On Tuesday 08 November 2011 11:37:56 Martino Fornasa wrote: > Hi all. > I'm interested in RSTP implementation (and maybe in contributing to it). > > I read this > [http://lkml.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/net/0807.1/0011.html] message, > and I had a look on the ongoing RSTP project hosted at > [https://github.com/shemminger/RSTP]. Is this project still running? > > I noticed that such a ongoing project is based on rstplib > [http://rstplib.sourceforge.net/]. By taking a brief look at the code, > it seems to me that such a code is based on the obsolete 802.1w > specification, while the newest specification for RSTP is contained in > 802.1D-2004; and such a specification (beside incorporating > compatibility with STP) is radically different from 802.1w (e.g., > different set of states on state machines...), and it is not easy to > understand the amount of interoperability between the two. > Hello, Martino! Not really an expert in 802.1w flavor of RSTP, so can't really say if there are any differences in behavior of 802.1w- and 802.1D- compatible implementations. Just want to point at two alternative projects based on more recent standards: 1) There is 802.1D-compatible RSTP implementation by Aji Srinivas which he announced on this list: http://lists.linux-foundation.org/pipermail/bridge/2009-February/006178.html I have adopted it in my projects and even have found and patched some bugs. As for me it passes some smoke tests but I never let it in production, because of the lack of more serious testing. 2) Also I started open-source MSTP (802.1Q-2005) project, you can find it here: http://sourceforge.net/p/mstpd/wiki/Home/ It is based on the more recent standard and can be restricted (if you need) to the rstp-only operation by setting "setforcevers" parameter to "rstp". Again, it passes some smoke tests and behaves reasonably but it lacks serious testing. > I think that a serious issue in implementing network bridging/routing > protocols is to proper validate and testing it. For example, I know that > there are companies that offer commercial validation system for network > protocol. As some RSTP implementations as been put in the past in the > kernel, and STP is already in it, are such implementations have been > tested and validated? How? > Indeed, this is the biggest problem. There are tests which are considered as industry standards: UNH IOL tests. For example, MSTP tests: http://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/bfc/testsuites/#Multiple_Spanning_Tree_(MSTP)_Operations_Test_Suite and http://www.iol.unh.edu/services/testing/bfc/testsuites/#Multiple_Spanning_Tree_Protocol_(MSTP)_Multi-System_Interoperability_Test_Suite But these tests use special Ethernet frames, and the content of those test frames isn't available freely. Personally I can not figure how to get those frames (suspect, it is simply impossible for the small enterprise, as mine is). That is where the show stops for me. I have code and it needs testing, and... -- Vitalii Demianets _______________________________________________ Bridge mailing list Bridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/mailman/listinfo/bridge
