Layer-2 performance

[petenutz]

Just inherited a NBX-100 and there are complaints about poor network performance with windows shares. NBX is in default Layer-2 mode. I did some sniffing and every port on all the switches is getting flooded with NBX traffic. Doesn't this put a strain on the wokstation Nics having to sort out what packets are intended for them? Isolation of phones is better right?

Thanks,
Peter

 

[jmitchell1980]

Depending on your switching, you will have to VLAN off the voice traffic or the multicast traffic may jam up your network. The only way I was able to fix this was using data and voice vlans.

 

[douglasDavenport]

The only multicast traffic that really floods the switches is the Music on Hold traffic which you can either disable on the NBX or if you have a smart switch you can filter the music-on-hold MAC. Otherwise the bulk of traffic is unicast and shouldn't flood the switch. Try it; disable MOH on the system menu and watch your switch settle down. This really bugs me by the way b/c there is no reason to send MOH to the LAN.