On Mon, Oct 30, 2000 at 12:55:24AM -0600, John Darrow wrote:
> This is really getting off-topic for port-sparc (or any netbsd list for that
> matter), but having used Cabletron's Securefast VLAN system for a few years,
> I beg to differ with some of the characterizations given in the previous
> messages.
> 
> First, if you really don't like the Securefast stuff, you can always _turn
> it off_.  Every Cabletron switch, either by a setting in a given firmware,
> or by loading a different firmware, can operate instead in traditional
> 802.1q mode, giving you your "expected" behavior.
> 
> However, Securefast adds one thing I've _never_ seen in any other VLAN
> implementation - a _useful_ user mobility capability.  It uses the layer 2
> address, which (despite standards saying it doesn't have to be) is globally
> unique for basically anything _other_ than sparcs (thank/blame the card
> manufacturers for this), as one of the possible identifiers for a station's
> VLAN memberships, instead of being limited to only using ports as
> identifiers.  This allows an end station to be plugged in _anywhere_ in the
> switched network, and still retain the _same VLAN memberships and privileges,
> and associated data_.  You can take your laptop from your desk and plug it in
> somewhere across the building and still be part of the same logical network
> segment, using the same IP address, routing data, etc.  Nothing else I have
> seen, even the proposed experimental 802.1x extensions, comes anywhere close
> to this for mobility.

Cisco can do this as well - but it's off by default :)

--
Manuel Bouyer, LIP6, Universite Paris VI.           Manuel.Bouyer@lip6.fr
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