[Bridge] PVST

[Leigh Sharpe]

So, if I put a linux bridge in a network which has PVST packets flying around, will it pass them, or silently drop them?
Should I have STP disabled on my linux box?
(I'm particularly referring to a 6.2.19-ish kernel, before the patches of the last few days) 


Regards,
             Leigh
 
Leigh Sharpe
Network Systems Engineer
Pacific Wireless
Ph +61 3 9584 8966
Mob 0408 009 502
Helpdesk 1300 300 616
email lsharpe at pacificwireless.com.au
web www.pacificwireless.com.au

-----Original Message-----
From: shemminger at linux-foundation.org [mailto:shemminger at linux-foundation.org] 
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 2:07 PM
To: Leigh Sharpe
Cc: bridge
Subject: Re: [Bridge] PVST

On Fri, 27 Apr 2007 10:47:42 +1000
"Leigh Sharpe" <lsharpe at pacificwireless.com.au> wrote:

> Hi All, 
> Does the current bridging code handle PVST properly, or just ordinary
> STP?

Ordinary, STP.  The 2.6.22 kernel will have all the bits to run STP in
user mode, and there is a version of RSTP in userspace see:
	git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/shemminger/git/rstp.git

The RSTP code uses the rstplib and it knows about VLAN's, but the hooks
aren't there yet. Eventually, full MSTP 802.Q seems like a good idea.

Someone had sent some patches to do PVST, but PVST seems to be Cisco
centric. and the patched version was too inflexible, so I didn't put
it in mainline.