fast network. (The spare second port might be in use for example for a
connection to an ATM attached device that needs a fast path to the SP Switch
network).
To make use of both ports, four possible solutions come to mind:
1. Break up your already existing network topology (nodes of the SP) and
create different subnets, which in turn can be routed over the different
ATM subnets on the two ports.
We do not expect that any customer will do this, but the solution is
mentioned here for the sake of completeness.
2. Configure the two ATM ports on different networks and route one half of
the nodes over the first ATM port and route the other half over the second
ATM port. It will be a pain, though, to maintain the different routes, so
solution 4. below might be considered.
3. Configure the two ATM ports for transparent bridging and use the two
ports simultaneously with just one IP address assigned to them. This
solution sounds promising and will be covered in Section 7.1.2, "ATM
OC-3c Backbone - Using Two Ports" on page 215. Be prepared for a
surprise.
4. Configure dynamic routing and use the open shortest path first (OSPF)
protocol to use the two ATM ports equivalently. They have to be in
different subnets, but gated will take care of that. Configuring gated is said
to be a non-trivial task and once running, it might well turn a stable system
into a true binary specimen.
7.1.1 ATM OC-3c Backbone - Using One Port
Now, let us consider the setup of the one-port ATM backbone connection with
two GRF routers.
Configuration assumptions:
• The SP Switch Router ATM media card has been installed according to
Section 4.2, "ATM OC-3c Configuration" on page 110 on both GRF routers
and works properly.
• The SP Switch Router Adapter card has been installed according to
Section 3.7, "Step-by-Step Media Card Configuration" on page 86 on both
GRF routers and works properly.
• The SP Switch Router Adapter card and SP processor node Switch
adapters are in the same IP subnet on the respective SP.
• ARP should be enabled on the SP Switch network to provide the most
flexibility in assigning IP addresses (strongly recommended!).
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IBM 9077 SP Switch Router: Get Connected to the SP Switch