IBM Nortel Networks L2/3, Manual

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Chapter 4. Nortel Networks Layer 2/3 GbE Switch Module architecture
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Figure 4-2 BladeCenter Ethernet connectivity
Internal Layer 2 traffic flow in the Nortel Networks L2/3 GbESM
Figure 4-3 shows the internal Layer 2 traffic flow in the Nortel GbESM. The hard coded filter in
the Nortel GbESM blocks all traffic between the external ports and the Management Module
ports. Two Nortel GbESMs in the same BladeCenter chassis exchange Layer 2 frames across
the Management Module. The Nortel GbESM processes BPDUs that reach it via the
Management Module if Spanning Tree is enabled for the Management Module ports. This is
rarely necessary.
Figure 4-3 Layer 2 frames flow in the Nortel Networks L2/3 GbESM
Uplinks
Management
Module
Blade
Servers
1 2
Blade
Server1
1 2
Blade
Server2
1 2
Blade
Server14
GbESM2
1 2 3 4 5 6
GbESM2
1 2 3 4 5 6
GbESM1
M
M
2
M
M
1
M
M
2
2 Management
Module ports
6 External ports
CPU/AOS
Hard-coded filter
14 internal blade ports