Configure Filtering And Forwarding Table - D-Link DES-3624i User Manual

Stackable NWay Ethernet Switch User's Guide

Configure Filtering and Forwarding Table

When a packet hits the Switch, it looks in the filtering and forwarding tables to decide what to do with the packet; either to
filter it off the network, or to forward it through the port on which its destination lies.
Dynamic Filtering and Static Filtering are among the two important features of the Custom Filtering Table. They are
defined here briefly as follows. Dynamic Filtering is defined when a dynamic entry is created by the Learning Process as
a result of observation of network traffic in the Filtering Database. Static Filtering is defined as static entries that may
be added and removed from the Filtering Database by the user. They are not automatically removed by any timeout
mechanism.
The Configure Filtering and Forwarding Table screen allows you to stop or start address learning, change the
way the Switch treats MAC address table entries, and select an age-out time of the MAC address in the selected address
table. This screen also permits you to access three additional configuration screens from the menu at the bottom of the
window.
Choose Configure Filtering and Forwarding Table from the System Configuration menu to access the
following screen:
The following fields at the top of the screen can be set:
Lock Address Table Mostly used for security purposes, when the forwarding table is locked the Switch will no
longer learn the MAC addresses for new hosts. If your network configuration doesn't change, locking the forwarding
table helps keep intruders off your network since any packet coming from an unknown source address will be dropped
by the Switch.
Address Table Lookup Mode This setting allows the user to tailor the MAC address look up procedure. Choices
are Level 0, Level 1 , Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, Level 5, Level, 6, Level 7. The higher the level, the more MAC
addresses can be learned by the Switch. However, a side effect is that throughput will be degraded the higher the level
you select. This setting will take effect after your system reboots.
MAC Address Age Time Enter the desired MAC address age-out time in this field (10 to 9999 seconds).
Using the Console Interface
Figure 6-20. Configure Filtering and Forwarding Table screen
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