2.5. The IEEE 802.1D Standard
IEEE 802.1D is the international standard for MAC bridges [IEEE90a, IEEE93a, IEEE98a]. The explanations of bridge operation presented in this chapter are consistent with the formal description in that standard. In order to be unambiguous and rigorously precise, standards are written in a style and language that is not conducive to a tutorial. The purpose is to document the requirements for proper operation and interoperability, not to educate the reader. That task is left to books like this one.
In addition to the formal description of transparent bridge operation, the standard provides:
An architectural framework for the operation of bridges, including formal specifications for interlayer services.
A formal description of the Bridge Address Table,[] frame filter-ing, and forwarding, including support for static and dynamic entries, forwarding rules, and custom filter definitions.
[] The standard calls this the Filtering Database; however, we find the term "address table" much more intuitive and useful.
A set of operating parameters for interoperation of bridged catenets.
A convention for address assignment to bridges and bridge ports.
A reserved block of MAC addresses for which standard-compliant bridges must exhibit specific behavior.
A formal specification of a loop resolution algorithm and protocol.
A specification of a minimum set of management objects to allow interoperable management of a multi-vendor catenet.
The first two items are artifacts of ...
Get The All-New Switch Book: The Complete Guide to LAN Switching Technology, Second Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
