LevelOne GEL-5261, User Manual

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Chapter 1
| Introduction
Description of Software Features
Address Resolution
Protocol
The switch uses ARP and Proxy ARP to convert between IP addresses and MAC
(hardware) addresses. This switch supports conventional ARP, which locates the
MAC address corresponding to a given IP address. This allows the switch to use IP
addresses for routing decisions and the corresponding MAC addresses to forward
packets from one hop to the next. Either static or dynamic entries can be
configured in the ARP cache.
Proxy ARP allows hosts that do not support routing to determine the MAC address
of a device on another network or subnet. When a host sends an ARP request for a
remote network, the switch checks to see if it has the best route. If it does, it sends
its own MAC address to the host. The host then sends traffic for the remote
destination via the switch, which uses its own routing table to reach the destination
on the other network.
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 for IPv4,and MLD Snooping and Query for IPv6 to manage multicast
group registration.
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.