Alcatel-Lucent 9000, 6800, 6850 user manual Source Learning, Software Rollback

Software Supported

The switch fabric on the CMM operates independently of the management processor. If there are two CMM modules installed in an OS9700, both fabric modules are normally active. Two CMM modules must be installed in the OS9700 to provide full fabric capacity. However, note that only the one CMM module in the OS9600 provides full fabric capacity.

If there is one CMM module installed in an OS9700, then there is a single management feature and perfor- mance as a dual CMM system, but there is no “secondary” CMM. Hardware or software failures in the CMM will result in a system reboot. The System fabric capacity on an OS9700 is one half of the fabric capacity of a dual CMM system.

SNMP

The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application-layer protocol that allows commu- nication between SNMP managers and SNMP agents on an IP network. Network administrators use SNMP to monitor network performance and to solve network problems. SNMP provides an industry stan- dard communications model used by network administrators to manage and monitor their network devices. OmniSwitch 9000 switches support SNMPv1, SNMPv2, and SNMPv3.

Source Learning

Source Learning builds and maintains the MAC address table on each switch. New MAC address table entries are created in one of two ways: they are dynamically learned or statically assigned. Dynamically learned MAC addresses are those that are obtained by the switch when source learning examines data packets and records the source address and the port and VLAN it was learned on. Static MAC addresses are user defined addresses that are statically assigned to a port and VLAN.

In addition, Source Learning also tracks MAC address age and removes addresses from the MAC address table that have aged beyond the configurable aging timer value.

Accessing MAC Address Table entries is useful for managing traffic flow and troubleshooting network device connectivity problems.

There are two types of source learning modes currently available: software and hardware. The software mode performs all source learning using switch software. The hardware mode takes advantage of hard- ware resources that are now available to perform source learning tasks. At the present time, it is possible to select the mode that is active for the chassis and/or a given set of ports.

By default, hardware source learning mode is active for the switch. The exception to this is that hardware source learning is not supported on mobile or Learned Port Security (LPS) ports. As a result, only soft- ware source learning is performed on these types of ports.

Software Rollback

The directory structure inherent in an OmniSwitch switch allows for a switch to return to a previous, more reliable version of image or configuration files.

Changes made to the configuration file may alter switch functionality. These changes are not saved unless explicitly done so by the user. If the switch reboots before the configuration file is saved, changes made to the configuration file prior to the reboot are lost.

Likewise, new image files should be placed in the working (non-certified) directory first. New image or configuration files can be tested to decide whether they are reliable. Should the configuration or images files prove to be less reliable than their older counterparts in the certified directory, then the switch can be rebooted from the certified directory, and “rolled back” to an earlier version.

OmniSwitch 6800/6850/9000—Release 6.1.3.R01 page 33