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5-6 Riverstone Networks RS Switch Router User Guide Release 8.0
Configuring RS Bridging Functions Bridging Configuration Guide
5.5 CONFIGURING RS BRIDGING FUNCTIONS
5.5.1 Configuring Address-based or Flow-based Bridging
The RS 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 RS 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 a router 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.
Figure 5-1 Router traffic going to different ports
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 RS 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
5RXWHU