The vBridge provides the bridge function that transfers a packet to the intended virtual port according to the destination MAC address. The vBridge looks up the MAC address table and transmits the packet to the corresponding virtual interface when the destination MAC address has been learned. When the destination MAC address has not been learned, it transmits the packet to all virtual interfaces other than the receiving port (flooding). MAC addresses are learned as follows.
- MAC address learning The vBridge learns the MAC address of the connected host. The source MAC address of each received frame is mapped to the receiving virtual interface, and this MAC address is stored in the MAC address table created on a per-vBridge basis.
- MAC address aging The MAC address stored in the MAC address table is retained as long as the host returns the ARP reply. After the host is disconnected, the address is retained until the aging timer times out. To have the vBridge learn MAC addresses statically, you can register MAC addresses manually.
