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Date:	Fri, 25 Aug 2000 16:10:24 +0300
From:	Matti Aarnio <matti.aarnio@zmailer.org>
To:	Ben Greear <greearb@candelatech.com>
Cc:	netdev@oss.sgi.com
Subject: Re: Implementing 802.3ad-2000 link aggregation under Linux
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References: <39A55DEB.94242945@doc.ic.ac.uk> <20000824202203.A4710@fred.muc.de> <39A5E0D1.A1994489@candelatech.com>
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In-Reply-To: <39A5E0D1.A1994489@candelatech.com>; from greearb@candelatech.com on Thu, Aug 24, 2000 at 07:58:25PM -0700
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On Thu, Aug 24, 2000 at 07:58:25PM -0700, Ben Greear wrote:
> Andi Kleen wrote:
> > On Thu, Aug 24, 2000 at 07:43:29PM +0200, Nick Towers wrote:
> > > Hello,
> > >
> > > I am looking at starting a project to implment 802.3ad ethernet link
> > > aggregation under Linux. For those of you that have never heard of it
> > > I've given a description and a few pointers at the end. Before I
> > > launch into it I was wondering if there is anyone else out there who
> > >
> > > 1) Has started work on an implementation
> > 
> > I started work some time ago. It is basically an user space problem.
> 
> How would it be user-space?  Doesn't it aggregate several physical
> layers together into one interface?  That seems like a kernel
> level thing to me....


	Like most of such things, there is the fast-path (of packet
	forwarding), and there is the management protocol.
	(Comparing to 802.1Q, a lot more than half of the specification
	 is about the management protocol!)

	It would be nice if we could rid the kernel from routing protocols/
	managing processes, and move all those into appropriate userspace
	daemons.  (I mean here 802 spanning-tree bridging, VLAN management,
	IP multicast, etc.)

	After all, it is the purpose of such daemons to fill appropriate
	forwarding tables which kernel then uses to do the grunt work,
	while the daemons act as the last choice backup.

> Ben
> > -Andi
> -- 
> Ben Greear (greearb@candelatech.com)  http://www.candelatech.com

/Matti Aarnio