How to Configure Flood Control


Flood Control provides rate limiting capabilities to CoS to enable certain types of flooded traffic to be dropped. The flood control traffic types are:

  • unknown - unicast
  • multicast
  • broadcast

When Flood Control is enabled, incoming traffic is monitored over one second intervals. A traffic control rate sets the acceptable flow for each type, specified in packets per second. If, during a one second interval, the incoming traffic of a configured type reaches the traffic control rate on the port, the traffic is dropped until the interval ends. Packets are then permitted to flow again until the limit is reached.

By default, Flood Control is disabled for each CoS. Similarly to CoS Port Groups, a different configuration can be assigned for each group. Since Flood Control is shared across all CoS, when Flood Control is enabled on at least one CoS, those rates apply to all ports that have Flood Control enabled.

How to Display Flood Control Port Groups on the CoS Components Tab

  1. Select the CoS Components left-panel tab on the Class of Service left-panel tab. The CoS Configuration tab opens.
  2. Verify that the Flood Control checkbox is selected.

How to Create a Flood Control Port Group

  1. From the left-panel menu, open the CoS Components tab and select the Flood Control Port Groups tab.
  2. Right-click the Flood Control Port Groups tab and select Create Port Groups.
  3. In the Create window, enter a name for the Flood Control Port Group and select OK. A New Flood Control item is added to the CoS Configuration Window.

How to Enable/Disable Flood Control for a CoS

Flood Control Rate Limits are shared across all CoS. When a Flood Control rate has been enabled on at least one CoS, that is the rate specified for all Flood Control enabled CoS.

  1. Open the Flood Control Port Groups tab (Class of Service > CoS Components tab) and select a Port Group.
  2. Select a rate from the drop-down list for the desired Flood Control broadcast traffic type Unicast, Multicast, or Broadcast.
  3. Select an existing rate or create a new one.
  4. Open a CoS in the Class of Service left-panel tab, and enable Flood Control for the CoS by selecting the Enable in the Flood Ctrl Status drop-down list.

How to Add/Remove Ports to Flood Control Port Groups

  1. From the Class of Service left-panel tab, select the CoS Components > Flood Control Port Groups tab.
  2. Right-click a Flood Control Port Group, and select Add/Remove Ports.
  3. Add or remove the ports in the Add/Remove Ports window.

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