Controlling Network Chatter

[spaulding]

I'm the network admin for a school district and my little children (they're high school students, so I'm using that term as a perjorative reflecting their maturity and my frustration) have learned that if they plug both ends of a patch cable in to the wall jacks, they can crash our system. The network traffic escalates until our domain controllers (3) cpu's max out and they start shutting down services.

I need to know if there's a Hardware/software/configuration method to prevent/block the loopback chatter? Failing that, is there a way to set up a warning when the CPU starts going over a certain percent so I can take that campus off line and minimize the impact to the rest of the district?

We're using Windows 2003 Server for our DCs.

Thanks

 

[sleipnir214]

What kind of network switches are you using? A good managed switch should detect the loop-generated traffic and automagically shut down one part of the loop.




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[spaulding]

All Allied Telesyn switches. Thanks, is there a correct technical term for this so I can search their website?

 

[sleipnir214]

If there is a standard technical term for this, I don't know it. My organization just calls it "loop detection"




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[Scotsdude]

I believe it may be called Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), which should help prevent loops, IIRC.



------------------------------------------------------
Matt
Life is all shadows and dust.
Live it up with women and wine while you can

 

[Grenage]

Indeed, it's generally called the Spanning Tree Protocol. It should do what you need.

"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into the area" - Major Mike Shearer

 

[spaulding]

Thanks all. We've got that set up and it seems to be working. Course, having the superintendent present the children's parents with a large bill for lost time and damages may have had some impact on the issue.