The Generic Attribute Registration Protocol (GARP) is a networking protocol used to register and manage attributes of network devices. With GARP, devices on a network can dynamically register attributes and receive notifications when changes occur. This facilitates efficient management of network resources and ensures network stability.
GVRP, or GARP VLAN Registration Protocol, is a Layer 2 network protocol that automates the configuration of switches in a VLAN network. With GVRP, each VLAN switch is configured with the VLANs it is a part of, and this information is spread to configure the necessary VLANs. This means that reconfiguring just one switch is necessary to add a switch to a VLAN, as opposed to the standard VLAN where all switches might need reconfiguration.
gvrpcd is a user-space daemon that implements end-node GVRP functionality. It generates periodically GVRP "JOIN" packets with information about VLANs that the server has defined on a given NIC or that it wants to connect to. This is incredibly useful for Linux-based routers and firewalls that use lots of VLANs. As new VLANs appear or old ones are deleted, the switch automatically reconfigures port VLANs membership.
To compile gvrpcd, simply run "make" and ensure that you have the libnet library header files. If you need usage help, see gvrpcd -h. You may want to run gvrpcd as a daemon (gvrpcd -d) or as a foreground process controlled by init.
The format of the VLAN config file (-f option) is compatible with the kernel's /proc/net/vlan/config file. The file header contains two lines, which are ignored, and in the following lines, VLAN configuration is defined. One line per VLAN includes an interface description (ignored), VLAN ID, and an interface. Ensure there are two spaces after the VLAN ID.
In summary, GVRP and gvrpcd are incredibly useful for automating VLAN network configuration and make adding switches to VLANs a painless process. Compilation is straightforward, and the format of the VLAN config file is simple to follow. Overall, I highly recommend this software for any network administrator.
gvrpcd is a user-space daemon that implements end-node GVRP functionality. It generates periodically GVRP "JOIN" packets with information about VLANs that the server has defined on a given NIC or that it wants to connect to. This is incredibly useful for Linux-based routers and firewalls that use lots of VLANs. As new VLANs appear or old ones are deleted, the switch automatically reconfigures port VLANs membership.
To compile gvrpcd, simply run "make" and ensure that you have the libnet library header files. If you need usage help, see gvrpcd -h. You may want to run gvrpcd as a daemon (gvrpcd -d) or as a foreground process controlled by init.
The format of the VLAN config file (-f option) is compatible with the kernel's /proc/net/vlan/config file. The file header contains two lines, which are ignored, and in the following lines, VLAN configuration is defined. One line per VLAN includes an interface description (ignored), VLAN ID, and an interface. Ensure there are two spaces after the VLAN ID.
In summary, GVRP and gvrpcd are incredibly useful for automating VLAN network configuration and make adding switches to VLANs a painless process. Compilation is straightforward, and the format of the VLAN config file is simple to follow. Overall, I highly recommend this software for any network administrator.
What's New
Version 1.3: N/A