Features in JUNOS Software for EX-series Switches, Release 9.2
Date: 28 May 2009
This page describes the features in Release 9.2 of JUNOS software for EX-series switches.
Layer 2 Protocols
- VLAN range—You can configure a VLAN with a range of VLAN IDs and refer to this VLAN range in other configuration options such as interfaces. For example, if you have a trunk port that sends and receives traffic on all VLANs with 802.1Q tags ranging from 1–4094, you need to configure one VLAN only instead of 4094 as in previous releases.
- VLAN-tagged Layer 3 interface—JUNOS software for EX-series switches now supports receiving and forwarding of routed Ethernet frames with 802.1Q VLAN tags.
- IGMP snooping with Routed VLAN Interfaces (RVI)—IGMP snooping now works with Layer 2 interfaces and RVIs to regulate multicast traffic in a switched network.
Layer 3 Protocols
- PIM DM and PIM SSM—Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM) routes packets to multicast groups that span wide-area and interdomain internetworks. EX-series switches now support PIM dense mode (PIM DM) and PIM source-specific multicast (PIM SSM).
Access Control and Port Security
- IP source guard—IP source guard enables detection
of spoofed IP addresses sent by devices connected on the access ports
of a switch. The switch maintains the IP source binding information,
which maps the source IP address against the incoming port, incoming
VLAN, and source MAC address, thus keeping track of legitimate source
IP addresses that can be used in packets received on each port.
The IP source binding information is populated by the switch’s snooping of the DHCP or bootstrap protocol (BOOTP) packets or by user configuration with the CLI. When the switch receives an IP packet, the source IP address in the packet is validated against the IP source binding information. If the source IP address is not valid for the port, VLAN, or source MAC address, the packet is treated as a spoofed packet and discarded.
- MAC-based VLAN—802.1X provides network edge security. Devices attempting to connect to the LAN are blocked from access until they are recognized by the 802.1X authentication process, authenticated, permitted access, and assigned to a VLAN. You can assign devices, such as VoIP phones, on access ports to a VLAN by associating the devices’ MAC addresses with a VLAN ID. Modifications to the Packet Forwarding Engine have been made to support MAC-based VLANs for access devices transmitting tagged packets.
High Availability
- Graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES) for Layer 2
protocols—Graceful Routing Engine switchover (GRES) allows a
Virtual Chassis to switch from the master Routing Engine in the master
switch to the backup Routing Engine in the backup switch with minimal
interruption to network communications. When you configure GRES, the
backup Routing Engine automatically synchronizes with the master Routing
Engine to preserve kernel state information and forwarding state.
Any updates to the master Routing Engine are replicated to the backup
Routing Engine as soon as they occur. If the kernel on the master
Routing Engine stops operating, the master Routing Engine experiences
a hardware failure, or the administrator initiates a manual switchover,
mastership switches to the backup Routing Engine. The following features
are supported for GRES:
- Layer 2 forwarding database with 4K VLANs support
- Synchronization of Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) states such as blocking, learning, and forwarding on master and backup Routing Engines
- Synchronization of the DHCP snooping database on master and backup Routing Engines
- Virtual Chassis support with SFP uplink module ports—You can now use an SFP uplink module port to interconnect individual EX 4200 switches to form a Virtual Chassis.
Class of Service (CoS)
- Class-of-service (CoS) support on LAG interfaces—You can use CoS to configure multiple forwarding classes for transmitting packets, define which packets are placed into each output queue, and schedule the transmission service level for each queue. CoS is now supported on link aggregation group (LAG) member interfaces. CoS is supported on both Layer 2 and Layer 3 LAG members.
Management and RMON
- Troubleshooting Interface Configuration and Cable Faults—The Port Troubleshooter feature in the J-Web interface helps identify and rectify port configuration-related problems. The port troubleshooter also diagnoses cable faults and suggests remedial actions.