Configuration guideContents
- Configuring Fast Switching
- Finding Feature Information
- Information About Configuring Fast Switching
- Benefits of Fast Switching
- Reasons for Disabling Fast Switching
- AppleTalk Access Lists Automatically Fast Switched
- How to Configure Fast Switching
- Enabling Fast Switching of IPX Directed Broadcast Packets
- Disabling IPX Fast Switching
- Adjusting the Route Cache for IPX
- Controlling IPX Route Cache Size
- Controlling IPX Route Cache Entry Invalidation
- Enabling Padding of Odd-Length IPX Packets
- Disabling AppleTalk Fast Switching
- Reenabling SMDS Fast Switching for IPX and AppleTalk Packets
- Disabling DECnet Fast Switching
- Disabling ISO CLNS Fast Switching Through the Cache
- Configuration Examples for Fast Switching
- Example Enabling Fast Switching of IPX Directed Broadcast Packets
- Example Disabling IPX Fast Switching
- Example Adjusting the Route Cache for IPX
- Example Controlling IPX Route Cache Size
- Example Controlling IPX Route Cache Entry Invalidation
- Example Enabling Padding of Odd-Length IPX Packets
- Example Disabling AppleTalk Fast Switching
- Example Reenabling SMDS Fast Switching for IPX and AppleTalk Packets
- Example Disabling DECnet Fast Switching
- Example Disabling ISO CLNS Fast Switching Through the Cache
- Additional References
- Feature Information for Configuring Fast Switching
- Glossary
Configuring Fast Switching
This module describes how to configure fast switching on Cisco IOS devices and provides configuration guidelines for switching paths and tuning guidelines.
NoteIP unicast fast switching is no longer supported on Cisco IOS Releases 12.2(25)S, 12.2(28)SB, 12.2(33)SRA, 12.2(33)SXH, 12.4(20)T and later releases. For these and later releases, components that do not support Cisco Express Forwarding will only work in Process Switched mode.
Finding Feature Information
Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Information About Configuring Fast Switching
Benefits of Fast Switching
Fast switching allows higher throughput by switching a packet using a cache created by the initial packet sent to a particular destination. Destination addresses are stored in the high-speed cache to expedite forwarding. Routers offer better packet-transfer performance when fast switching is enabled. Fast switching is enabled by default on all interfaces that support fast switching.
When packets are fast switched, the first packet is copied to packet memory and the destination network or host is found in the fast-switching cache. The frame is rewritten and sent to the outgoing interface that services the destination. Subsequent packets for the same destination use the same switching path. The interface processor computes the CRC.
NoteIP unicast fast switching is no longer supported on Cisco IOS Releases 12.2(25)S, 12.2(28)SB, 12.2(33)SRA, 12.2(33)SXH, 12.4(20)T and later releases. For these and later releases, components that do not support Cisco Express Forwarding will only work in Process Switched mode.
Reasons for Disabling Fast Switching
Fast switching uses a cache created by previous packets to achieve a higher packet throughput. Packet transfer performance is generally better when fast switching is enabled. Fast switching also provides load sharing on a per-destination basis.
By default, fast switching is enabled on all interfaces that support fast switching. However, you may want to disable fast switching to save memory space on interface cards and to help avoid congestion when high-bandwidth interfaces are writing large amounts of information to low-bandwidth interfaces. This is especially important when using rates slower than T1.
Fast switching is not supported on serial interfaces using encapsulations other than HDLC.
NoteTurning off fast switching increases system overhead because the packets are then process switched by the system’s CPU.
For some diagnostics, such as debugging and packet-level tracing, you need to disable fast switching. Disabling fast switching causes the router to fall back to process switching the packets. If fast switching is running, you might only see the first packet to each destination in the output of any packet-level debugging commands. Subsequent packets to the same destination are fast switched. Many packet level debugging commands cannot process packets that are fast switched. You might want to turn off fast switching temporarily to use process switching instead while you are trying to capture information to diagnose a problem.
AppleTalk Access Lists Automatically Fast Switched
AppleTalk access lists are automatically fast switched. Access list fast switching improves the performance of AppleTalk traffic when access lists are defined on an interface.
Refer to the "Configuring AppleTalk" chapter in the Cisco IOS AppleTalk and Novell IPX Configuration Guidefor guidelines on creating and using access lists and configuring AppleTalk.
How to Configure Fast Switching
By default, fast switching is enabled on all interfaces that support fast switching. However, you may have reasons to disable fast switching (see the Reasons for Disabling Fast Switching).
The tasks in this section include enabling fast switching for some software applications, disabling fast switching for other software applications, and managing the route cache associated with fast switching on the device:
NoteFast switching is not supported for the X.25 encapsulations.
Enabling Fast Switching of IPX Directed Broadcast Packets
ProcedureTo enable fast switching of Internet Packet Exchange (IPX) directed broadcast packets, perform the following task. This may be useful in certain broadcast-based applications that rely on helpering.
By default, Cisco IOS software switches IPX packets that are directed to the broadcast address. Fast switching of these packets is disabled. The default behavior is to process switch directed broadcast packets.
Disabling IPX Fast Switching
ProcedureTo disable IPX fast switching, perform the following task. IPX fast switching is enabled by default. You might want to disable fast switching for the following reasons:
To save memory on the interface cards: fast-switching caches require more memory than those used for standard switching
To avoid congestion on interface cards when a high-bandwidth interface is writing large amounts of information to a low-bandwidth interface
Adjusting the Route Cache for IPX
Adjusting the route cache allows you to control the size of the route cache, reduce memory consumption, and improve router performance. You accomplish these tasks by controlling the route cache size and route cache invalidation. The following sections describe these optional tasks:
Controlling IPX Route Cache Size
ProcedureYou can limit the number of entries stored in the IPX route cache to free up router memory and aid router processing.
Storing too many entries in the route cache can use a substantial amount of router memory, causing router processing to slow. This situation is most common on large networks that run network management applications for NetWare.
For example, if a network management station is responsible for managing all clients and servers in a very large (greater than 50,000 nodes) Novell network, the routers on the local segment can become inundated with route cache entries. You can set a maximum number of route cache entries on these routers to free up router memory and aid router processing.
To control IPX route cache size, perform the following task.
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 enable
Example:Router> enableEnables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2 configure terminal
Example:Router# configure terminalEnters global configuration mode.
Step 3 ipx route-cache max-size size
Example:Router(config)# ipx route-cache max-size 10000Sets a maximum limit on the number of entries in the IPX route cac he.
The size argument is maximum number of entries allowed in the IPX route cache.
Note If the route cache has more entries than the specified limit, the extra entries are not deleted. However, they may be removed if route cache invalidation is in use. See the Controlling IPX Route Cache Entry Invalidation" for more information on invalidating route cache entries.
Step 4 end
Example:Router(config)# endExits to privileged EXEC mode.
Controlling IPX Route Cache Entry Invalidation
ProcedureYou can configure the router to invalidate inactive fast-switch cache entries. If these entries remain invalidated for 1 minute, the router purges the entries from the route cache.
Purging invalidated entries reduces the size of the route cache, reduces memory consumption, and improves router performance. Purging entries also helps ensure accurate route cache information.
You specify the period of time that valid fast switch cache entries must be inactive before the router invalidates them. You can also specify the number of cache entries that the router can invalidate per minute.
To control IPX route cache entry invalidation, perform the following task.
Enabling Padding of Odd-Length IPX Packets
ProcedureSome IPX end hosts accept only even-length Ethernet packets. If the length of a packet is odd, the packet must be padded with an extra byte so that end host can receive it. By default, Cisco IOS software pads odd-length Ethernet packets.
NoteHowever, there are cases in certain topologies where nonpadded Ethernet packets are forwarded onto a remote Ethernet network. Under specific conditions, you can enable padding on intermediate media as a temporary workaround for this problem. Note that you should perform this task only under the guidance of a customer engineer or other service representative.
To enable the padding of odd-length packets, perform the following task.
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 enable
Example:Router> enableEnables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2 configure terminal
Example:Router# configure terminalEnters global configuration mode.
Step 3 interface type number
Example:Router(config)# interface serial 0Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.
The type argument is the type of interface to be configured.
The number argument is the port, connector, or interface card number. The numbers are assigned at the factory at the time of installation or when added to a system, and can be displayed with the show interfacescommand.
Step 4 no ipx route-cache
Example:Router(config-if)# no ipx route-cacheDisables IPX fast switching
Step 5 ipx pad-process-switched-packets
Example:Router(config-if)# ipx pad-process-switched-packetsControls whether odd-length packets are padded so as to be sent as even-length packets on an interface.
Step 6 end
Example:Router(config-if)# endExits to privileged EXEC mode.
Disabling AppleTalk Fast Switching
ProcedureTo disable AppleTalk fast switching on an interface, perform the following task. AppleTalk fast switching is enable by default.
See the Reasons for Disabling Fast Switching for information on when you might want to disable AppleTalk fast switching.
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 enable
Example:Router> enableEnables privileged EXEC mode.
Step 2 configure terminal
Example:Router# configure terminalEnters global configuration mode.
Step 3 interface type number
Example:Router(config)# interface ethernet 0Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.
Step 4 no appletalk route-cache
Example:Router(config-if)# no appletalk route-cacheDisables AppleTalk fast switching.
Step 5 end
Example:Router(config-if)# endExits to privileged EXEC mode.
Reenabling SMDS Fast Switching for IPX and AppleTalk Packets
ProcedureSwitched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS) fast switching is enabled by default. To reenable SMDS fast switching on IPX and AppleTalk packets, if it has been disabled, perform the following task.
SMDS is a wide-area networking service offered by some Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). SMDS fast switching of IPX and AppleTalk packets provides faster packet transfer on serial links with speeds above 56 kbps. Use fast switching if you use high-speed, packet-switched, datagram-based WAN technologies such as Frame Relay offered by service providers.
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 enable
Example:Router> enableEnables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2 configure terminal
Example:Router# configure terminalEnters global configuration mode.
Step 3 interface type number
Example:Router(config)# interface serial 0Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.
The type argument is the type of interface to be configured.
The number argument is the port, connector, or interface card number. The numbers are assigned at the factory at the time of installation or when added to a system, and can be displayed with the show interfacescommand.
Step 4 encapsulation smds
Example:Router(config-if)# encapsulation smdsEnables SMDS on the desired interface.
Step 5 ipx route-cache
Example:Router(config-if)# ipx route-cacheEnables IPX fast switching on the interface.
Step 6 appletalk route-cache
Example:Router(config-if)# appletalk route-cacheEnables AppleTalk fast switching on all supported interfaces.
Step 7 end
Example:Router(config-if)# endExits to privileged EXEC mode.
Disabling DECnet Fast Switching
ProcedureTo disable fast switching of DECnet packets, perform the following task.
By default, DECnet routing software implements fast switching of DECnet packets. You might want to disable fast switching to save memory space on interface cards and to help avoid congestion when high-bandwidth interfaces are writing large amounts of information to low-bandwidth interfaces. Disabling fast switching is especially important when rates slower than T1 are used.
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 enable
Example:Router> enableEnables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2 configure terminal
Example:Router# configure terminalEnters global configuration mode.
Step 3 interface type number
Example:Router(config)# interface serial 0/0Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.
The type argument is the type of interface to be configured.
The number argument is the port, connector, or interface card number. The numbers are assigned at the factory at the time of installation or when added to a system, and can be displayed with the show interfacescommand.
Step 4 no decnet route-cache
Example:Router(config-if)# no decnet route-cacheDisables fast switching of DECnet packets on a per-interface basis.
Step 5 end
Example:Router(config-if)# endExits to privileged EXEC mode.
Disabling ISO CLNS Fast Switching Through the Cache
ProcedurePerform the following task to disable See the Reasons for Disabling Fast Switching for information on why you might want to disable ISO CLNS fast switching through the cache.
Command or Action Purpose
Step 1 enable
Example:Router> enableEnables privileged EXEC mode.
Enter your password if prompted.
Step 2 configure terminal
Example:Router# configure terminalEnters global configuration mode.
Step 3 interface type number
Example:Router(config)# interface ethernet 0Configures an interface type and enters interface configuration mode.
The type argument is the type of interface to be configured.
The number argument is the port, connector, or interface card number. The numbers are assigned at the factory at the time of installation or when added to a system, and can be displayed with the show interfacescommand.
Step 4 no clns route-cache
Example:Router(config-if)# no clns route-cacheDisables fast switching.
Note The cache still exists and is used after the no clns route-cache command is entered, but the software does not do fast switching through the cache.
Step 5 end
Example:Router(config-if)# endExits to privileged EXEC mode.
Configuration Examples for Fast Switching
Example Adjusting the Route Cache for IPX
Example Controlling IPX Route Cache Size
The following example show how to control the IPX route cache size:
configure terminal ipx route-cache max-size 10000 endIn this example the cache size is set to 10000 entries. If the route cache has more entries than the specified limit, the extra entries are not deleted. However, they may be removed if route cache invalidation is in use. See the "Example Controlling IPX Route Cache Entry Invalidation"for a configuration example.
Example Controlling IPX Route Cache Entry Invalidation
The following example shows how to control IPX route cache entry invalidations;
configure terminal ipx route-cache inactivity-timeout 5 10 endIn this example, the inactivity period is set to 5 minutes and sets a maximum of 10 entries that can be invalidated per minute.
When you use the ipx route-cache inactivity-timeout command with the ipx route-cache max-size command, you can ensure a small route cache with fresh entries.
Example Enabling Padding of Odd-Length IPX Packets
NoteUse the ipx pad-process-switched-packets command only under the guidance of a customer engineer or other service representative.
The following example shows how to enable padding of odd-length IPX packets:
configure terminal interface serial 0 no ipx route-cache ipx pad-process-switched-packets endIn this example, the Cisco IOS software pads odd-length packets so that they are sent as even-length packets on serial interface 0.
Additional References
Related Documents
Related Topic
Document Title
Cisco IOS commands
IP switching commands: complete command syntax, command modes, command history, defaults, usage guidelines, and examples.
Cisco IOS IP Switching Command Reference
Overview of switching paths available on Cisco IOS devices
Cisco IOS Switching Paths Overview
Information on how to configure AppleTalk
Cisco IOS AppleTalk Configuration Guide
Description of AppleTalk commands
Cisco IOS AppleTalk Command Reference
Information on how to configure Novell IPX
Cisco IOS Novell IPX Configuration Guide
Description of the IPX commands
Cisco IOS Novell IPX Command Reference
Information on how to configure SMDS packet-switched software
"Configuring SDMS " chapter in the Access and Communication Servers Configuration Guide
Description of SMDS commands
"SMDS Commands " chapter in the Access and Communication Servers Command Reference
Information on how to configure DECnet
Cisco IOS DECnet Configuration Guide
Description of DECnet command
Cisco IOS DECnet Command Reference
Information on how to configure ISO CLNS
Cisco IOS ISO CLNS Configuration Guide
Description of ISO CLNS commands
Cisco IOS ISO CLNS Command Reference
MIBs
Technical Assistance
Description
Link
The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password.
Feature Information for Configuring Fast Switching
The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Table 1 Feature Information for Configuring Fast Switching Feature Name
Releases
Feature Information
This table is intentionally left blank because no features were introduced or modified in Cisco IOS Release 12.2(1) or later. This table will be updated when feature information is added to this module.
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Glossary
AppleTalk --A multilayered protocol providing internetwork routing, transaction and data stream service, naming service, and comprehensive file and print sharing.
IPX --Internetwork Packet Exchange. A NetWare protocol that routes outgoing data packets across a network. Every NetWare network has a unique address assigned when its servers are configured. IPX routers use this address to route packets through an internetwork.
ISO CLNS --International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Connectionless Network Service (CLNS). A standard for the network layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. CLNS is the OSI network layer service that does not require a circuit to be established before data is transmitted. CLNS routes messages to their destination independently of any other message.
NetWare --Popular distributed network operating system developed by Novell.
SMDS --Switched Multimegabit Data Service. A wide-area networking service offered by some Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs).
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