12 Bridging
Bridging Features and Capabilities
FilteringWhat Is It? Filtering lets you restrict data traffic from certain segments of your network. There
are different methods used to filter data traffic on a bridged network. PathBuilder
S200 series switch support for filtering includes:
• MAC Address Filtering
• NetBIOS Name Filtering
• Protocol Filtering
Mac Address
Filtering MAC Addressing is important in a bridging operation because one of the most
common tasks in a bridging environment is to provide filtering of data frames.
Filtering provides a way of stopping certain devices from communicating with other
devices in a network. One way to filter traffic through a bridge is by identifying the
devices you want to block by their MAC Addresses.
For more details on MAC Address filtering, see the section “MAC Address
Filtering” section on page58” in this manual.
NetBIOS Name
Filtering The NetBIOS Name Filtering feature of PathBui lder S200 series switches lets you
restrict or filter all NetBIOS broadcasts, except those to or from a list of servers.
NetBIOS Name Filtering compares NetBIOS broadcasts to a “pattern” that may have
a wild card “*” character at the end. For example, if all servers have a naming
convention with the first part of the name the same, for example, “SVR...”, then you
can complete only one entry in the NetBIOS Filter Table to pe rmit broadcasts to and
from the “SVR*” name pattern.
With NetBIOS Name Filters, you can block the local service name (for example,
“SNA_GW”) on the WAN link so that NetBIOS broadcasts to and from that name
are not forwarded across to the internetwork.This feature lets the branches use the
same name for their local SNA service and you can configure all the workstations t o
access the same local SNA name.
Refer to “NetBIOS Name Filtering” section on page76 in this guide.
Protocol Filtering Protocol filtering prevents nodes operating with a certain protocol from operating
outside their intended scope.
Refer to the“Protocol Filtering” section on page 70 for more details.