Layer 2 topology mapping

The LLDP protocol lets network management systems accurately discover and model Layer 2 network topologies.

As LLDP devices transmit and receive advertisements, the devices store information they discover about their neighbors. Advertisement data such as a neighbor's management address, device type, and port identification is useful in determining what neighboring devices are in the network.

Note

Note

The Extreme LLDP implementation supports up to two neighbors.

The higher level management tools, such as the Network Advisor, can query the LLDP information to draw Layer 2 physical topologies. The management tools can continue to query a neighboring device through the device‘s management address provided in the LLDP information exchange. As this process is repeated, the complete Layer 2 topology is mapped.

In LLDP the link discovery is achieved through the exchange of link-level information between two link partners. The link-level information is refreshed periodically to reflect any dynamic changes in link-level parameters. The basic format for exchanging information in LLDP is in the form of a type, length, value (TLV) field.

LLDP keeps a database for both local and remote configurations. The LLDP standard currently supports three categories of TLVs. The Extreme LLDP implementation adds a proprietary Extreme extension TLV set. The four TLV sets are described as follows: