Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!nrl-cmf!ames!amdcad!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!mcvax!cernvax!jmg
From: jmg@cernvax.UUCP (jmg)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Problems finding forwarding tables on LAN Bridges
Keywords: bridge
Message-ID: <917@cernvax.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jan 89 17:23:08 GMT
Reply-To: jmg@cernvax.UUCP ()
Organization: CERN European Laboratory for Particle Physics, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Lines: 27

We run a fairly large bridged Ethernet: about 20 or so LANBridges, several
Vitalinks, some in-house bridges, hundreds of connected computers.

I started to design a program which would take in the management
information obtainable either automatically from the bridges or manually
(where necessary) and work out what Ethernet addresses were on what
segments. Sounds easy, although it is somewhat complicated in practice:
needs to have a snapshot of forwarding tables at a given time, and must
also know the spanning tree, and also take into account that some bridges
may have forgotten forwarding information which others still remember.
The fact that different types of bridge have different management
protocols and information formats is also a nuisance.

One would also have to do this several times and merge the information
in order to catch connections which are infrequently seen.

First question: maybe someone has already done this. If so, I would be
happy to beg/steal/borrow/buy (?) such a program.

Second question: I am having problems getting the forwarding tables
out of the LANBridges. Is anyone else WITH A LARGE NETWORK having any
similar problems?
-- 
 _ _  o |             __                    |    jmg@cernvax.uucp
| | |   |     _      /  \  _   __  _   __  _|    jmg@cernvax.bitnet
| | | | |_)  /_)     |  __/_) | (___\ | (_/ |  J. M. Gerard, Div. DD, CERN,
| | |_|_| \_/\___    \__/ \___|   (_|_|   \_|_ 1211 Geneva 23, Switzerland