Garp Vlan Registration Protocol (Gvrp) - Intel 470F - NetStructure Switch User Manual

C H A P T E
470T Ch2.p65
R 2 Using the Intel® NetStructure™ 470T and 470F Switches

GARP VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP)

Since IEEE 802.1Q VLANs can span across the network, it poses a
challenge for network administrators to manage changes to the VLAN. The
GARP VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP) provides a dynamic
mechanism for switches to share topology information and manage changes
with other switches. This prevents the network administrator from manually
propagating VLAN configuration information across switches.
GARP (Generic Attribute Registration Protocol) is defined by the IEEE
802.1D (1998 Edition) specification and is the mechanism used by switches
and end nodes (servers, PCs, etc.) to propagate configuration across the
network domain. GVRP uses GARP as a foundation to propagate VLAN
configuration to other switches. Devices that support GVRP transmit their
updates to a known multicast address that all GVRP-capable devices
monitor for information updates.
Sending GVRP messages between switches accomplishes the following
tasks:
• Dynamically adds or removes a port from participating in a VLAN
• Sends updates about the switch's own VLAN configuration to
neighboring GVRP-capable devices.
• Integrates dynamic and static VLANs configurations within the same
switch. Static VLAN configurations are created by the user on the
switch for devices that don't support GVRP.
It's important to remember that dynamically created VLANs are not saved
in the switch's memory. If the device that is sending out the GVRP updates
is removed, then the dynamic VLAN is removed.
When the switch is running 802.1Q VLANs Spanning Tree Protocol is
enabled for GVRP to work properly.
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