Converting a Switch port to HUB port

[rodriguesl]

Hi,

I would like to know how i can make a port from a switch to work like a hub port.

Regards

LR

[glen.grant]

What do mean and what are you trying to accomplish. Anyway the answer is no you cannot make it like a hub. If you are just trying to make it like 10 meg half duplex then you just hardcode the speed for that.

[rodriguesl]

Hi,

What i'm trying to acomplish is to make 3 ports, from a switch to work as a hub, that is repeat everything between them.

Is this possible?

Regards

LR

[glen.grant]

Not that I know of.

[jackyoung]

If you do not configure any specify features at these 3 ports, it should normally act as a hub or create a VLAN for these 3 ports. The differene is all three ports have dedicated BW. Could you elaborate more on what application will running on these ports ?

[rodriguesl]

Hi,

The application is an IDS.

Does this Help?

Regards

LR

[joao]

you can copy all the traffic to a single switch port, where you connect the IDS

[hgru]

Yes this does help as meantioned.

Use the span fucntion but if you really doesn't want too I have a few tricks up my sleeve.

1. Try to force the mac-adress table to have a size of 0. That way it won't learn any mac-adresses. Packet with unknown mac-adresses are flooded.

2. Same trick otherways around. Use a hacker tool to send a lot of packets with random mac-addresses. That way you will fill the mac-address table to the max. Other packets will then be floodded.

3. Give both systems (out side the IDS) a multicast-mac adress. When multicats is not implemented in you network this will again flood traffic to all ports in the same vlan. (not only that switch)

All these options are not really good networking practise but hey if you want other options than span

If you can or doesn't want to use span you can.

1. Put a hub in front

2. Use a tap

3. put the IDS in-line

* Please rate my post

[rodriguesl]

Hi,

Ok, I will try it.

Thanks

LR

[rtando@udi.com]

If I am assessing your issue correctly you are running into the problem that a local span port can only have one Destination and you need the traffic mirrored to multiple ports at once. So you are hoping to make a switch into a Hub to achieve this.

If that is the case I would recommend setting up RSPAN. RSPAN allows multiple Destination ports to all see the same traffic.

It may be also possible that you could just play with the Remote-Span vlan command because what that command basically does is forward all traffic in the vlan to all members of the vlan regardless of CAM table which is eventually what the difference is between a hub and a switch.

Good luck. If you come up with a working config please post it.

[K@yT]

Yes is possible!

[K@yT]

Or try to flush the switch then used it without any configs in it. @rodriguesl 

[stephen.stack]

Hi,

I think the feature you are looking for is SPAN.

(Switch Port Analyzer).

here is a sample config:

C2950#configure terminal

C2950(config)#

C2950(config)#monitor session 1 source interface fastethernet 0/2

!--- This configures interface Fast Ethernet 0/2 as source port.

C2950(config)#monitor session 1 destination interface fastethernet 0/3

!--- This configures interface Fast Ethernet 0/3 as destination port.

C2950(config)#

C2950#show monitor session 1

Session 1

---------

Source Ports:

RX Only: None

TX Only: None

Both: Fa0/2

Destination Ports: Fa0/3

C2950#

You can get all the information you need here

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/473/41.html

Cheers

Stephen

PS: Please rate my posts

[rodriguesl]

Hi,

Ok! I already known about span. I tought there was another option that could put some switch ports in hub alike ports.

Thanks you all

Regards

LR

[stephen.stack]

OK!!! If you already know about SPAN then i would asume that you are a CCNP at least... If that is the case then i also assume that you have THE basic knowlodge of the architectural dirffernces between switches and 'hubs'.

Given all the above then you know that switch ports do not, and cannot act like switch ports under any circumstances... except when SPAN is used.

Switch ports do not forward unicast traffic to all ports - only the port to which the destination MAC address is assigned. Hubs forward unicast traffic to all ports as 'HUBs' do not have a MAC addres Table.

Do not ask silly questions, and then give a silly response to someone that helps.

Regards

Stephen

PS. Just a bit annoyed at the arrogance that can be in the Cisco forums sometimes.