VLANs currently configured on this switch.

 

8.F.2 VLAN Current Table

This screen shows the current port members of each VLAN and whether or not the port supports VLAN tagging. Ports assigned to a large VLAN group that crosses several switches should use VLAN tagging. However, if you just want to create a small port-based VLAN for one or two switches, you can assign ports to the same untagged VLAN. The current configuration is shown in the following screen.

 

Parameter

Description

VLAN Entry Delete Count

The number of times a VLAN entry has been deleted from this table.

VLAN ID

The ID for the VLAN currently displayed.

Up Time at Creation

The value of sysUpTime (System Up Time) when this VLAN was created.

Status

Shows that this VLAN was added to the switch as a static entry.

Egress Ports

Shows the ports which have been added to the displayed VLAN group.

Untagged Ports

Shows the untagged VLAN port members.

 

8.F.3 VLAN Static List

Use this screen to create or remove VLAN groups.

 

Parameter

Description

Current

Lists all the current VLAN groups created for this system. Up to 16 VLAN groups can be defined. To allow this switch to participate in external VLAN groups, you must use the VLAN ID for the concerned external groups.

New

Allows you to specify the name and numeric identifier for a new VLAN group. (The VLAN name is only used for management on this system; it is not added to the VLAN tag.)

Status

Enables/disables the specified VLAN.

Add

Adds a new VLAN group to the current list.

Remove

Removes a VLAN group from the current list. If any port is assigned to this group as untagged, it will be reassigned to VLAN group 1 as untagged.

 

 8.F.4 VLAN Static Table

Use this screen to modify the settings for an existing VLAN. You can add/delete port members for a VLAN and disable or enable VLAN tagging for any port. (Note that VLAN 1 is fixed as an untagged VLAN containing all ports, and cannot be modified via this screen.)

Parameter

Description

VLAN

The ID for the VLAN currently displayed. Range: 1-2048

Name

A user-specified symbolic name for this VLAN. String length: 8 alphanumeric characters

Status

Enables/disables the specified VLAN.


Use the screens shown below to assign ports to the specified VLAN group as an IEEE 802.1Q tagged port. Assign ports as tagged if they are connected to 802.1Q VLAN compliant devices. If the port is connected to VLAN-unaware devices, frames will passed to the untagged VLAN group this port has been assigned to under VLAN Port Configuration.

Parameter

Description

Egress Ports

Adds ports to the specified VLAN.

Forbidden Egress Ports

Prevents a port from being automatically added to this VLAN via GVRP. Note that GVRP is not supported by this switch.

Untagged Ports

Adds an authorized egress port to the displayed VLAN as an untagged port.

 

8.F.5 VLAN Static Membership by Port

Use the screen shown below to assign VLAN groups to the selected port. To perform detailed port configuration for a specific VLAN, use the VLAN Static Table.

 

Parameter

Description

Port Number

Port number on the switch selected from the upper display panel.

Add/Remove

Add or remove selected VLAN groups for the port indicated in the Port Number field.

 

8.F.6 VLAN Port Configuration

Use this screen to configure port-specific settings for IEEE 802.1Q VLAN features.

 

Parameter

Description

PVID

The VLAN ID assigned to untagged frames received on this port. Use the PVID to assign ports to the same untagged VLAN.

Acceptable Frame Type

This switch accepts "All" frame types, including VLAN tagged or VLAN untagged frames. Note that all VLAN untagged frames received on this port are assigned to the PVID for this port. 

Ingress Filtering

If set to "True" incoming frames for VLANs which do not include this port in their member set will be discarded at the inbound port. 

GVRP Status*

Enables or disables GVRP for this port. When disabled, any GVRP packets received on this port will be discarded and no GVRP registrations will be propagated from other ports.
Note that GVRP must be enabled for the switch before this setting to take effect.

GVRP Failed Registrations*

The total number of failed GVRP registrations, for any reason, on this port.

GVRP Last PDU Origin*

The Source MAC Address of the last GVRP message received on this port.

This Switch does not support GVRP. Therefore, the GVRP Status parameter is set to disabled and cannot be enabled. The other GVRP parameters will always display zeros.
 

8.G IGMP Multicast Filtering


Multicasting is used to support real-time applications such as video conferencing or streaming audio. A multicast server does not have to establish a separate connection with each client. It merely broadcasts its service to the network, and any hosts which want to receive the multicast register with their local multicast switch/router. Although this approach reduces the network overhead required by a multicast server, the broadcast traffic must be carefully pruned at every multicast switch/router it passes through to ensure that traffic is only passed on the hosts which subscribed to this service.

This switch uses IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) to query for any attached hosts who want to receive a specific multicast service. The switch looks up the IP Multicast Group used for this service and adds any port which received a similar request to that group. It then propagates the service request on to any neighboring multicast switch/router to ensure that it will continue to receive the multicast service. (For more information, see "IGMP Snooping and IP Multicast Filtering")


8.G.1 Configuring IGMP

This protocol allows a host to inform its local switch/router that it wants to receive transmissions addressed to a specific multicast address group. Use the IGMP Configuration screen to set key parameters for multicast filtering as shown below.

Parameter

escription

IGMP Status

If enabled, the switch will monitor network traffic to determine which hosts want to receive multicast traffic.

IGMP Query Count (2-10)

The maximum number of queries issued for which there has been no response before the switch takes action to solicit reports.

IGMP Report Delay (5-30)

The time (in minutes) between receiving an IGMP Report for an IP multicast address on a port before the switch sends an IGMP Query out that port and removes the entry from its list.

 

8.G.2 IP Multicast Registration Table

Use the IP Multicast Registration Table to display all the multicast groups active on this switch, including multicast IP addresses and the corresponding VLAN ID.

Parameter

Description

VLAN ID

 VLAN ID assigned to this multicast group.

Multicast IP Address

 IP address for specific multicast services.

Learned by

 Indicates the manner in which this address was learned: Dynamic or IGMP.

Multicast Group Port Lists

 The switch ports registered for the indicated multicast service.



8.H Port Menus


8.H.1 Port Information

The Port Information screen displays the port status and link state, as well as the flow control in use. To change any of the port settings, use the Port Configuration menu. The parameters are shown in the following figure and table.

Parameter

Description

Admin Status

Shows if the port is enabled or not.

Link Status

Indicates if the port has a valid connection to an external device.

Speed Status

Shows the port speed (10M, 100M or 1000M).

Duplex Status

Displays the current duplex mode.

Flow Control Status

Shows the flow control type in use. Flow control can eliminate frame loss by "blocking" traffic from end stations connected directly to the switch. Back pressure is used for half duplex and IEEE 802.3x for full duplex.

 

8.H.2 Port Configuration

Use the Port Configuration menus to configure any port on the switch.

 

Parameter

Default

Description

Admin Status

Enable

Allows you to disable a port due to abnormal behavior, and then re-enable it after the problem has been resolved. You may also disable a port for security reasons.

Duplex Status

Auto-Negotiation

Negotiation Used to set the current port speed, duplex mode, flow control, and auto-negotiation.
Auto-Negotiation is the default setting for 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-SX; but is not available for 100BASE-FX.

Flow Control

Disabled 

Used to enable or disable flow control. Flow control can eliminate frame loss by "blocking" traffic from end stations or segments connected directly to the switch when its buffers fill. IEEE 802.3x for full duplex control is used.



8.I Port Mirroring Configuration

You can mirror the traffic from a target port to an analysis port for real-time analysis. You can then attach a logic analyzer or RMON probe to the analysis port and study the traffic crossing target port in a completely unobtrusive manner.  When mirroring a port, note that the analysis port must be included in the same VLAN as the monitored port.  Use Port Monitoring Configuration to set up analysis ports as shown below:

Parameter

Description

Capturing State

Enables or disables the mirror function.

Analyzer Port

The port that will "duplicate" or "mirror" all the traffic happening on the monitored port.

Analyzed Port

The port whose traffic will be monitored.



8.J Port Statistics

Use the Port Statistics menu to display Etherlike or RMON statistics for any port on the switch. The statistics displayed are indicated in the following figure and table.

 

8.J.1 Etherlike Statistics

Etherlike Statistics display key statistics from the Ethernet-like MIB for each port. Error statistics on the traffic passing through each port are displayed. This information can be used to identify potential problems with the switch (such as a faulty port or unusually heavy loading). Values displayed have been accumulated since the last system reboot.

Parameter

Description

Alignment Errors

 For 10 Mbps ports, this counter records alignment errors (mis-synchronized data packets). For 100 Mbps ports, this counter records the sum of alignment errors and code errors (frames received with rxerror signal).

FCS Errors

The number of frames received that are an integral number of octets in length but do not pass the FCS check.

Single Collision Frames* 

The number of successfully transmitted frames for which transmission is inhibited by exactly one collision.

Multiple Collision Frames* 

 A count of successfully transmitted frames for which transmission is inhibited by more than one collision.

SQE Test Errors*

 A count of times that the SQE TEST ERROR message is generated by the PLS sublayer.

Deferred Transmissions*

 A count of frames for which the first transmission attempt on a particular interface is delayed because the medium was busy.

Late Collisions

The number of times that a collision is detected later than 512 bit-times into the transmission of a packet.

Excessive Collisions*

The number of frames for which transmission failed due to excessive collisions.

Internal Mac Transmit Errors*

The number of frames for which transmission failed due to an internal MAC sublayer transmit error.

Carrier Sense Errors*

The number of times that the carrier sense condition was lost or never asserted when attempting to transmit a frame.

Frames Too Long 

The number of frames received that exceed the maximum permitted frame size. 

Internal Mac Receive Errors*

The number of frames for which reception failed due to an internal MAC sublayer receive error.

* The values will always be zero because these statistics are not supported by the internal chip set.

 

8.J.2 RMON Statistics

RMON Statistics display key statistics for each port or media module from RMON group 1. (RMON groups 2, 3 and 9 can only be accessed using SNMP management software such as SNMPc.) The following screen displays overall statistics on traffic passing through each port. RMON statistics provide access to a broad range of statistics, including a total count of different frame types passing through each port. Values displayed have been accumulated since the last system reboot.

Parameter

Description

Drop Events

The total number of events in which packets were dropped due to lack of resources.

Received Bytes

Total number of bytes of data received on the network. This statistic can be used as a reasonable indication of Ethernet utilization.

Received Frames

The total number of frames (bad, broadcast and multicast) received.

Broadcast Frames

The total number of good frames received that were directed to the broadcast address. Note that this does not include multicast packets.

Multicast Frames

The total number of good frames received that were directed to this multicast address.

CRC/Alignment Errors

For 10Mbps ports, the counter records CRC/alignment errors (FCS or alignment errors). For 100Mbps ports, the counter records the sum of CRC/alignment errors and code errors (frame received with rxerror signal).

Undersize Frames

The total number of frames received that were less than 64 octets long (excluding framing bits, but including FCS octets) and were otherwise well formed.

Oversize Frames

The total number of frames received that were longer than 1518 octets (excluding framing bits, but including FCS octets) and were otherwise well formed.

Fragments

The total number of frames received that were less than 64 octets in length (excluding framing bits, but including FCS octets) and had either an FCS or alignment error.

  

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