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Traffic Forwarding Modes
In ArubaOS 10, APs bridge or tunnel the client traffic locally by the APs to a primary cluster. The following traffic forwarding modes determine the client traffic forwarded by the APs, which are configured in each WLAN Wireless Local Area Network. WLAN is a 802.11 standards-based LAN that the users access through a wireless connection. and downlink-wired port profile:
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Bridge: APs will bridge client traffic out their uplink interface on the desired VLAN Virtual Local Area Network. In computer networking, a single Layer 2 network may be partitioned to create multiple distinct broadcast domains, which are mutually isolated so that packets can only pass between them through one or more routers; such a domain is referred to as a Virtual Local Area Network, Virtual LAN, or VLAN..
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Tunnel: APs will tunnel client traffic to a primary cluster on the desired VLAN.
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Mixed: The AP will bridge or tunnel client traffic based on VLAN assignment.
The following traffic forwarding mode configured in each profile determines whether the APs or the gateways are the authenticators and where the VLAN and user-role assignment decisions are made:
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Bridge forwarding mode: APs are the authenticators and determine the static or dynamic VLAN and user role assignment for each client.
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Tunnel or mixed forwarding mode: Gateways are the authenticators and determine the static or dynamic VLAN and user role assignments for each client.
For mixed forwarding, the assigned VLAN ID determines if the client’s traffic is bridged locally by the AP or tunneled to a primary cluster. Client traffic is bridged if the assigned VLAN is not present within the assigned primary cluster and is tunneled if the VLAN is present within the assigned primary cluster.
The traffic forwarding modes are flexible permitting wireless client traffic to be bridged or tunneled as needed. Selecting the Bridge or Tunnel forwarding mode will exclusively configure the forwarding mode of the WLAN profile to the specified forwarding mode. Mixed forwarding permits both forwarding types but requires dedicated VLANs to be implemented for bridged and tunneled clients. A profile configured for bridge forwarding cannot tunnel user traffic, and vice versa.
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