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| author | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-30 09:22:00 -0700 |
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| committer | Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> | 2026-08-30 09:22:00 -0700 |
| commit | 034dd340b08be1f2f0477ad16131d609f9dbd53c (patch) | |
| tree | 2536f4b2d7893ccd916b5abdf3c454ad6edc03c2 /Documentation/networking/bridge.rst | |
| download | linux-stable-034dd340b08be1f2f0477ad16131d609f9dbd53c.tar.gz linux-stable-034dd340b08be1f2f0477ad16131d609f9dbd53c.zip | |
Merge tag 'trace-v7.3-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-tracegrafted
Pull tracing fixes from Steven Rostedt:
- Fix error output of boot instance creation failure
Currently if a boot instance creation fails, instead of printing out
the name of the instance that failed, it prints "(null)". That is
because it prints "cur_str" that had already been processed by
strsep(). Print the saved name instead.
While at it, print the error code of the failure.
- Fix use-after-free for same named historgrams
Histograms can be named so that they can be used in multiple events.
But if the named histogram has a variable attached, the second event
that uses the named histogram which duplicates it and needs to free
the original after duplication leaves the old variable in place and
still visible. If another histogram uses than variable, it will use
the stale one which will try to reference the freed duplicate
histogram and crash the kernel.
Free the duplicate variables along with the duplicated histogram
data.
- Check return value of kthread_run() in event self test
The events self tests uses a kthread for testing but does not check
if it succeeded in creating a kthread. If the kthread creation were
to fail, the code will still try to call kthread_stop() on the error
returned.
- Fix race between reading trace_pipe and updating subbuffer size
If a user is reading the trace_pipe file at the same time they update
the ring buffer sub-buffer size, can cause the trace_pipe read to
read stale data. Add trace_access_lock() around updating the ring
buffer sub-buffer size.
- Fix eventfs_inode on failure path in creation of the events directory
In the creation of the "events" directory, if after allocating the
eventfs_inode a failure is detected, it calls cleanup_ei() which
calls free_ei(). The free_ei() will test if eventfs_inode being freed
has no children. It is a bug if it does. But on the failure case of
the creation of the "events" directory, the children lists have not
yet been initialized and the free will trigger a warning because
list_empty() on an uninitialized list returns false.
Move the initialization into init_ei() where it makes more sense and
makes sure that a created eventfs_inode has its lists initialized
upon creation.
- Check return value of kthread_run() in ftrace direct sample code
The sample code that shows how to use the ftrace direct calls does
not test the return of kthread_run() to see if it succeeds. Return a
failure if the kthread_run() doesn't succeed.
- Clear user events state on fork in case of alloc failure
On fork, the child gets a pointer to the parent's user events state.
It makes a copy of it then updates the child's pointer to it. But if
the allocation fails, the duplication function leaves the child with
a pointer to its parent's descriptor. When the child cleans up its
data, it will free the parent's descriptor while the parent is still
using it.
In the duplication function, set the child's user_event_mm to NULL
before testing if the allocation succeeded, and when it exits it will
not free the parent's descriptor.
- Fix retry exhaustion in simple ring buffer reader swap
simple_ring_buffer_swap_reader_page() starts with retry set to 8 and
post-decrements it only after a failed link replacement. On the final
attempt, a successful replacement leaves retry at zero, while a
failed replacement leaves it at -1.
But the check for success expects the retry value to be non-zero and
exits with an error on zero. This is the opposite result. Fix it.
- Fail nicely when the remote swap_reader_page() returns an error
Currently, if the swap_reader_page() of a remote buffer fails, it
triggers a WARN_ON_ONCE() and continues normally. Instead, have it
exit with an error and a pr_warn() print instead of a full WARNING.
* tag 'trace-v7.3-2' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/trace/linux-trace:
ring-buffer: Stop remote reader update when page swap fails
tracing: Fix retry exhaustion in simple ring buffer reader swap
tracing/user_events: Clear copied tracing state before fork duplication
samples/ftrace: Fix kthread_stop() on ERR_PTR in ftrace-direct-multi-modify
samples/ftrace: Fix kthread_stop() on ERR_PTR in ftrace-direct-modify
eventfs: Initialize ei->children and ei->list in init_ei()
tracing: Fix use-after-free in trace_pipe read on sub-buffer order change
tracing: Fix crash passing ERR_PTR to kthread_stop()
tracing: Fix use-after-free with same-name named triggers
tracing: Fix logged instance name on creation failure
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/networking/bridge.rst')
| -rw-r--r-- | Documentation/networking/bridge.rst | 357 |
1 files changed, 357 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/networking/bridge.rst b/Documentation/networking/bridge.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c1e6ea52c --- /dev/null +++ b/Documentation/networking/bridge.rst @@ -0,0 +1,357 @@ +.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 + +================= +Ethernet Bridging +================= + +Introduction +============ + +The IEEE 802.1Q-2022 (Bridges and Bridged Networks) standard defines the +operation of bridges in computer networks. A bridge, in the context of this +standard, is a device that connects two or more network segments and operates +at the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) +model. The purpose of a bridge is to filter and forward frames between +different segments based on the destination MAC (Media Access Control) address. + +Bridge kAPI +=========== + +Here are some core structures of bridge code. Note that the kAPI is *unstable*, +and can be changed at any time. + +.. kernel-doc:: net/bridge/br_private.h + :identifiers: net_bridge_vlan + +Bridge uAPI +=========== + +Modern Linux bridge uAPI is accessed via Netlink interface. You can find +below files where the bridge and bridge port netlink attributes are defined. + +Bridge netlink attributes +------------------------- + +.. kernel-doc:: include/uapi/linux/if_link.h + :doc: Bridge enum definition + +Bridge port netlink attributes +------------------------------ + +.. kernel-doc:: include/uapi/linux/if_link.h + :doc: Bridge port enum definition + +Bridge sysfs +------------ + +The sysfs interface is deprecated and should not be extended if new +options are added. + +STP +=== + +The STP (Spanning Tree Protocol) implementation in the Linux bridge driver +is a critical feature that helps prevent loops and broadcast storms in +Ethernet networks by identifying and disabling redundant links. In a Linux +bridge context, STP is crucial for network stability and availability. + +STP is a Layer 2 protocol that operates at the Data Link Layer of the OSI +model. It was originally developed as IEEE 802.1D and has since evolved into +multiple versions, including Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) and +`Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol (MSTP) +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20220316150857.2442916-1-tobias@waldekranz.com/>`_. + +The 802.1D-2004 removed the original Spanning Tree Protocol, instead +incorporating the Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP). By 2014, all the +functionality defined by IEEE 802.1D has been incorporated into either +IEEE 802.1Q (Bridges and Bridged Networks) or IEEE 802.1AC (MAC Service +Definition). 802.1D has been officially withdrawn in 2022. + +Bridge Ports and STP States +--------------------------- + +In the context of STP, bridge ports can be in one of the following states: + * Blocking: The port is disabled for data traffic and only listens for + BPDUs (Bridge Protocol Data Units) from other devices to determine the + network topology. + * Listening: The port begins to participate in the STP process and listens + for BPDUs. + * Learning: The port continues to listen for BPDUs and begins to learn MAC + addresses from incoming frames but does not forward data frames. + * Forwarding: The port is fully operational and forwards both BPDUs and + data frames. + * Disabled: The port is administratively disabled and does not participate + in the STP process. The data frames forwarding are also disabled. + +Root Bridge and Convergence +--------------------------- + +In the context of networking and Ethernet bridging in Linux, the root bridge +is a designated switch in a bridged network that serves as a reference point +for the spanning tree algorithm to create a loop-free topology. + +Here's how the STP works and root bridge is chosen: + 1. Bridge Priority: Each bridge running a spanning tree protocol, has a + configurable Bridge Priority value. The lower the value, the higher the + priority. By default, the Bridge Priority is set to a standard value + (e.g., 32768). + 2. Bridge ID: The Bridge ID is composed of two components: Bridge Priority + and the MAC address of the bridge. It uniquely identifies each bridge + in the network. The Bridge ID is used to compare the priorities of + different bridges. + 3. Bridge Election: When the network starts, all bridges initially assume + that they are the root bridge. They start advertising Bridge Protocol + Data Units (BPDU) to their neighbors, containing their Bridge ID and + other information. + 4. BPDU Comparison: Bridges exchange BPDUs to determine the root bridge. + Each bridge examines the received BPDUs, including the Bridge Priority + and Bridge ID, to determine if it should adjust its own priorities. + The bridge with the lowest Bridge ID will become the root bridge. + 5. Root Bridge Announcement: Once the root bridge is determined, it sends + BPDUs with information about the root bridge to all other bridges in the + network. This information is used by other bridges to calculate the + shortest path to the root bridge and, in doing so, create a loop-free + topology. + 6. Forwarding Ports: After the root bridge is selected and the spanning tree + topology is established, each bridge determines which of its ports should + be in the forwarding state (used for data traffic) and which should be in + the blocking state (used to prevent loops). The root bridge's ports are + all in the forwarding state. while other bridges have some ports in the + blocking state to avoid loops. + 7. Root Ports: After the root bridge is selected and the spanning tree + topology is established, each non-root bridge processes incoming + BPDUs and determines which of its ports provides the shortest path to the + root bridge based on the information in the received BPDUs. This port is + designated as the root port. And it is in the Forwarding state, allowing + it to actively forward network traffic. + 8. Designated ports: A designated port is the port through which the non-root + bridge will forward traffic towards the designated segment. Designated ports + are placed in the Forwarding state. All other ports on the non-root + bridge that are not designated for specific segments are placed in the + Blocking state to prevent network loops. + +STP ensures network convergence by calculating the shortest path and disabling +redundant links. When network topology changes occur (e.g., a link failure), +STP recalculates the network topology to restore connectivity while avoiding loops. + +Proper configuration of STP parameters, such as the bridge priority, can +influence network performance, path selection and which bridge becomes the +Root Bridge. + +User space STP helper +--------------------- + +The user space STP helper *bridge-stp* is a program to control whether to use +user mode spanning tree. The ``/sbin/bridge-stp <bridge> <start|stop>`` is +called by the kernel when STP is enabled/disabled on a bridge +(via ``brctl stp <bridge> <on|off>`` or ``ip link set <bridge> type bridge +stp_state <0|1>``). The kernel enables user_stp mode if that command returns +0, or enables kernel_stp mode if that command returns any other value. + +STP mode selection +------------------ + +The ``IFLA_BR_STP_MODE`` bridge attribute allows explicit control over how +STP operates when enabled, bypassing the ``/sbin/bridge-stp`` helper +entirely for the ``user`` and ``kernel`` modes. + +.. kernel-doc:: include/uapi/linux/if_link.h + :doc: Bridge STP mode values + +The default mode is ``BR_STP_MODE_AUTO``, which preserves the traditional +behavior of invoking the ``/sbin/bridge-stp`` helper. The ``user`` and +``kernel`` modes are particularly useful in network namespace environments +where the helper mechanism is not available, as ``call_usermodehelper()`` +is restricted to the initial network namespace. + +Example:: + + ip link set dev br0 type bridge stp_mode user stp_state 1 + +The mode can only be changed while STP is disabled. + +VLAN +==== + +A LAN (Local Area Network) is a network that covers a small geographic area, +typically within a single building or a campus. LANs are used to connect +computers, servers, printers, and other networked devices within a localized +area. LANs can be wired (using Ethernet cables) or wireless (using Wi-Fi). + +A VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) is a logical segmentation of a physical +network into multiple isolated broadcast domains. VLANs are used to divide +a single physical LAN into multiple virtual LANs, allowing different groups of +devices to communicate as if they were on separate physical networks. + +Typically there are two VLAN implementations, IEEE 802.1Q and IEEE 802.1ad +(also known as QinQ). IEEE 802.1Q is a standard for VLAN tagging in Ethernet +networks. It allows network administrators to create logical VLANs on a +physical network and tag Ethernet frames with VLAN information, which is +called *VLAN-tagged frames*. IEEE 802.1ad, commonly known as QinQ or Double +VLAN, is an extension of the IEEE 802.1Q standard. QinQ allows for the +stacking of multiple VLAN tags within a single Ethernet frame. The Linux +bridge supports both the IEEE 802.1Q and `802.1AD +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/1402401565-15423-1-git-send-email-makita.toshiaki@lab.ntt.co.jp/>`_ +protocol for VLAN tagging. + +`VLAN filtering <https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/1360792820-14116-1-git-send-email-vyasevic@redhat.com/>`_ +on a bridge is disabled by default. After enabling VLAN filtering on a bridge, +it will start forwarding frames to appropriate destinations based on their +destination MAC address and VLAN tag (both must match). + +Multicast +========= + +The Linux bridge driver has multicast support allowing it to process Internet +Group Management Protocol (IGMP) or Multicast Listener Discovery (MLD) +messages, and to efficiently forward multicast data packets. The bridge +driver supports IGMPv2/IGMPv3 and MLDv1/MLDv2. + +Multicast snooping +------------------ + +Multicast snooping is a networking technology that allows network switches +to intelligently manage multicast traffic within a local area network (LAN). + +The switch maintains a multicast group table, which records the association +between multicast group addresses and the ports where hosts have joined these +groups. The group table is dynamically updated based on the IGMP/MLD messages +received. With the multicast group information gathered through snooping, the +switch optimizes the forwarding of multicast traffic. Instead of blindly +broadcasting the multicast traffic to all ports, it sends the multicast +traffic based on the destination MAC address only to ports which have +subscribed the respective destination multicast group. + +When created, the Linux bridge devices have multicast snooping enabled by +default. It maintains a Multicast forwarding database (MDB) which keeps track +of port and group relationships. + +IGMPv3/MLDv2 EHT support +------------------------ + +The Linux bridge supports IGMPv3/MLDv2 EHT (Explicit Host Tracking), which +was added by `474ddb37fa3a ("net: bridge: multicast: add EHT allow/block handling") +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20210120145203.1109140-1-razor@blackwall.org/>`_ + +The explicit host tracking enables the device to keep track of each +individual host that is joined to a particular group or channel. The main +benefit of the explicit host tracking in IGMP is to allow minimal leave +latencies when a host leaves a multicast group or channel. + +The length of time between a host wanting to leave and a device stopping +traffic forwarding is called the IGMP leave latency. A device configured +with IGMPv3 or MLDv2 and explicit tracking can immediately stop forwarding +traffic if the last host to request to receive traffic from the device +indicates that it no longer wants to receive traffic. The leave latency +is thus bound only by the packet transmission latencies in the multiaccess +network and the processing time in the device. + +Other multicast features +------------------------ + +The Linux bridge also supports `per-VLAN multicast snooping +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20210719170637.435541-1-razor@blackwall.org/>`_, +which is disabled by default but can be enabled. And `Multicast Router Discovery +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20190121062628.2710-1-linus.luessing@c0d3.blue/>`_, +which help identify the location of multicast routers. + +Switchdev +========= + +Linux Bridge Switchdev is a feature in the Linux kernel that extends the +capabilities of the traditional Linux bridge to work more efficiently with +hardware switches that support switchdev. With Linux Bridge Switchdev, certain +networking functions like forwarding, filtering, and learning of Ethernet +frames can be offloaded to a hardware switch. This offloading reduces the +burden on the Linux kernel and CPU, leading to improved network performance +and lower latency. + +To use Linux Bridge Switchdev, you need hardware switches that support the +switchdev interface. This means that the switch hardware needs to have the +necessary drivers and functionality to work in conjunction with the Linux +kernel. + +Please see the :ref:`switchdev` document for more details. + +Netfilter +========= + +The bridge netfilter module is a legacy feature that allows to filter bridged +packets with iptables and ip6tables. Its use is discouraged. Users should +consider using nftables for packet filtering. + +The older ebtables tool is more feature-limited compared to nftables, but +just like nftables it doesn't need this module either to function. + +The br_netfilter module intercepts packets entering the bridge, performs +minimal sanity tests on ipv4 and ipv6 packets and then pretends that +these packets are being routed, not bridged. br_netfilter then calls +the ip and ipv6 netfilter hooks from the bridge layer, i.e. ip(6)tables +rulesets will also see these packets. + +br_netfilter is also the reason for the iptables *physdev* match: +This match is the only way to reliably tell routed and bridged packets +apart in an iptables ruleset. + +Note that ebtables and nftables will work fine without the br_netfilter module. +iptables/ip6tables/arptables do not work for bridged traffic because they +plug in the routing stack. nftables rules in ip/ip6/inet/arp families won't +see traffic that is forwarded by a bridge either, but that's very much how it +should be. + +Historically the feature set of ebtables was very limited (it still is), +this module was added to pretend packets are routed and invoke the ipv4/ipv6 +netfilter hooks from the bridge so users had access to the more feature-rich +iptables matching capabilities (including conntrack). nftables doesn't have +this limitation, pretty much all features work regardless of the protocol family. + +So, br_netfilter is only needed if users, for some reason, need to use +ip(6)tables to filter packets forwarded by the bridge, or NAT bridged +traffic. For pure link layer filtering, this module isn't needed. + +Other Features +============== + +The Linux bridge also supports `IEEE 802.11 Proxy ARP +<https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?id=958501163ddd6ea22a98f94fa0e7ce6d4734e5c4>`_, +`Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20200426132208.3232-1-horatiu.vultur@microchip.com/>`_, +`Media Redundancy Protocol (MRP) LC mode +<https://lore.kernel.org/r/20201124082525.273820-1-horatiu.vultur@microchip.com>`_, +`IEEE 802.1X port authentication +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20220218155148.2329797-1-schultz.hans+netdev@gmail.com/>`_, +and `MAC Authentication Bypass (MAB) +<https://lore.kernel.org/netdev/20221101193922.2125323-2-idosch@nvidia.com/>`_. + +FAQ +=== + +What does a bridge do? +---------------------- + +A bridge transparently forwards traffic between multiple network interfaces. +In plain English this means that a bridge connects two or more physical +Ethernet networks, to form one larger (logical) Ethernet network. + +Is it L3 protocol independent? +------------------------------ + +Yes. The bridge sees all frames, but it *uses* only L2 headers/information. +As such, the bridging functionality is protocol independent, and there should +be no trouble forwarding IPX, NetBEUI, IP, IPv6, etc. + +Contact Info +============ + +The code is currently maintained by Roopa Prabhu <roopa@nvidia.com> and +Nikolay Aleksandrov <razor@blackwall.org>. Bridge bugs and enhancements +are discussed on the linux-netdev mailing list netdev@vger.kernel.org and +bridge@lists.linux.dev. + +The list is open to anyone interested: http://vger.kernel.org/vger-lists.html#netdev + +External Links +============== + +The old Documentation for Linux bridging is on: +https://wiki.linuxfoundation.org/networking/bridge |
