Hi,
I'm looking at the AM335x for a new design and the key benefit is the Ethernet switch, however for it to be useful I need to set it up as a switch and have the ability to dynamically monitor traffic going in and out one of the external ports, i.e.:
External Lan <-> Port 1 <-> SWITCH <-> Port 2 <-> Test device
|
Port 0
So in normal operation I wanted it behave like a standard switch, but at various points I want to capture (duplicate) packets that are sent to/from Port 2. So essentially I want every ALE entry for port 2 to also be sent to port 0.
The TRM states that a unicast ALE entry can only be sent to one port - which is quite clear - although for me ideally it would have been nice if a port mask could be used. However is it possible to replace that unicast entry with a multicast entry (obviously using the same MAC as was in the unicast entry) ? Or will the switch logic just look at bit 40 of the MAC address (m'cast bit) and ignore the multicast ALE entry ?
Alternatively can anyone think of any other way to capture traffic on another port - besides putting the ALE in bypass and doing all the switching in S/W ?
Thanks in advance,
Ben.