Alcatel Carrier Internetworking Solutions Switch/Router Non-Mobile Groups and AutoTracker VLANs

Non-Mobile Groups and AutoTracker VLANs
Page 19-15
Non-Mobile Groups and AutoTracker VLANs
Non-mobile Groups are comprised of physical entities—switch ports. Groups can span multi-
ple switches, but they are still made up of physical ports that you can see and touch. But just
as physically-based broadcast domains are limited, entirely port-based Groups can also be
limiting. In a large, flat, switched network, broadcast traffic can overload the network. There
needs to be a method for subdividing traffic even further. That’s where virtual networks, or
VLANs, come into play.
VLANs are created within a Group to subdivide network traffic based on specific criteria. The
criteria you use to define a VLAN are called AutoTracker™ policies. AutoTracker policies can
be defined by port, MAC address, protocol, network address, a user-defined policy, or a multi-
cast policy. VLANs are described in more detail in Chapter 22, “Managing AutoTracker VLANs”
and Chapter 23, “Multicast VLANs.”
Routing in a Non-Mobile Group
Communication within a Group containing only the default VLAN is switched; the ports are in
the same broadcast domain and do not require routing to communicate. Communication
between VLANs in the same Group or to VLANs in other Groups requires routing. That’s why
all VLANs—including the default VLAN within each Group—may contain their own virtual
router port. A virtual router port for each VLAN can be configured to support IP and/or IPX
routing. If you do not configure a virtual router port for a VLAN, the devices in that VLAN will
not be able to communicate with devices in other VLANs unless there is an external router
between the VLANs.
Each OmniS/R supports up to 32 virtual router ports. A single router port, using one MAC
address, can support IP routing, IPX routing, or both types of routing. When you enable a
router port for a default VLAN, you are actually creating a static route to that VLAN. Routing is
covered in more detail in Chapters 25 and 27.
♦ Note ♦
For mobile, non-mobile groups and AutoTracker
VLANs, the router port operational status is not active
unless an active switch port is a member of the group
or VLAN.