Supported Features and Functions

B.2 SUPPORTED FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS

The following lists the features and functions supported when using IGMP:

Runs only when the switch is operating in the 802.1Q mode.

Supports multiple multicast and non-multicast routers on the same VLAN.

Supports stand alone multicast servers only if a router is present on the network.

Multicast forwarding rate is dependent on the number of ports the multicast stream is forwarded to. More ports degrade the performance.

Supports IGMP version 1 and 2 only. Default is version 2.

Ports that are directly connected to routers are discovered dynamically through snooping for routing protocols.

IGMP is enabled or disabled per VLAN, and not per port.

NOTE: Certain versions of firmware will not allow the switch to be a querier. Please check your release notes for further information. Refer to RFC 2236, Section 8, for more information on IGMP.

The switch will “snoop” on all incoming multicast addresses to detect query responses, as well as queries. Query responses are sent to the multicast address detected in the stream from the host requesting to receive queries. The frame is an IP frame of protocol type 2. If the frame is a response frame, IGMP will take the multicast address and VLAN ID, and program a filter on the receive port. The response is then forwarded out upstream ports so that the router will receive it. Ports that receive queries are marked as upstream ports. It is assumed a router exists somewhere off this port, and responses are sent here. If the switch detects a router protocol on a port, that port is also marked as a router port. This keeps the switch from blocking traffic to other routers.

B-2About IGMP

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Enterasys Networks 2E253, 2H253, 2H252, 2H258 manual Supported Features and Functions