Rickard Nobel wrote:
StefanWalther wrote:
I assumed that a switch needs to have the ability to enter a static arp in order to work with MultiCast NLB.
It should from my understanding only need to be set at the router. This is because a RFC compliant router should not by default listen to ARP reply connecting an ordinary IP address (class A, B or C) to a multicast ethernet address. By setting the static ARP you override this default behavior.
However, a switch that is only a switch, that is a layer two device, should not need to have any static ARP posts, because the ARP resolution is IP to MAC, which a switch does not need to worry about.
There is still a requirement to configure an ARP entry on your switch and assign it to a port as per the poster's concern. Although things will work with only the router configured, as the switch will never learn the right port, it will behave like a "hub" and flood all ports until you configure that MAC address to port mapping.
The issue isn't so much that it's required, but that the view that even high end switches don't support this.
You're moving into $30 territory as per MKguy's point.
Supporting Unicast will just buy you grief. I understand your point, you want it to work everywhere. Your only reliable option are to mandate decent switches or to do away with NLB altogether.