Table Of Contents
Configuring MLS
Understanding How Layer 3 Switching Works
Understanding Layer 3-Switched Packet Rewrite
Understanding IP Unicast Rewrite
Understanding IPX Unicast Rewrite
Understanding IP Multicast Rewrite
Understanding MLS
Understanding MLS Flows
Understanding the MLS Cache
Understanding Flow Masks
Partially and Completely Switched Multicast Flows
MLS Examples
Default MLS Configuration
Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions
IP MLS
Maximum Transmission Unit Size
Restrictions on Using IP Routing Commands with IP MLS Enabled
IP MMLS
IP MMLS Supervisor Engine Guidelines and Restrictions
IP MMLS MSFC Configuration Restrictions
Unsupported IP MMLS Features
IPX MLS
IPX MLS Interaction with Other Features
IPX MLS and Maximum Transmission Unit Size
Configuring MLS
Configuring Unicast MLS on the MSFC
Disabling and Enabling Unicast MLS on an MSFC Interface
Displaying MLS Information on the MSFC
Using Debug Commands on the MSFC
Using Debug Commands on the SCP
Configuring MLS on Supervisor Engine 1
Specifying the MLS Aging-Time Value
Specifying IP MLS Long-Duration Aging Time, Fast Aging Time, and Packet Threshold Values
Setting the Minimum IP MLS Flow Mask
Displaying CAM Entries on the Supervisor Engine
Displaying MLS Information
Displaying IP MLS Cache Entries
Clearing MLS Cache Entries
Clearing IPX MLS Cache Entries
Displaying IP MLS Statistics
Clearing MLS Statistics
Displaying MLS Debug Information
Configuring IP MMLS
Configuring IP MMLS on the MSFC
Displaying Global IP MMLS Information on the Supervisor Engine
Configuring MLS
This chapter describes how to configure Multilayer Switching (MLS) for the Catalyst 6500 series switches. MLS provides IP and Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) unicast Layer 3 switching and IP multicast Layer 3 switching with Supervisor Engine 1, the Policy Feature Card (PFC), and the Multilayer Switch Feature Card (MSFC) or MSFC2.
Note
For complete information on the syntax and usage information for the supervisor engine commands that are used in this chapter, refer to the Catalyst 6500 Series Switch Command Reference publication.
This chapter consists of these sections:
•
Understanding How Layer 3 Switching Works
•
Default MLS Configuration
•
Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions
•
Configuring MLS
Note
Supervisor Engine 720 with PFC3A/PFC3B/PFC3BXL and MSFC3 and Supervisor Engine 32 with PFC3B/PFC3BXL and MSFC2A provide Layer 3 switching with Cisco Express Forwarding for PFC3 (CEF for PFC3). See Chapter 13, "Configuring CEF for PFC2 and PFC3A," for more information.
Note
Supervisor Engine 2, PFC2, and MSFC2 provide Layer 3 switching with Cisco Express Forwarding for PFC2 (CEF for PFC2). See Chapter 13, "Configuring CEF for PFC2 and PFC3A," for more information.
Understanding How Layer 3 Switching Works
Layer 3 switching allows the switch, instead of a router, to forward IP and IPX unicast traffic and IP multicast traffic between VLANs. Layer 3 switching is implemented in the hardware and provides wire-speed interVLAN forwarding on the switch, rather than on the MSFC. Layer 3 switching requires minimal support from the MSFC. The MSFC routes any traffic that cannot be Layer 3 switched.
Note
Layer 3 switching supports the routing protocols that are configured on the MSFC. Layer 3 switching does not replace the routing protocols that are configured on the MSFC. Layer 3 switching uses IP Protocol Independent Multicast (IP PIM) for multicast route determination.
Layer 3 switching on Catalyst 6500 series switches provides traffic statistics that you can use to identify traffic characteristics for administration, planning, and troubleshooting. Layer 3 switching uses NetFlow Data Export (NDE) to export flow statistics (for more information about NDE, see Chapter 16, "Configuring NDE").
These sections describe Layer 3 switching and MLS on the Catalyst 6500 series switches:
•
Understanding Layer 3-Switched Packet Rewrite
•
Understanding MLS
Understanding Layer 3-Switched Packet Rewrite
When a packet is Layer 3 switched from a source in one VLAN to a destination in another VLAN, the switch performs a packet rewrite at the egress port based on information learned from the MSFC so that the packets appear to have been routed by the MSFC.
Note
Rather than just forwarding multicast packets, the switch replicates them as necessary on the appropriate VLANs.
The packet rewrite alters these five fields:
•
Layer 2 (MAC) destination address
•
Layer 2 (MAC) source address
•
Layer 3 IP Time to Live (TTL) or IPX Transport Control
•
Layer 3 checksum
•
Layer 2 (MAC) checksum (also called the frame checksum or FCS)
If Source A and Destination B are on different VLANs and Source A sends a packet to the MSFC to be routed to Destination B, the switch recognizes that the packet was sent to the Layer 2 (MAC) address of the MSFC.
To perform Layer 3 switching, the switch rewrites the Layer 2 frame header, changing the Layer 2 destination address to the Layer 2 address of Destination B and the Layer 2 source address to the Layer 2 address of the MSFC. The Layer 3 addresses remain the same.
In IP unicast and IP multicast traffic, the switch decrements the Layer 3 Time to Live (TTL) value by 1 and recomputes the Layer 3 packet checksum. In IPX traffic, the switch increments the Layer 3 Transport Control value by 1 and recomputes the Layer 3 packet checksum. The switch recomputes the Layer 2 frame checksum and forwards (or for multicast packets, replicates as necessary) the rewritten packet to Destination B's VLAN.
These sections describe how the packets are rewritten:
•
Understanding IP Unicast Rewrite
•
Understanding IPX Unicast Rewrite
•
Understanding IP Multicast Rewrite
Understanding IP Unicast Rewrite
Received IP unicast packets are (conceptually) formatted as follows:
Layer 2 Frame Header
|
Layer 3 IP Header
|
Data
|
FCS
|
Destination
|
Source
|
Destination
|
Source
|
TTL
|
Checksum
|
|
|
MSFC MAC
|
Source A MAC
|
Destination B IP
|
Source A IP
|
n
|
calculation1
|
After the switch rewrites an IP unicast packet, it is (conceptually) formatted as follows:
Layer 2 Frame Header
|
Layer 3 IP Header
|
Data
|
FCS
|
Destination
|
Source
|
Destination
|
Source
|
TTL
|
Checksum
|
|
|
Destination B MAC
|
MSFC MAC
|
Destination B IP
|
Source A IP
|
n-1
|
calculation2
|
Understanding IPX Unicast Rewrite
Received IPX packets are (conceptually) formatted as follows:
Layer 2 Frame Header
|
Layer 3 IPX Header
|
Data
|
FCS
|
Destination
|
Source
|
Checksum/ IPX Length/ Transport Control
|
Destination Net/ Node/ Socket
|
Source Net/ Node/ Socket
|
|
|
MSFC MAC
|
Source A MAC
|
n
|
Destination B IPX
|
Source A IPX
|
After the switch rewrites an IPX packet, it is (conceptually) formatted as follows:
Layer 2 Frame Header
|
Layer 3 IPX Header
|
Data
|
FCS
|
Destination
|
Source
|
Checksum/ IPX Length/ Transport Control
|
Destination Net/ Node/ Socket
|
Source Net/ Node/ Socket
|
|
|
Destination B MAC
|
MSFC MAC
|
n+1
|
Destination B IPX
|
Source A IPX
|
Understanding IP Multicast Rewrite
Received IP multicast packets are (conceptually) formatted as follows:
Layer 2 Frame Header
|
Layer 3 IP Header
|
Data
|
FCS
|
Destination
|
Source
|
Destination
|
Source
|
TTL
|
Checksum
|
|
|
Group G1 MAC1
|
Source A MAC
|
Group G1 IP
|
Source A IP
|
n
|
calculation1
|
After the switch rewrites an IP multicast packet, it is (conceptually) formatted as follows:
Layer 2 Frame Header
|
Layer 3 IP Header
|
Data
|
FCS
|
Destination
|
Source
|
Destination
|
Source
|
TTL
|
Checksum
|
|
|
Group G1 MAC
|
MSFC MAC
|
Group G1 IP
|
Source A IP
|
n-1
|
calculation2
|
Understanding MLS
Note
Supervisor Engine 1, PFC, and MSFC or MSFC2 can only do MLS internally with the MSFC or MSFC2 in the same chassis; an external MLS-RP cannot be used in place of the internal MLS-RP.
Supervisor Engine 1, PFC, and MSFC or MSFC2 provide Layer 3 switching with MLS. Layer 3 switching with MLS identifies flows on the switch after the first packet has been routed by the MSFC and transfers the process of forwarding the remaining traffic in the flow to the switch, which reduces the load on the MSFC.
These sections describe MLS:
•
Understanding MLS Flows
•
Understanding the MLS Cache
•
Understanding Flow Masks
•
Partially and Completely Switched Multicast Flows
•
MLS Examples
Understanding MLS Flows
Layer 3 protocols, such as IP and IPX, are connectionless—they deliver every packet independently of every other packet. However, actual network traffic consists of many end-to-end conversations, or flows, between users or applications.
MLS supports unicast and multicast flows:
•
A unicast flow can be any of the following:
–
All traffic to a particular destination
–
All traffic from a particular source to a particular destination
–
All traffic from a particular source to a particular destination that shares the same protocol and transport-layer information
•
A multicast flow is all traffic with the same protocol and transport-layer information from a particular source to the members of a particular destination multicast group.
For example, communication from a client to a server and from the server to the client are separate flows. The Telnet traffic that is transferred from a particular source to a particular destination comprises a separate flow from File Transfer Protocol (FTP) packets between the same source and destination.
Note
The PFC uses the Layer 2 multicast forwarding table to identify the ports to which Layer 2 multicast traffic should be forwarded (if any). The multicast forwarding table entries are populated by whichever multicast constraint feature is enabled on the switch (IGMP snooping or Generic Attribute Registration Protocol [GARP] Multicast Registration Protocol [GMRP]). These entries map the destination multicast MAC address to the outgoing switch ports for a given VLAN.
Understanding the MLS Cache
These sections describe the MLS cache:
•
MLS Cache
•
Unicast Traffic
•
Multicast Traffic
•
MLS Cache Aging
•
MLS Cache Size
MLS Cache
The PFC maintains a Layer 3 switching table called the MLS cache for the Layer 3-switched flows. The cache also includes the entries for the traffic statistics that are updated simultaneously with the switching of packets. After the PFC creates an MLS cache entry, the packets that are identified as belonging to an existing flow can be Layer 3 switched based on the cached information. The MLS cache maintains flow information for all the active flows.
Unicast Traffic
For unicast traffic, the PFC creates an MLS cache entry for the initial routed packet of each unicast flow. Upon receipt of a routed packet that does not match any unicast flow currently in the MLS cache, the PFC creates a new MLS entry.
Multicast Traffic
For multicast traffic, the PFC populates the MLS cache using information that is learned from the MSFC. Whenever the MSFC receives traffic for a new multicast flow, it updates its multicast routing table and forwards the new information to the PFC. In addition, if an entry in the multicast routing table ages out, the MSFC deletes the entry and forwards the updated information to the PFC.
For each multicast flow cache entry, the PFC maintains a list of outgoing interfaces for the destination IP multicast group. The PFC uses this list to identify the VLANs on which traffic to a given multicast flow should be replicated.
These Cisco IOS commands affect the multicast MLS cache entries on the switch:
•
Using the clear ip mroute command to clear the multicast routing table on the MSFC clears all multicast MLS cache entries on the PFC.
•
Using the no ip multicast-routing command to disable IP multicast routing on the MSFC purges all multicast MLS cache entries on the PFC.
MLS Cache Aging
The state and identity of flows are maintained while the packet traffic is active; when the traffic for a flow ceases, the entry ages out. You can configure the aging time for the MLS entries that are kept in the MLS cache. If an entry is not used for the specified period of time, the entry ages out and the statistics for that flow can be exported to a flow collector application.
MLS Cache Size
The maximum MLS cache size is 128,000 entries. The MLS cache is shared by all MLS processes on the switch (IP MLS, IP MMLS, and IPX MLS). An MLS cache that is larger than 32,000 entries increases the probability that a flow will not be Layer 3 switched but will be forwarded to the MSFC.
Understanding Flow Masks
The PFC uses flow masks to determine how the MLS entries are created.
These sections describe the flow mask modes:
•
Flow Mask Modes—Prior to Software Release 8.5(1)
•
Flow Mask Modes—Software Release 8.5(1) and Later Releases
•
Flow Mask Modes and show mls entry Command Outputs
Flow Mask Modes—Prior to Software Release 8.5(1)
The PFC supports only one flow mask (the most specific one) for all MSFCs that are Layer 3 switched by that PFC. If the PFC detects different flow masks from the different MSFCs for which it is performing Layer 3 switching, it changes its flow mask to the most specific flow mask detected.
When the PFC flow mask changes, the entire MLS cache is purged. When the PFC exports the cached entries, the flow records are created based on the current flow mask. Depending on the current flow mask, some fields in the flow record might not have values. The unsupported fields are filled with a zero (0).
The MLS flow masks are as follows:
•
destination-ip—The least-specific flow mask. The PFC maintains one MLS entry for each Layer 3 destination address. All flows to a given Layer 3 destination address use this MLS entry.
•
destination-ipx—The only flow mask mode for IPX MLS is destination mode. The PFC maintains one IPX MLS entry for each destination IPX address (network and node). All flows to a given destination IPX address use this IPX MLS entry.
•
source-destination-ip—The PFC maintains one MLS entry for each source and destination IP address pair. All flows between a given source and destination use this MLS entry regardless of the IP protocol ports.
•
source-destination-vlan—For IP MMLS. The PFC maintains one MMLS cache entry for each {source IP, destination group IP, source VLAN}. The multicast source-destination-vlan flow mask differs from the IP unicast MLS source-destination-ip flow mask in that, for IP MMLS, the source VLAN is included as part of the entry. The source VLAN is the multicast reverse path forwarding (RPF) interface for the multicast flow.
•
full flow—The most-specific flow mask. The PFC creates and maintains a separate MLS cache entry for each IP flow. A full flow entry includes the source IP address, destination IP address, protocol, and protocol ports.
Flow Mask Modes—Software Release 8.5(1) and Later Releases
With software release 8.5(1) and later releases, the multiple flow mask feature is supported on Supervisor Engine 720. This feature results in some changes to the NetFlow Data Export (NDE) functionality.
A new value for the flow mask is null. Enter the set mls flow null command to set the flow mask to null (null is the new default flow mask). When the flow mask is set to null and no feature is driving a more specific flow mask, all the flows will match to the same null flow. The counters for the null flow are incremented each time a flow hits the null flow. When the flow masks are null and no other feature is driving a flow mask, when you enter the show mls statistics entry command, the command output displays the null flow as follows (in the example, flows are not being exported because NDE is disabled):
Console> (enable) show mls statistics entry
Flowmask set to Null. Please set the flowmask to see the flows
Destination IP Source IP Prot DstPrt SrcPrt Vlan Stat-Pkts Stat-Bytes
---------------- --------------- ----- ------ ------ ----- --------- -----------
- - - - - N/A 728915 33530090
To enable flow creation, specify the flow mask by entering the set mls flow {destination | destination-source | null | full} command and specify a keyword other than the null keyword. If NDE is enabled when the null flow mask is configured, NDE will not export any flows. An example follows:
Console> (enable) set mls nde enable
Console> (enable) 2005 Sep 18 18:04:43 %MLS-5-FLOWMASK_NULL:IP Flowmask set to Null:Flows
will not be exported
Conversely, if NDE is enabled and you set the flow mask to null, the following message displays:
Console> (enable) set mls flow null
2000 Sep 18 18:04:02 %MLS-5-FLOWMASK_NULL:IP Flowmask set to Null:Flows will not be
exported
When you upgrade from software release 8.4(x) to software release 8.5(1) and later releases, note the following:
•
In binary configuration mode:
–
In software release 8.4(x), if you set the flow mask to "xxx" by entering the set mls flow xxx command (where xxx is any of the keyword options), after the upgrade, the flow mask is still xxx.
–
In software release 8.4(x), if you did not set the flow mask, after the upgrade, the flowmask would be destination.
•
In text configuration mode:
–
In software release 8.4(x), if you set the flow mask to destination (the default) by entering the set mls flow destination command, after the upgrade, the flow mask would be null (the new default).
–
In software release 8.4(x), if you did not set the flow mask, after the upgrade, the flow mask would be null.
–
In software release 8.4(x), if you set the flow mask to any keyword option other than destination, after the upgrade, the flow mask would be the same flow mask that you configured.
Because multiple flow masks can now coexist on the switch, the show mls statistics entry command displays only the relevant fields per flow. Depending on the flow mask that is used to create a particular flow, the relevant fields are zeroed out. NDE is used by the flow collector software. NDE assumes that all flows are created with the same flow mask. Due to this restriction, NDE cannot be enabled with certain features requiring conflicting flow masks. One specific case is hardware-accelerated NAT. NDE and hardware-accelerated NAT are mutually exclusive.
Software release 8.5(1) introduces hardware acceleration for some MSFC features. When upgrading from software release 8.4(x) to software release 8.5(1), there are no issues with MSFC features that were already configured and running. In addition to NAT, such features as reflexive ACLs and Context Based Access Control (CBAC) can work in the hardware if there is no flow mask conflict. A feature will work in the hardware unless the feature needs a flow mask that is in conflict with another feature such as an NDE or QoS microflow policer.
Hardware acceleration is also introduced in software release 8.5(1) for WCCP and TCP intercept. These MSFC features can coexist with NDE if there is no flow mask conflict. The ACL manager attempts to merge the flow mask requirements of different features. The basic idea is to allocate a new flow mask only for a strict flow mask requirement that is incompatible with already allocated flow masks. NDE does not have a strict flow mask requirement, so the flow mask for NDE can be moved up.
To use the hardware acceleration functionality for NAT, if a flow mask has been configured for NDE (enter the show mls command to display flow masks), perform these steps:
Step 1
Enter the set mls flow null command.
Step 2
The MSFC needs to request a flow mask. This is accomplished by reconfiguring the specific MSFC feature.
NDE will fail if any of the following events occur:
•
Hardware-accelerated NAT is enabled.
•
Two or more features with conflicting flow masks have been configured on the switch.
Conversely, once NDE is successfully configured, NAT cannot be configured to work in the hardware and two different features with conflicting flow mask requirements cannot be configured on the switch.
Software release 8.5(1) introduces the show mls flowmask command that displays the flow masks used by the various features on the switch.
These examples show the output with various configurations when no features are configured on the MSFC:
Console> show mls flowmask
Netflow Data Export is enabled
NDE Flowmask is configured to use at least Null flowmask
Console> show mls flowmask
Netflow Data Export is enabled and is using Full flowmask
NDE Flowmask is configured to use at least Full flowmask
Console> show mls flowmask
Netflow Data Export is disabled
NDE Flowmask is configured to use at least Full flowmask
This example shows the output when NAT is configured on the MSFC:
Console> show mls flowmask
The MSFC features are using NotVlanFullFlow and VlanFullFlowOnly flow mask on vlan(s)
Netflow Data Export is disabled
NDE Flowmask is configured to at least the Null flowmask
These examples show the output with various configurations when the reflexive ACL feature is configured on the MSFC:
Console> show mls flowmask
The MSFC features are using VlanFullFlowOnly flow mask on vlan(s) 13.
Netflow Data Export is disabled
NDE Flowmask is configured to use at least Null flowmask
Console> show mls flowmask
The MSFC features are using VlanFullFlowOnly flow mask on vlan(s) 13.
Netflow Data Export is enabled and is using Full-Vlan flowmask
NDE Flowmask is configured to use at least Full-Vlan flowmask
Flow Mask Modes and show mls entry Command Outputs
With the destination-ip flow mask, the source IP, protocol, and source and destination port fields show the details of the last packet that was Layer 3 switched using the MLS cache entry.
This example shows how the show mls entry command output appears in destination-ip mode:
Console> (enable) show mls entry ip short
Destination-IP Source-IP Prot DstPrt SrcPrt Destination-Mac Vlan
--------------- --------------- ----- ------ ------ ----------------- ----
ESrc EDst SPort DPort Stat-Pkts Stat-Byte Uptime Age
---- ---- ----- ----- --------- ------------ -------- --------
171.69.200.234 - - - - 00-60-70-6c-fc-22 4
ARPA SNAP 5/8 11/1 3152 347854 09:01:19 09:08:20
171.69.1.133 - - - - 00-60-70-6c-fc-23 2
SNAP ARPA 5/8 1/1 2345 123456 09:03:32 09:08:12
* indicates TCP flow has ended
Note
The short keyword exists for some show commands and displays the output by wrapping the text after 80 characters. The default is long (no text wrap).
With the source-destination-ip flow mask, the protocol, source port, and destination port fields display the details of the last packet that was Layer 3 switched using the MLS cache entry.
This example shows how the show mls entry command output appears in source-destination-ip mode:
Console> (enable) show mls entry ip short
Destination-IP Source-IP Prot DstPrt SrcPrt Destination-Mac Vlan
--------------- --------------- ----- ------ ------ ----------------- ----
ESrc EDst SPort DPort Stat-Pkts Stat-Byte Uptime Age
---- ---- ----- ----- --------- ------------ -------- --------
171.69.200.234 171.69.192.41 - - - 00-60-70-6c-fc-22 4
ARPA SNAP 5/8 11/1 3152 347854 09:01:19 09:08:20
171.69.1.133 171.69.192.42 - - - 00-60-70-6c-fc-23 2
SNAP ARPA 5/8 1/1 2345 123456 09:03:32 09:08:12
* indicates TCP flow has ended
With the full-flow flow mask, because a separate MLS entry is created for every ip flow, the details are shown for each flow.
This example shows how the show mls entry command output appears in full flow mode:
Console> (enable) show mls entry ip short
Destination-IP Source-IP Prot DstPrt SrcPrt Destination-Mac Vlan
--------------- --------------- ----- ------ ------ ----------------- ----
ESrc EDst SPort DPort Stat-Pkts Stat-Byte Uptime Age
---- ---- ----- ----- --------- ------------ -------- --------
171.69.200.234 171.69.192.41 TCP* 6000 59181 00-60-70-6c-fc-22 4
ARPA SNAP 5/8 11/1 3152 347854 09:01:19 09:08:20
171.69.1.133 171.69.192.42 UDP 2049 41636 00-60-70-6c-fc-23 2
SNAP ARPA 5/8 1/1 2345 123456 09:03:32 09:08:12
* indicates TCP flow has ended
Partially and Completely Switched Multicast Flows
Some flows might be partially Layer 3 switched instead of completely Layer 3 switched in these situations:
•
The MSFC is configured as a member of the IP multicast group (using the ip igmp join-group command) on the RPF interface of the multicast source.
•
The MSFC is the first-hop router to the source in PIM sparse mode (in this case, the MSFC must send PIM-register messages to the rendezvous point).
•
The multicast TTL threshold is configured on an egress interface for the flow.
•
The extended access list deny condition on the RPF interface specifies anything other than the Layer 3 source, Layer 3 destination, or IP protocol (an example is a Layer 4 port number).
•
The multicast helper is configured on the RPF interface for the flow, and multicast to broadcast translation is required.
•
Multicast tag switching is configured on an egress interface.
•
Network address translation (NAT) is configured on an interface, and source address translation is required for the outgoing interface.
For partially switched flows, all multicast traffic belonging to the flow reaches the MSFC and is software switched for any interface that is not Layer 3 switched.
The PFC prevents multicast traffic in flows that are completely Layer 3 switched from reaching the MSFC, reducing the load on the MSFC. The show ip mroute and show mls ip multicast commands identify completely Layer 3-switched flows with the text string "RPF-MFD." Multicast Fast Drop (MFD) indicates that from the perspective of the MSFC, the multicast packet is dropped because it is switched by the PFC.
For all completely Layer 3-switched flows, the PFC periodically sends the multicast packet and byte count statistics to the MSFC, because the MSFC cannot record the multicast statistics for completely switched flows, which it never sees. The MSFC uses the statistics to update the corresponding multicast routing table entries and to reset the appropriate expiration timers.
MLS Examples
Figure 14-1 shows a simple IP MLS network topology. In this example, Host A is on the Sales VLAN (IP subnet 171.59.1.0), Host B is on the Marketing VLAN (IP subnet 171.59.3.0), and Host C is on the Engineering VLAN (IP subnet 171.59.2.0).
When Host A initiates an HTTP file transfer to Host C, an MLS entry for this flow is created (this entry is the second item in the MLS cache shown in Figure 14-1). The PFC stores the MAC addresses of the MSFC and Host C in the MLS entry when the MSFC forwards the first packet from Host A through the switch to Host C. The PFC uses this information to rewrite the subsequent packets from Host A to Host C.
Figure 14-1 IP MLS Example Topology
Figure 14-2 shows a simple IPX MLS network topology. In this example, Host A is on the Sales VLAN (IPX address 01.Aa), Host B is on the Marketing VLAN (IPX address 03.Bb), and Host C is on the Engineering VLAN (IPX address 02.Cc).
When Host A initiates a file transfer to Host B, an IPX MLS entry for this flow is created (this entry is the first item in the table shown in Figure 14-1). The PFC stores the MAC addresses of the MSFC and Host B in the IPX MLS entry when the MSFC forwards the first packet from Host A through the switch to Host B. The PFC uses this information to rewrite the subsequent packets from Host A to Host B.
Similarly, a separate IPX MLS entry is created in the MLS cache for the traffic from Host A to Host C, and for the traffic from Host C to Host A. The destination VLAN is stored as part of each IPX MLS entry so that the correct VLAN identifier is used when encapsulating traffic on the trunk links.
Figure 14-2 IPX MLS Example Topology
Default MLS Configuration
Table 14-1 shows the default IP MLS configuration.
Table 14-1 Default IP MLS Configuration
Feature
|
Default Value
|
IP MLS enable state
|
Enabled
|
IP MLS aging time
|
256 seconds
|
IP MLS fast aging time
|
0 seconds (no fast aging)
|
IP MLS fast aging-time packet threshold
|
0 packets
|
Table 14-2 shows the default IP MMLS switch configuration.
Table 14-2 Default IP MMLS Supervisor Engine Configuration
Feature
|
Default Value
|
Multicast services (IGMP snooping or GMRP)
|
Disabled
|
IP MMLS
|
Enabled
|
Table 14-3 shows the default IP MMLS MSFC configuration.
Table 14-3 Default IP MMLS MSFC Configuration
Feature
|
Default Value
|
Multicast routing
|
Disabled globally
|
IP PIM routing
|
Disabled on all interfaces
|
IP MMLS Threshold
|
Unconfigured—no default value
|
IP MMLS
|
Enabled when multicast routing is enabled and IP PIM is enabled on the interface
|
Table 14-4 shows the default IPX MLS configuration.
Table 14-4 Default IPX MLS Configuration
Feature
|
Default Value
|
IPX MLS enable state
|
Enabled
|
IPX MLS aging time
|
256 seconds
|
Configuration Guidelines and Restrictions
These sections describe the configuration guidelines and restrictions for IP MLS, IP MMLS, and IPX MLS:
•
IP MLS
•
IP MMLS
•
IPX MLS
IP MLS
These sections describe the IP MLS configuration guidelines:
•
Maximum Transmission Unit Size
•
Restrictions on Using IP Routing Commands with IP MLS Enabled
Maximum Transmission Unit Size
The default maximum transmission unit (MTU) for IP MLS is 1500. To change the MTU on an IP MLS-enabled interface, enter the ip mtu mtu command.
Restrictions on Using IP Routing Commands with IP MLS Enabled
Enabling certain IP processes on an interface will affect IP MLS on the interface. Table 14-5 shows the affected commands and the resulting behavior.
Table 14-5 IP Routing Command Restrictions
Command
|
Behavior
|
clear ip route
|
Clears all MLS cache entries for all switches performing Layer 3 switching for this MSFC.
|
ip routing
|
The no form purges all MLS cache entries and disables IP MLS on this MSFC.
|
ip security (all forms of this command)
|
Disables IP MLS on the interface.
|
ip tcp compression-connections
|
Disables IP MLS on the interface.
|
ip tcp header-compression
|
Disables IP MLS on the interface.
|
IP MMLS
These sections describe the IP MMLS configuration guidelines:
•
IP MMLS Supervisor Engine Guidelines and Restrictions
•
IP MMLS MSFC Configuration Restrictions
•
Unsupported IP MMLS Features
IP MMLS Supervisor Engine Guidelines and Restrictions
This section describes the guidelines and restrictions for configuring Supervisor Engine 1 for IP MMLS:
•
Only the ARPA rewrites are supported for the IP multicast packets.
•
The Subnetwork Address Protocol (SNAP) rewrites are not supported.
•
You must enable one of the multicast services (IGMP snooping or GMRP) on the switch in order to use IP MMLS.
•
The IP multicast flows are not multilayer switched if there is no entry in the Layer 2 multicast forwarding table (for example, if no Layer 2 multicast services are enabled or the forwarding table is full). Enter the show multicast group command to check for a Layer 2 entry for a particular IP multicast destination.
•
If a Layer 2 entry is cleared, the corresponding Layer 3 flow information is purged.
•
When using two MSFCs that have one or more interfaces in the same VLAN, the switch uses two reserved VLANs (VLANs 1012 and 1013) internally to forward the multicast flows properly.
•
The MSFC will not act as an external router for a Catalyst 5000 family switch that has Layer 3- switching hardware.
IP MMLS MSFC Configuration Restrictions
IP MMLS does not perform multilayer switching for an IP multicast flow in these situations:
•
For the IP multicast groups that fall into these ranges (where * is in the range 0-255):
224.0.0.* through 239.0.0.*
224.128.0.* through 239.128.0.*
Note
The groups in the 224.0.0.* range are reserved for routing the control packets and must be flooded to all the forwarding ports of the VLAN. These addresses map to the multicast MAC address range 01-00-5E-00-00-xx where xx is in the range 0-0xFF.
•
For the IP PIM auto-RP multicast groups (IP multicast group addresses 224.0.1.39 and 224.0.1.40).
Note
In the systems with redundant MSFCs, the IP PIM interface configuration must be the same on both the active and redundant MSFCs.
•
For the flows that are forwarded on the multicast-shared tree (that is, {*,G,*} forwarding) when the interface or group is running IP PIM sparse mode.
•
If the shortest-path tree (SPT) bit for the flow is cleared when running IP PIM sparse mode for the interface or group.
•
For the fragmented IP packets and packets with IP options. However, the packets in the flow that are not fragmented or that do not specify the IP options are multilayer switched.
•
For the source traffic that is received on the tunnel interfaces (such as MBONE traffic).
•
For any RPF interface with multicast tag switching enabled.
Unsupported IP MMLS Features
If you enable IP MMLS, the IP accounting for the interface will not reflect accurate values.
IPX MLS
These sections describe the configuration guidelines that apply when configuring IPX MLS:
•
IPX MLS Interaction with Other Features
•
IPX MLS and Maximum Transmission Unit Size
IPX MLS Interaction with Other Features
Other Cisco IOS software features affect IPX MLS as follows:
•
IPX accounting—IPX accounting cannot be enabled on an IPX MLS-enabled interface.
•
IPX EIGRP—To support MLS on EIGRP interfaces, you must set the Transport Control (TC) maximum to a value that is greater than the default (16). Enter the ipx maximum-hop tc_value global configuration command on the MSFC with the tc_value greater than 16.
IPX MLS and Maximum Transmission Unit Size
In IPX, the two end points of communication negotiate the maximum transmission unit (MTU) to be used. The MTU size is limited by the media type.
Configuring MLS
These sections describe how to configure MLS:
•
Configuring Unicast MLS on the MSFC
•
Configuring MLS on Supervisor Engine 1
•
Configuring IP MMLS
Configuring Unicast MLS on the MSFC
These sections describe how to configure MLS on the MSFC:
•
Disabling and Enabling Unicast MLS on an MSFC Interface
•
Displaying MLS Information on the MSFC
•
Using Debug Commands on the MSFC
•
Using Debug Commands on the SCP
For information on configuring routing on the MSFC, see Chapter 12, "Configuring InterVLAN Routing." For information on configuring unicast Layer 3 switching on Supervisor Engine 1, see the "Configuring MLS on Supervisor Engine 1" section.
Note
The MSFC can be specified as the MLS route processor (MLS-RP) for Catalyst 5000 family switches using MLS. Refer to the Layer 3 Switching Configuration Guide—Catalyst 5000 Family, 2926G Series, 2926 Series Switches, for MLS configuration procedures.
Disabling and Enabling Unicast MLS on an MSFC Interface
Unicast MLS for IP and IPX is enabled globally by default, but can be disabled and enabled on a specified interface.
To disable unicast IP or IPX MLS on a specific MSFC interface, perform one of these tasks:
Task
|
Command
|
Specify an MSFC interface.
|
Router(config)# interface vlan-id
|
Disable IP MLS on an MSFC interface.
|
Router(config-if)# no mls ip
|
Disable IPX MLS on an MSFC interface.
|
Router(config-if)# no mls ipx
|
This example shows how to disable IP MLS on an MSFC interface:
Router(config)# interface vlan 100
Router(config-if)# no mls ip
This example shows how to disable IPX MLS on an MSFC interface:
Router(config)# interface vlan 100
Router(config-if)# no mls ipx
Note
Unicast MLS is enabled by default; you only need to enable (or reenable) it if you have previously disabled it.
To enable unicast IP or IPX MLS on a specific MSFC interface, perform this task:
| |
Task
|
Command
|
Step 1
|
Specify an MSFC interface.
|
Router(config)# interface vlan-id
|
Step 2
|
Enable IP or IPX MLS on an MSFC interface.
|
Router(config-if)# mls ip
or
Router(config-if)# mls ipx
|
This example shows how to enable IP MLS on an MSFC interface:
Router(config)# interface vlan 100
Router(config-if)# mls ip
This example shows how to enable IPX MLS on an MSFC interface:
Router(config)# interface vlan 100
Router(config-if)# mls ipx
Displaying MLS Information on the MSFC
The show mls status command displays the MLS details. To display the MLS information on the MSFC, perform this task:
Task
|
Command
|
Display the MLS status.
|
show mls status
|
This example shows how to display the MLS status on the MSFC:
MLS global configuration status:
global mls ip multicast: disabled
current ip flowmask for unicast: destination only
current ipx flowmask for unicast: destination only
Using Debug Commands on the MSFC
Table 14-6 describes the MLS-related debug commands that you can use to troubleshoot the MLS problems on the MSFC.
Table 14-6 MLS Debug Commands
Command
|
Description
|
[no] debug l3-mgr events
|
Displays the Layer 3 manager-related events.
|
[no] debug l3-mgr packets
|
Displays the Layer 3 manager packets.
|
[no] debug l3-mgr global
|
Displays the bug trace of IP global purge events.
|
[no] debug l3-mgr all
|
Turns on all the Layer 3 manager debugging messages.
|
Table 14-7 describes the MLS-related debug commands that you can use to troubleshoot the MLS problems when using the MSFC as an external router for a Catalyst 5000 family switch.
Table 14-7 MLS Debug Commands—External Router Function
Command
|
Description
|
[no] debug mls ip
|
Turns on the IP-related events for MLS including route purging and changes of access lists and flow masks.
|
[no] debug mls ipx
|
Turns on the IPX-related events for MLS including route purging and changes of access lists and flow masks.
|
[no] debug mls rp
|
Turns on the route processor-related events.
|
[no] debug mls locator
|
Identifies which switch is switching a particular flow by using MLS explorer packets.
|
[no] debug mls all
|
Turns on all the MLS debugging events.
|
Using Debug Commands on the SCP
Table 14-8 describes the Serial Control Protocol (SCP)-related debug commands to troubleshoot the SCP that runs over the Ethernet out-of-band channel (EOBC).
Table 14-8 SCP Debug Commands
Command
|
Description
|
[no] debug scp async
|
Displays the trace for asynchronous data in and out of the SCP system.
|
[no] debug scp data
|
Displays the packet data trace.
|
[no] debug scp errors
|
Displays the errors and warnings in the SCP.
|
[no] de |