Chapter 13 Interfaces
ZyWALL USG 300 User’s Guide
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• Trunks manage load balancing between interfaces.
Port groups, trunks, and the auxiliary interface have a lot of characteristics that
are specific to each type of interface. See Section 13.2 on page 293, Chapter 14
on page 363, and Section 13.10 on page 354 for details. The other types of
interfaces--Ethernet, PPP, cellular, VLAN, bridge, and virtual--have a lot of similar
characteristics. These characteristics are listed in the following table and discussed
in more detail below.
* - The format of interface names other than the Ethernet and ppp interface names is strict. Each name
consists of 2-4 letters (interface type), followed by a number (x, limited by the maximum number of each
type of interface). For example, VLAN interfaces are vlan0, vlan1, vlan2, ...; and so on.
** - The names of virtual interfaces are derived from the interfaces on which they are created. For example,
virtual interfaces created on Ethernet interface ge1 are called ge1:1, ge1:2, and so on. Virtual interfaces
created on VLAN interface vlan2 are called vlan2:1, vlan2:2, and so on. You cannot specify the number
after the colon(:) in the Web Configurator; it is a sequential number. You can specify the number after the
colon if you use the CLI to set up a virtual interface.
Relationships Between Interfaces
In the ZyWALL, interfaces are usually created on top of other interfaces. Only
Ethernet interfaces are created directly on top of the physical ports or port groups.
The relationships between interfaces are explained in the following table.
Table 56 Ethernet, PPP, Cellular, VLAN, Bridge, and Virtual Interface
Characteristics
CHARACTERISTICS ETHERNET PPP CELLULAR VLAN BRIDGE VIRTUAL
Name* gex pppx cellularx vlanx brx **
IP Address Assignment
Static IP address
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
DHCP client Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Routing metric
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Interface Parameters
Bandwidth restrictions Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Packet size (MTU)
Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
DHCP
DHCP server Yes No No Yes Yes No
DHCP relay
Yes No No Yes Yes No
Connectivity Check Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Table 57 Relationships Between Different Types of Interfaces
INTERFACE
REQUIRED PORT /
INTERFACE
auxiliary interface auxiliary port
port group physical port
Ethernet interface physical port
port group