ENT-AN1157-4.00 Application Note MRP Protocol Suite

ENT-AN1157-4.00 Application NoteMRP Protocol Suite

VPPD-04278. 1.0 8/19

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VPPD-04278 ENT-AN1157-4.00 Application Note Revision 1.0 iii

Contents

1 Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.1 Revision 1.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 MRP Protocol Suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.1 Understanding the MRP Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2.1.1 MAD Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.1.2 MAP Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.1.3 MRP Timers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.1.4 Registrar Administrative Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.1.5 MVRP: Managed VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2 Configuration Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.2.1 Required Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.2.2 Enabling MVRP Globally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2.3 Enabling MVRP on a Port Basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.2.4 Configuring MVRP: Managed VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.2.5 MRP: Port Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

2.3 Guidelines for MVRP: Port Mode Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

VPPD-04278 ENT-AN1157-4.00 Application Note Revision 1.0 iv

Figures

Figure 1 EVC L2CP Port Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Figure 2 STP CIST Port Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Figure 3 MVRP Global Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Figure 4 MVRP Port Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Figure 5 MVRP Global Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Figure 6 MRP Overall Port Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Revision History

VPPD-04278 ENT-AN1157-4.00 Application Note Revision 1.0 1

1 Revision History

The revision history describes the changes that were implemented in the document. The changes are listed by revision, starting with the most current publication.

1.1 Revision 1.0Revision 1.0 was the first publication of this document.

MRP Protocol Suite


2 MRP Protocol Suite

This document explains how to set up the Multiple Registration Protocol (MRP) applications with examples using Microsemi's Graphical User Interface (GUI) through the web and the Industrial Command Line Interface (ICLI). The examples used in this document are valid for all the turnkey solutions running on SMBStaX, IStaX, or CEServices builds.

2.1 Understanding the MRP FrameworkMRP is a protocol suite that provides the generic framework for dynamic registration and deregistration of attributes in a Bridged Local Area Network (BLAN). The protocol suite does not specify the type of these attributes—the MRP application is the actual protocol that utilizes the framework for the specific needs of a given attribute type. One example of an MRP application is the Multiple VLAN Registration Protocol (MVRP), which is responsible for the dynamic registration and deregistration of VLANs in a bridged VLAN.

MRP has many features; most of them are hidden inside the implementation and are not visible to the user. The following sections briefly explain the basic features that form the MRP protocols, and are user configurable either directly or indirectly. A more extensive description of the protocol framework and its applications can be found in the IEEE 802.1Q-2014 standard, clauses 10 (MRP) and 11 (MVRP).

2.1.1 MAD ComponentEach port in a device can act as a MRP participant for one or more MRP applications. Each participant has (per application) one MRP Attribute Declaration (MAD) and one MRP Attribute Propagation (MAP) component.

The MAD is responsible for receiving and transmitting attribute declarations on a port and based on those makes the appropriate registrations or deregistrations on that port. It is composed of four state machines (STM):

• Applicant STM—the base of the protocol operation that controls the transmission of Multiple Registration Protocol Data Units (MRPDUs).

• Registrar STM—holds the state of each attribute's registration, interacts closely with the Applicant.• LeaveAll STM—a garbage collection mechanism for registrations, it refreshes the state of

registrations between two connected participants.• Periodic STM—an optional STM that updates the registrations on a periodic basis.

2.1.2 MAP ComponentThe MAP is responsible for the propagation of attribute events (declarations, registrations, and so on) across a device. This is how the individual MAD components communicate. Simply put, the MAP component is a map of the active MAD components, and is a list of MADs that are supposed to communicate with each other. This list is also known as MAP context and its definition depends on the MRP application. MVRP is using the Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) in order to determine the active topology of MADs; and the MAP has multiple MAP contexts, one for each MST instance (MSTI). In the case of STP/RSTP, there is only one context, known as the Base Spanning Tree Context.

2.1.3 MRP TimersThe MRP protocols' operation depends on the presence of four timers. These timers exist on a port scope, and each MRP application has an instance of them:

• Join timer—this timer controls when a MRPDU can be transmitted. Whenever something needs to be transmitted, this timer controls when a transmission opportunity can take place. The allowed range is 1 cs–20 cs (centiseconds).

• Leave timer—this timer controls when an attribute will be deregistered after a deregistration request has been signaled. Its purpose is to allow enough time for the other end to keep the registration alive and that is why it should be a couple of times larger than the Join timer. The allowed range is 60 cs–300 cs.

MRP Protocol Suite


• LeaveAll timer—this timer controls how often the garbage collection mechanism is initiated. Allowed range is 1000cs–5000 cs.

• Periodic timer—this controls the period of the registration updates (Periodic STM). Fixed to 100 cs and not user-configurable.

2.1.4 Registrar Administrative ControlsThe registrar is the component that is responsible for registrations and deregistrations of attributes on a port, and for keeping a record of these registrations for all the needed interactions with the applicant.

The registrar administrative control is defined on a per MRP application, per attribute basis on each port, and their purpose is to control the registration state of each attribute and thus indirectly the declaration of these attribute registrations. The registrar administrative control can take three possible values:

• Normal Registration—the registrar responds to incoming messages, normal protocol operation.• Registration Fixed—the registrar ignores incoming messages and its corresponding attribute

remains registered.• Registration Forbidden—the registrar ignores incoming messages and its corresponding attribute

remains unregistered.The state of this control is dictated indirectly from the static entries in the Filtering Database (FDB).

2.1.5 MVRP: Managed VLANsThe MVRP protocol is designed to cover the entire range of permitted VLANs, that is 1–4094. However, it is not always realistic to manage the entire range because it might require a large amount of resources (processing power and memory) in the device in order to support the protocol operation. That is why the number of VLANs managed by MVRP are limited to only the ones that interest a given network scenario. This feature is only MVRP-specific and it allows the user to specify a list of required VLANs to which MVRP will confine its operation.

2.2 Configuration ExamplesIn the following sections, web GUI and ICLI configuration examples are given for the MRP framework in general and also for the specific MRP applications.

Note: It is recommended to do a restore to default before starting to configure any of the examples in the following sections.

# reload defaults#

2.2.1 Required ConfigurationIn order for MRP protocols to be operational, there are a few required configuration steps on top of the MRP configuration. These configurations can be done either before or after the MRP configurations. At the moment, only one MRP application is supported: MVRP.

2.2.1.1 Configuring Special CEServicesIn order for any of the MRP applications to work, MRPDUs received on a switch port must be sent to the CPU for processing. For SMBStaX, that is the default configuration for frames with the MRP Multicast MAC address (01-80-C2-00-00-21). In CEServices, the user can configure whether a MRPDU will be forwarded to the CPU (peered).

To set up a port that expects MRPDU to be peered, perform the following steps.

MRP Protocol Suite


1. Click Configuration > Ethernet Services > L2CP > L2CP Ports, select Port 1 (for example), and then set up L2CP Mode for 01-80-C2-00-00-21 as shown in the following illustration.

Figure 1 • EVC L2CP Port Configuration

2. Click Save.The equivalent ICLI commands are:

# configure terminal! Select the desired interface(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 1/1! Frames with MAC 01-80-C2-00-00-21 (address 17) are to be peered(config-if)# evc l2cp peer 17

2.2.1.2 Configuring MVRP: Spanning TreeMVRP is designed to operate in conjunction with (M)STP (IEEE 802.1Q-2014) and its MAP contexts are the (M)STP instances. However, it will work even if spanning tree is disabled, but then there is no guarantee that information will not end up looping inside the network. Therefore, it is recommended that (M)STP is enabled in all ports that are supposed to run MVRP.

To enable (M)STP in all ports that are supposed to run MVRP, perform the following steps.

MRP Protocol Suite


1. Click Configuration > Spanning Tree > CIST Ports, and then under the CIST Normal Port Configuration section, enable STP for Ports 1, 2, and 3 by setting up STP Enabled as shown in the following illustration.

Figure 2 • STP CIST Port Configuration


# configure terminal! Select the desired interface(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 1/1-3! Enable spanning-tree(config-if)# spanning-tree

2.2.2 Enabling MVRP GloballyIn order to enable MVRP operation, first enable MVRP globally on the device.

To enable MVRP globally on the device, perform the following steps.

1. Click Configuration > MRP > MVRP, and then set the Global State to Enabled as shown in the following illustration.

Figure 3 • MVRP Global Configuration


# configure terminal! Enable MVRP globally(config)# mvrp

2.2.3 Enabling MVRP on a Port BasisTo enable MVRP on a port basis, perform the following steps.

MRP Protocol Suite


1. Click Configuration > MRP > MVRP, and then set the desired ports to Enabled as shown in the following illustration.

Figure 4 • MVRP Port Configuration


# configure terminal! Select the desired interface(s)(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 1/1-3! Enable MVRP(config-if)# mvrp

Note: The order of configurations (global and port) is not important. The user could first enable MVRP on a port and then globally without any change to the protocol operation.

2.2.4 Configuring MVRP: Managed VLANs The user can limit the number of VLANs that MVRP will manage in order to add more control to the protocol operation and also limit resources to what is required.

To configure the managed VLANs globally on the device, perform the following steps.

1. Click Configuration > MRP > MVRP, and then enter a list of desired VLANs in the Managed VLANs box as shown in the following illustration.

Figure 5 • MVRP Global Configuration


# configure terminal! Manage MVRP VLAN list(config)# mvrp managed vlan 100-200,250Users can also dynamically add or delete the MVRP managed VLAN as shown in the following commands.

(config)# mvrp managed vlan add 300(config)# mvrp managed vlan remove 150In addition, it is also possible to include all the supported MVRP managed VLAN in one command:

(config)# mvrp managed vlan all

MRP Protocol Suite


As seen from the examples above, the list is very flexible.

Note: Although the VLAN list can be edited at any time, even if the MVRP protocol is operational, the user should avoid making major changes to the list during the protocol's operation. The more VLANs that are already managed, the more resources must be freed, and that can take a substantial amount of time, especially if the protocol is enabled on multiple ports. In that case, it is best if the protocol is globally disabled before the list is edited. The purpose of this control is to allow some level of micro-management (a few tens of VLANs) without disrupting the operation of MVRP in the network.

2.2.5 MRP: Port ConfigurationIt is also possible to configure generic MRP parameters such as MRP timers and PeriodicTransmission STM states. These are independent of the MRP applications that are currently supported or operational (they will apply in all of them at the same time) and are configurable on a per-port basis.

2.2.5.1 Configuring MRP Timers and Periodic TransmissionTo configure the timeout values of the MRP timers and the state of the PeriodicTransmission STM (all MRP applications) for each port, perform the following steps.

1. Click Configuration > MRP > Ports, set the parameters as shown in the following illustration, and then click Save.

Figure 6 • MRP Overall Port Configuration

2. Click Configuration > MRP > Ports, and set Periodic Transmission (for example, Port 1) as shown in the previous illustration.


# configure terminal! Select the desired interface(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 1/1! Configure the MRP timers on that port (individually, all together or defaults)(config-if)# mrp timers join-time 10

MRP Protocol Suite


(config-if)# mrp timers leave-time 100(config-if)# mrp timers leave-all-time 2000 ! (Optional) Setup MRP protocol timers at once(config-if)# mrp timers join-time 10 leave-time 100 leave-all-time 2000 In addition, use the following command to set all MRP timers to their default values.

(config-if)# mrp timers default# configure terminal! Select the desired interface(config)# interface GigabitEthernet 1/1! Enable PeriodicTransmission(config-if)# mrp periodic

2.3 Guidelines for MVRP: Port Mode ConfigurationA switch port can be set in three different modes: Access, Hybrid, and Trunk. MRP and its applications do not distinguish between these three port modes, so they behave the same no matter what kind of port they are enabled on. In the case of MVRP, this can be confusing if the network setup or the user configuration is not as expected. The expected MVRP configuration on a switch that has both access and trunk ports is that MVRP should be enabled on both port types. That way, the access VLANs will be propagated and registered across the network through the trunk ports. At the same time, the access port will also emit MVRPDUs declaring their access VLANs, but that is not an issue because the device connected to that port will not be MVRP-capable/aware.

The problem will only appear if the user mistakenly configures a trunk port as access or tries to connect a MVRP-capable switch to an access port (both are invalid setups, but they might occur). In that case, MVRP will register dynamic VLANs to the access port and that port will now be member of more than one VLAN. Therefore, care must be taken to avoid such mistakes during configuration.

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ENT-AN1157-4.00 Application Note MRP Protocol Suite