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Software Configuration Guide—Release 12.2(25)SG
OL-7659-03
Chapter1 Product Overview
Security Features
Storm Control
Broadcast suppression is used to prevent LANs from being disrupted by a broadcast storm on one or
more switch ports. A LAN broadcast storm occurs when broadcast pa ckets flood the LAN, creating
excessive traffic and degrading network performance. Errors in the protocol-stack implementat ion or in
the network configuration can cause a broadcast storm. Multicast and broadcast suppression measures
how much broadcast traffic is passing through a port and compares the broadcast traffic with some
configurable threshold value within a specific time interval. If the amount of broadcast traffic reaches
the threshold during this interval, broadcast frames are dropped, and optionally the port is shut down.
For information on configuring broadcast suppression, see Chapter 36, “Configuring Storm Control.”
Utilities

Layer 2 Traceroute

Layer 2 Traceroute allows the switch to identify the physical path that a packet takes from a source
device to a destination device. Layer 2 traceroute supports only unicast source and destination MAC
addresses.
For information about Layer 2 Traceroute, see Chapter 5, “Checking Port Status and Connectivity.”

Time Domain Reflectometry

Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) is a technology used for diagnosing the state and reliability of
cables. TDR can detect open, shorted, or terminated cable states. The calculation of the distance to the
failure point is also supported.
For information about TDR, see Chapter 5, “Checking Port Status and Connectivity.”

Debugging Features

The Catalyst 4500 series switch has several commands to help you debug your initial setup. These
commands are included in the following groups:
platform
debug platform
For more information, refer to the Catalyst 4500 Series Switch Cisco IOS Command Reference.