Fortinet, Inc.
SCALABLE PHYSICAL LOOP DETECTION IN NON-NATIVE VIRTUAL LOCAL AREA NETWORKS (VLANS)

Abstract:

Systems and methods for detecting physical loops in both native and non-native VLANs are provided. According to one embodiment, a processing resource of a network switch detects a physical loop in a non-native Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) by configuring a set of one or more network chips (e.g., an ASIC) associated with an interface associated with the non-native VLAN of multiple interfaces of the network switch to provide an indication (e.g., a Media Access Control (MAC) address or a packet) regarding a MAC move event detected on the interface. Responsive to receipt of the indication, it is determined whether a number of MAC move events for the interface meets an event count threshold within each unit of time (e.g., one or more seconds) of multiple consecutive units of time. When the determination is affirmative, the existence of the physical loop is identified.