Dell Force10 E300, Configuration Manual

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GARP VLAN Registration Protocol | 373
17
GARP VLAN Registration Protocol
GARP VLAN Registration Protocol is supported on platform
c e s
GVRP is supported on the E-Series ExaScale platform with FTOS 8.1.1.0 and later.
Protocol Overview
Typical VLAN implementation involves manually configuring each Layer 2 switch that participates in a
given VLAN. GARP VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP), defined by the IEEE 802.1q specification, is a
Layer 2 network protocol that provides for automatic VLAN configuration of switches. GVRP-compliant
switches use GARP to register and de-register attribute values, such as VLAN IDs, with each other.
GVRP exchanges network VLAN information to allow switches to dynamically forward frames for one or
more VLANs. Consequently, GVRP spreads this information and configures the needed VLAN(s) on any
additional switches in the network. Data propagates via the exchange of GVRP protocol data units (PDUs).
The purpose of GVRP is to simplify (but not eliminate) static configuration. The idea is to configure
switches at the edge and have the information dynamically propagate into the core. As such, the edge ports
must still be statically configured with VLAN membership information, and they do not run GVRP. It is
this information that is propagated to create dynamic VLAN membership in the core of the network.
Important Points to Remember
• GVRP propagates VLAN membership throughout a network. GVRP allows end stations and switches
to issue and revoke declarations relating to VLAN membership.
• VLAN registration is made in the context of the port that receives the GARP PDU and is propagated to
the other active ports.
• GVRP is disabled by default; you must enable GVRP for the switch and then for individual ports.
• Dynamic VLANs are aged out after the LeaveAll timer expires three times without receipt of a Join
message. Use the
show gvrp statistics
{
interface
interface
|
summary
} command to display status.
• Per-VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST+) or MSTP and GVRP cannot be enabled at the same time, as
shown in
Figure 17-1 . If Spanning Tree and GVRP are both required, implement RSTP.