HP ProCurve 5300xl Series Management Manual page 272

Switch Meshing
Operating Notes for Switch Meshing
7-26
Mesh Support Within the Domain: All switches in the mesh domain,
■
including edge switches, must support the HP switch meshing protocol.
Switch Hop Count in the Mesh Domain: A maximum of five (meshed)
■
switch hops is allowed in the path connecting two nodes in a switch mesh
domain. A path of six meshed hops is unusable. However, this does not
interfere with other, shorter paths in the same domain.
■ Connecting Mesh Domains: To connect two separate switch meshing
domains, you must use non-meshed ports. (The non-meshed link can be
a port trunk or a single link.) Refer to figure 7-3 on page 7-7.
Fast EtherChannel® (FEC): This cannot be configured on a meshed
■
port. (You can configure FEC on non-meshed ports in a switch that also
has meshed ports.) For more on FEC trunks, refer to the chapter titled
"Port Trunking" in the Management and Configuration Guide for your
switch.
■ Multiple Links Between Meshed Switches: Multiple mesh ports can
be connected between the same two switches, to provide higher band-
width. Each port that you want in the mesh domain should be configured
as Mesh (and not as a trunk—Trk). Note that if you configure a port as
Mesh, there is no "Type" selection for that port.
Automatic Broadcast Control: Series 3400cl, 6400cl, and 5300xl
■
switches do not offer this feature. Thus, in a switch mesh comprised of
3400cl, 6400cl, and/or 5300xl switches and any of the 1600M/2400M/
2424M/4000M/8000M switches, ABC must be disabled (which is the
default setting) on the 1600M/2400M/2424M/4000M/8000M switches.
■ Network Monitor Port: If a network monitor port is configured, broad-
cast packets may be duplicated on this port if more than one port is being
monitored and switch meshing is enabled.
Compatibility with Older Switches: Only after the Series 3400cl,
■
6400cl, and 5300xl switches are placed in backward compatibility mode
will they operate with older switches. For more information see "CLI:
Configuring Switch Meshing" on page 7-17. Each entry in a Series 3400cl,
6400cl, or 5300xl switch's MAC-address table consists of a MAC address
and a VLAN ID (VID). In older switches there is no VID; just a MAC
address. The older switches will therefore detect indistinguishable, dupli­
cate addresses where the Series 3400cl, 6400cl, and 5300xl switches will
detect multiple different addresses consisting of the same MAC address
and different VIDs. In a switch mesh that includes any 1600M/2400M/
2424M/4000M/8000M switches, duplicate MAC addresses entering the
mesh on different switches are not allowed. (These older switches do not
recognize multiple instances of a particular MAC address on different
VLANs.) If you try to add one of these switches to a mesh comprised
entirely of Series 3400cl, 6400cl, and/or 5300xl switches, and any of these