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The first Ethernet relays that operated in the datalink layers were called `bridges`. In practice, the main difference between switches and bridges is that bridges were usually implemented in software while switches are hardware-based devices. Throughout this text, we always use `switch` when referring to a relay in the datalink layer, but you might still see the word `bridge`.
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The attentive reader may question the need for different `EtherTypes` for IPv4 and IPv6 while the IP header already contains a version field that can be used to distinguish between IPv4 and IPv6 packets. Theoretically, IPv4 and IPv6 could have used the same `EtherType`. Unfortunately, developers of the early IPv6 implementations found that some devices did not check the version field of the IPv4 packets that they received and parsed frames whose `EtherType` was set to `0x0800` as IPv4 packets. Sending IPv6 packets to such devices would have caused disruptions. To avoid this problem, the IETF decided to apply for a distinct `EtherType` value for IPv6. Such a choice is now mandated by :rfc:`6274` (section 3.1), although we can find a funny counter-example in :rfc:`6214`.
These network interfaces compute the TCP checksum while a segment is transferred from the host memory to the network interface [SH2004]_.
Fortunately, IEEE was able to define the [IEEE802.3]_ frame format while maintaining backward compatibility with the Ethernet [DIX]_ frame format. The trick was to only assign values above 1500 as `EtherType` values. When a host receives a frame, it can determine whether the frame's format by checking its `EtherType/Length` field. A value lower smaller than `1501` is clearly a length indicator and thus an [IEEE802.3]_ frame. A value larger than `1501` can only be type and thus a [DIX]_ frame.
Ethernet Switches
Increasing the physical layer bandwidth as in `Fast Ethernet` was only one of the solutions to improve the performance of Ethernet LANs. A second solution was to replace the hubs with more intelligent devices. As `Ethernet hubs` operate in the physical layer, they can only regenerate the electrical signal to extend the geographical reach of the network. From a performance perspective, it would be more interesting to have devices that operate in the datalink layer and can analyze the destination address of each frame and forward the frames selectively on the link that leads to the destination. Such devices are usually called `Ethernet switches` [#fbridges]_. An `Ethernet switch` is a relay that operates in the datalink layer as is illustrated in the figure below.
An `Ethernet switch` understands the format of the Ethernet frames and can selectively forward frames over each interface. For this, each `Ethernet switch` maintains a `MAC address table`. This table contains, for each MAC address known by the switch, the identifier of the switch's port over which a frame sent towards this address must be forwarded to reach its destination. This is illustrated below with the `MAC address table` of the bottom switch. When the switch receives a frame destined to address `B`, it forwards the frame on its South port. If it receives a frame destined to address `D`, it forwards it only on its North port.
Operation of Ethernet switches
One of the selling points of Ethernet networks is that, thanks to the utilization of 48 bits MAC addresses, an Ethernet LAN is plug and play at the datalink layer. When two hosts are attached to the same Ethernet segment or hub, they can immediately exchange Ethernet frames without requiring any configuration. It is important to retain this plug and play capability for Ethernet switches as well. This implies that Ethernet switches must be able to build their MAC address table automatically without requiring any manual configuration. This automatic configuration is performed by the `MAC address learning` algorithm that runs on each Ethernet switch. This algorithm extracts the source address of the received frames and remembers the port over which a frame from each source Ethernet address has been received. This information is inserted into the MAC address table that the switch uses to forward frames. This allows the switch to automatically learn the ports that it can use to reach each destination address, provided that this host has previously sent at least one frame. This is not a problem since most upper layer protocols use acknowledgments at some layer and thus even an Ethernet printer sends Ethernet frames as well.
The pseudo-code below details how an Ethernet switch forwards Ethernet frames. It first updates its `MAC address table` with the source address of the frame. The `MAC address table` used by some switches also contains a timestamp that is updated each time a frame is received from each known source address. This timestamp is used to remove from the `MAC address table` entries that have not been active during the last `n` minutes. This limits the growth of the `MAC address table`, but also allows hosts to move from one port to another. The switch uses its `MAC address table` to forward the received unicast frame. If there is an entry for the frame's destination address in the `MAC address table`, the frame is forwarded selectively on the port listed in this entry. Otherwise, the switch does not know how to reach the destination address and it must forward the frame on all its ports except the port from which the frame has been received. This ensures that the frame will reach its destination, at the expense of some unnecessary transmissions. These unnecessary transmissions will only last until the destination has sent its first frame. Multicast and Broadcast frames are also forwarded in a similar way.
Security issues with Ethernet hubs and switches
From a security perspective, Ethernet hubs have the same drawbacks as the older coaxial cable. A host attached to a hub will be able to capture all the frames exchanged between any pair of hosts attached to the same hub. Ethernet switches are much better from this perspective thanks to the selective forwarding, a host will usually only receive the frames destined to itself as well as the multicast, broadcast and unknown frames. However, this does not imply that switches are completely secure. There are, unfortunately, attacks against Ethernet switches. From a security perspective, the `MAC address table` is one of the fragile elements of an Ethernet switch. This table has a fixed size. Some low-end switches can store a few tens or a few hundreds of addresses while higher-end switches can store tens of thousands of addresses or more. From a security point of view, a limited resource can be the target of Denial of Service attacks. Unfortunately, such attacks are also possible on Ethernet switches. A malicious host could overflow the `MAC address table` of the switch by generating thousands of frames with random source addresses. Once the `MAC address table` is full, the switch needs to broadcast all the frames that it receives. At this point, an attacker will receive unicast frames that are not destined to its address. The ARP attack discussed in the previous chapter could also occur with Ethernet switches [Vyncke2007]_. Recent switches implement several types of defenses against these attacks, but they need to be carefully configured by the network administrator. See [Vyncke2007]_ for a detailed discussion on security issues with Ethernet switches.
The `MAC address learning` algorithm combined with the forwarding algorithm work well in a tree-shaped network such as the one shown above. However, to deal with link and switch failures, network administrators often add redundant links to ensure that their network remains connected even after a failure. Let us consider what happens in the Ethernet network shown in the figure below.
Ethernet switches in a loop
When all switches boot, their `MAC address table` is empty. Assume that host `A` sends a frame towards host `C`. Upon reception of this frame, switch1 updates its `MAC address table` to remember that address `A` is reachable via its West port. As there is no entry for address `C` in switch1's `MAC address table`, the frame is forwarded to both switch2 and switch3. When switch2 receives the frame, its updates its `MAC address table` for address `A` and forwards the frame to host `C` as well as to switch3. switch3 has thus received two copies of the same frame. As switch3 does not know how to reach the destination address, it forwards the frame received from switch1 to switch2 and the frame received from switch2 to switch1... The single frame sent by host `A` will be continuously duplicated by the switches until their `MAC address table` contains an entry for address `C`. Quickly, all the available link bandwidth will be used to forward all the copies of this frame. As Ethernet does not contain any `TTL` or `HopLimit`, this loop will never stop.
The `MAC address learning` algorithm allows switches to be plug-and-play. Unfortunately, the loops that arise when the network topology is not a tree are a severe problem. Forcing the switches to only be used in tree-shaped networks as hubs would be a severe limitation. To solve this problem, the inventors of Ethernet switches have developed the `Spanning Tree Protocol`. This protocol allows switches to automatically disable ports on Ethernet switches to ensure that the network does not contain any cycle that could cause frames to loop forever.
The first Ethernet relays that operated in the datalink layers were called `bridges`. In practice, the main difference between switches and bridges is that bridges were usually implemented in software while switches are hardware-based devices. Throughout this text, we always use `switch` when referring to a relay in the datalink layer, but you might still see the word `bridge`.
The Spanning Tree Protocol (802.1d)
The `Spanning Tree Protocol` (STP), proposed in [Perlman1985]_, is a distributed protocol that is used by switches to reduce the network topology to a spanning tree, so that there are no cycles in the topology. For example, consider the network shown in the figure below. In this figure, each bold line corresponds to an Ethernet to which two Ethernet switches are attached. This network contains several cycles that must be broken to allow Ethernet switches, using the MAC address learning algorithm, to exchange frames.
Spanning tree computed in a switched Ethernet network
In this network, the STP will compute the following spanning tree. `Switch1` will be the root of the tree. All the interfaces of `Switch1`, `Switch2` and `Switch7` are part of the spanning tree. Only the interface connected to `LAN B` will be active on `Switch9`. `LAN H` will only be served by `Switch7` and the port of `Switch44` on `LAN G` will be disabled. A frame originating on `LAN B` and destined for `LAN A` will be forwarded by `Switch7` on `LAN C`, then by `Switch1` on `LAN E`, then by `Switch44` on `LAN F` and eventually by `Switch2` on `LAN A`.
Switches running the `Spanning Tree Protocol` exchange `BPDUs`. These `BPDUs` are always sent as frames with destination MAC address as the `ALL_BRIDGES` reserved multicast MAC address. Each switch has a unique 64 bit `identifier`. To ensure uniqueness, the lower 48 bits of the identifier are set to the unique MAC address allocated to the switch by its manufacturer. The high order 16 bits of the switch identifier can be configured by the network administrator to influence the topology of the spanning tree. The default value for these high order bits is 32768.
The switches exchange `BPDUs` to build the spanning tree. Intuitively, the spanning tree is built by first selecting the switch with the smallest `identifier` as the root of the tree. The branches of the spanning tree are then composed of the shortest paths that allow all of the switches that compose the network to be reached. The `BPDUs` exchanged by the switches contain the following information :
the `identifier` of the root switch (`R`)
the `cost` of the shortest path between the switch that sent the `BPDU` and the root switch (`c`)
the `identifier` of the switch that sent the `BPDU` (`T`)
the number of the switch port over which the `BPDU` was sent (`p`)
In addition to the `identifier` discussed above, the network administrator can also configure a `cost` to be associated to each switch port. Usually, the `cost` of a port depends on its bandwidth and the [IEEE802.1d]_ standard recommends the values below. Of course, the network administrator may choose other values. We will use the notation `cost[p]` to indicate the cost associated to port `p` in this section.
Bandwidth
Cost
10 Mbps
Component Translation Difference to current string
This translation Propagated Empty cnp3-ebook/protocols/ethernet
The following string has the same context and source.
Propagated Empty cnp3-ebook/protocols/lan

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Source string location
../../protocols/ethernet.rst:309
String age
3 years ago
Source string age
3 years ago
Translation file
locale/fr/LC_MESSAGES/protocols/ethernet.po, string 67