
Enterasys Xpedition User Reference Manual 39
Configuring XP Bridging Functions
Configuring XP Bridging Functions
Configuring Address-based or Flow-based Bridging
The XP ports perform address-based bridging by default but can be configured to perform
flow-based bridging instead of address-based bridging, on a per-port basis. A port cannot
be configured to perform both types of bridging at the same time.
The XP performance is equivalent when performing flow-based bridging or address-
based bridging. However, address-based bridging is more efficient because it requires
fewer table entries while flow-based bridging provides tighter management and control
over bridged traffic.
For example, the following illustration shows an XP with traffic being sent from port A to
port B, port B to port A, port B to port C, and port A to port C.
The corresponding bridge tables for address-based and flow-based bridging are shown
below. As shown, the bridge table contains more information on the traffic patterns when
flow-based bridging is enabled compared to address-based bridging.
With the XP configured in flow-based bridging mode, the network manager has “per
flow” control of layer-2 traffic. The network manager can then apply Quality of Service
(QoS) policies or security filters based on layer-2 traffic flows.
To enable flow-based bridging on a port, enter the following command in Configure
mode.
Address-Based Bridge Table Flow-Based Bridge Table
A (source) A
→ B
B (source) B
→ A
C (destination) B
→ C
A
→ C
Configure a port for flow-based
bridging.
port flow-bridging <port-list>|all-ports
ABC
XP
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