Multiple Registration Protocol Configuration

Like 802.1AS, Multiple Registration Protocol (MRP) is an Audio Video Bridging (AVB) feature that is available on some 200 Series platforms. MVR is a base registration protocol that enables devices running an MRP application to register attributes to other devices in a network. MRP provides an application to register attributes such as bandwidth requirement for a given AV stream and MAC address information. It is used by various applications to propagate the registration. 200 Series switches support the following MRP applications:

• Multiple MAC Registration Protocol (MMRP)
• Multiple Stream Reservation Protocol (MSRP)
• Multiple VLAN Registration Protocol (MVRP)

MMRP allows for the propagation MAC address information in the network, and allows for the registration and deregistration of both individual MAC address information and group MAC address membership. End stations may request to join or leave a multicast group, or to register an individual MAC address with a specific VLAN. MAC address entries can be dynamically registered and deregistered if MMRP is administratively enabled on the switch.

MSRP reserves necessary resources in the network to facilitate time sensitive traffic to flow end to end. In a typical network, there are multiple Talkers (those who transmit streams) and multiple Listeners (those who receive streams from one or many Talkers). Each flow has specific bandwidth, frame rate, and time sync requirements. With the use of MSRP these resources are guaranteed through all intermediate devices that are between any talker and listener.

MVRP registers VLANs in the network, enabling automatic VLAN configuration on the switch. In a typical network, VLAN tagging is common. Many nodes require ingress traffic to be tagged with specific VLAN ID, and other nodes require egress traffic to be transmitted with a specific VLAN ID. With the use of MVRP on both ingress and egress, no manual VLAN configuration is required to pass tagged traffic through the network.

Note

MRP framework must be available and enabled in all intermediate devices to ensure that the propagation of the attributes occurs throughout the network.

With MRP, network attributes are declared, registered, withdrawn, and removed completely dynamically without any user intervention. This dynamic nature is especially useful in networks where:

• Network attributes are likely to change frequently, requiring reconfiguration of the intermediate devices.
• Recipients of these attributes frequently increase or decrease in number.
• Each of these changes without a dynamic self-adjusting framework would require constant attention from the network administrator.