OpenSolaris RBridges
This project intends to deliver an implementation of RBridges for OpenSolaris, based on the technology under development now in the IETF TRILL working group. RBridges are a new solution to the network bridging problem, using proven and robust link-state routing mechanisms to solve the stability, reliability, and link utilization problems that are inherent in traditional bridging solutions, such as Spanning Tree Protocol. This project will deliver multiple distinct features to OpenSolaris that will be usable separately as well as together to produce an RBridge implementation.
PSARC Reviews
Our bridging case was approved on 25FEB2009. A link to PSARC 2008/055 is available. A fast-track PSARC 2009/344 was filed to cover post-design-review issues.
The commitment review for the main RBridges case PSARC 2007/596 was approved on 17JUN2009.
Bridging Design Review
The bridging design review is complete. Thedesign document is at version 1.3, and is 30 pages long.
Interim Code Review Complete
We've completed an interim code review. A snapshot webrev of the project is available here:
- webrev
See the project Mercurial gate for current sources:
ssh://anon@hg.opensolaris.org//hg/rbridges/rbridges-on
Documentation
For an overview and introduction to RBridges, seeRadia Perlman's 2006 Usenix paper, "Routing without tears: Bridging without danger".
The current TRILL drafts describe the requirements and protocols in more detail:
- Protocol (draft-ietf-trill-rbridge-protocol-12)
- Applicability (RFC5556)
- VLAN mapping (draft-ietf-trill-rbridge-vlan-mapping-00)
- Use of IS-IS (draft-eastlake-trill-rbridge-isis-02)
- Notes (draft-eastlake-trill-rbridge-notes-01)
- Options (draft-eastlake-trill-rbridge-options-01)
The current protocol relies on a new layer 2 header (TRILL), withIS-IS used to compute forwarding paths.
For detailed project documentation, see our Mercurial documentation repository.
Status
Quagga IS-IS is available on Solaris through the SFW consolidation (integrated in build 101).
RBridges project was integrated in builds 124 and 125. Layer-2 Bridging support is in build 124. IETF TRILL support is in build 125 through the SFW consolidation. If you have any questions please contact us at rbridges-dev@opensolaris.org.
Bug Tracking
We are using Bugzilla to track defects and feature requests for RBridges.
Related OpenSolaris Work
- RBridges should be useful as one component of the Virtual Network Machines effort.
- The Xen community has a need for general bridging in Solaris, and RBridges should help provide that.
- We are enhancing the Quagga IS-IS implementation.
- The older Ethernet bridge module sources have been rescued and evaluated, but will not be used as part of the basis for this project.
- The L2 Filtering project is expected to be very useful with bridging. The two features together can be used to form a stealth firewall.