User's Manual

Managing Switches
Configuring Switch Features
13-17
Figure 13-9. Monitoring Selected Ports on a Switch
Setting Device Features
The Device Features page (only found on switches) lets you set some or all of
these features:
■ Automatic Broadcast Control (ABC)—ABC reduces the number of broad-
casts propagated through the network. See Automatic Broadcast
Control for further discussion of this feature.
■ Multicast Filtering (IGMP)—The Internet Group Management Protocol is
a method for automatically controlling multicast traffic through the
network. Using multicasting, applications can send one copy of a packet
addressed to a group of computers that wish to receive it. This method is
more efficient than sending a separate copy to each node, and saves
bandwidth when large transmissions such as video are sent across the
network. See Internet Group Management Protocol
for further
discussion of this feature.
■ Spanning Tree—Spanning Tree is used to detect and break circular traffic
patterns by disabling certain links. It prevents loops in redundant switches
by maintaining the secondary switch as a backup.