Re: [EFM] OAM loop back / echo server function
Fletcher-
Minor correction
At 09:34 AM 9/6/01 -0400, Fletcher E Kittredge wrote:
On Wed, 05 Sep 2001 09:23:46 -0700
"Geoff Thompson" wrote:
> This brings up the much uglier issue of discovery, also a topic that
has
> always been outside the scope of 802.3.
> If there is going to be a bridge or router at the demarc then there
will
> have to be a discovery process that effectively logs the MAC address
into
> the service provider's system. The service provider won't be able to
> Ping/Echo the box until it knows the MAC address.
I believe most switches log MAC addresses for routing purposes
Actually, (fine semantic distinction here) Ethernet switches don't do
routing (that's what routers do). Switches do accumulate addresses to
build/maintain filter tables so they don't have to send all packets to
all ports.
and those MAC addresses can be recovered via
SNMP queries using
standard MIBs.
DOCSIS had the same problem. One also wants to record all MACs
behind
the CPE equipment and IPs for these customer devices as
well. The
solution has been RFC-3046
(http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3046.txt?number=3046)
which adds a chain
of Relay Agent Information to the DHCP packet[s] in the options
fields. This is a great spec which is now widely implemented
among
cable modem providers.
So if the ESLAM responds to a super-set of standard Ethernet MIBs,
this is a solved problem.
regards,
fletcher