CHAPTER 60

Configuring Storm Control

This chapter describes how to configure port-based traffic control on a switch and consists of these
sections:
• About Storm Control, page 60-1
• Enabling Broadcast Storm Control, page 60-3
• Enabling Multicast Storm Control, page 60-4
• Disabling Broadcast Storm Control, page 60-5
• Disabling Multicast Storm Control, page 60-6
• Displaying Storm Control, page 60-6

Note For complete syntax and usage information for the switch commands used in this chapter, see the
Cisco IOS Command Reference Guides for the Catalyst 4500 Series Switch.

If a command is not in the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series Switch Command Reference , you can locate it in
the Cisco IOS Master Command List, All Releases.

About Storm Control

This section contains the following subsections:
• Hardware-Based Storm Control Implementation, page 60-1
• Software-Based Storm Control Implementation, page 60-2
Storm control prevents LAN interfaces from being disrupted by a broadcast storm. A broadcast storm
occurs when broadcast packets flood the subnet, creating excessive traffic and degrading network
performance. Errors in the protocol-stack implementation or in the network configuration can cause a
broadcast storm.

Hardware-Based Storm Control Implementation

Broadcast suppression uses filtering that measures broadcast activity in a subnet over a one-second
interval and compares the measurement with a predefined threshold. If the threshold is reached, further
broadcast activity is suppressed for the duration of the interval. Broadcast suppression is disabled by
default.

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-1
 Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
About Storm Control

Figure 60-1 shows the broadcast traffic patterns on a LAN interface over a given interval. In this
example, broadcast suppression occurs between times T1 and T2 and between T4 and T5. During those
intervals, the amount of broadcast traffic exceeded the configured threshold.

Figure 60-1 Storm Control Example—Hardware-based Implementation

Total
number of
Threshold
broadcast
packets
or bytes

S5706
0 T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 Time

The broadcast suppression threshold numbers and the time interval combination make the broadcast
suppression algorithm work with different levels of granularity. A higher threshold allows more
broadcast packets to pass through.
Broadcast suppression on the Catalyst 4500 series switches is implemented in hardware. The
suppression circuitry monitors packets passing from a LAN interface to the switching bus. If the packet
destination address is broadcast, then the broadcast suppression circuitry tracks the current count of
broadcasts within the one-second interval, and when a threshold is reached, it filters out subsequent
broadcast packets.
Because hardware broadcast suppression uses a bandwidth-based method to measure broadcast activity,
the most significant implementation factor is setting the percentage of total available bandwidth that can
be used by broadcast traffic. Because packets do not arrive at uniform intervals, the one-second interval
during which broadcast activity is measured can affect the behavior of broadcast suppression.

Software-Based Storm Control Implementation

When storm control is enabled on an interface, the switch monitors packets received on the interface and
determines whether the packets are broadcast. The switch monitors the number of broadcast packets
received within a one-second time interval. When the interface threshold is met, all incoming data traffic
on the interface is dropped. This threshold is specified as a percentage of total available bandwidth that
can be used by broadcast traffic. If the lower threshold is specified, all data traffic is forwarded as soon
as the incoming traffic falls below that threshold.

Note A Cisco Catalyst 4500-X series switch checks for a broadcast storm in real-time, too. When a broadcast
storm occurs on a Cisco Catalyst 4500-X series switch and the threshold is reached within a fraction of
a second, the broadcast is suppressed. This behavior on Cisco Catalyst 4500-X series switches is in
addition to the hardware-based and software-based storm control described earlier.

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-2
 Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
Enabling Broadcast Storm Control

Enabling Broadcast Storm Control

To enable storm control, perform this task:

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 Switch# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Switch(config)# interface interface-id Enters interface configuration mode and enters the port to configure.
Step 3 Switch(config-if)# storm-control Configures broadcast storm control. The keywords and arguments
broadcast level {high-level | bps bps are described here.
[k | m | g] | pps pps [k | m | g]}
• high-level—Specifies the upper threshold levels for broadcast
traffic as a percentage (up to two decimal places) of the
bandwidth. The port blocks traffic that exceeds this level. The
range is from 0 to 100.

Note For the Catalyst 4500-X Series Switch, on ports

operating at 1Gigabit, thresholds less than 0.02% are not
supported.

• bps bps—Specifies the threshold level for broadcast traffic in

bits per second (bps) (up to one decimal place). The port blocks
only the traffic that exceeds this level. The range is 0.0 to
10000000000.0.
• pps pps—Specifies the threshold level for broadcast traffic in
packets per second (pps) (up to one decimal place). The port
blocks all traffic when traffic utilization exceeds this level. The
range is 0.0 to 10000000000.0.
• (Optional) [k | m | g]—Specifies the metric suffixes for large
number thresholds, in bps and pps settings.
Step 4 Switch(config-if)# storm-control action Specifies the action to be taken when a storm is detected.
{shutdown | trap}
The default is to filter out the broadcast traffic and not to send out
traps.
The shutdown keyword sets the port to the error-disable state during
a storm. If the recover interval is not set, the port remains in
shutdown state.
Step 5 Switch(config-if)# exit Returns to configuration mode.
Step 6 Switch(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 7 Switch# show storm-control [interface] Displays the number of packets suppressed.
broadcast
Step 8 Switch# copy running-config (Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.
startup-config

This example shows how to enable storm control on an interface and verify configuration:
Switch# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Switch(config)# interface gigabitethernet 2/1
Switch(config-if)# storm-control broadcast level bps 100k

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-3
 Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
Enabling Multicast Storm Control

Switch(config-if)# end

Switch# show storm-control gigabitethernet 2/1

Interface Filter State Broadcast Multicast Level
--------- ------------- --------- --------- -----
Gi2/1 Link Down Enabled Disabled 100k bps

Switch# show interfaces counters storm-control

Port Broadcast Multicast Level TotalSuppressedPackets
Gi2/1 Enabled Disabled 100k bps 0

Switch# show interface gigabitethernet 2/1 capabilities

GigabitEthernet2/1
Model: WS-X4648-RJ45V+E-RJ-45
Type: 10/100/1000-TX
Speed: 10,100,1000,auto
Duplex: half,full,auto
Auto-MDIX: yes
EEE: no
Trunk encap. type: 802.1Q
Trunk mode: on,off,desirable,nonegotiate
Channel: yes
Broadcast suppression: percentage(0-100), hw
Multicast suppression: percentage(0-100), hw
Flowcontrol: rx-(off,on,desired),tx-(off,on,desired)
VLAN Membership: static, dynamic
Fast Start: yes
CoS rewrite: yes
ToS rewrite: yes
Inline power: yes (Cisco Voice Protocol/IEEE Protocol 802.3af)
SPAN: source/destination
UDLD: yes
Link Debounce: no
Link Debounce Time: no
Port Security: yes
Dot1x: yes
Maximum MTU: 9198 bytes (Jumbo Frames)
Multiple Media Types: no
Diagnostic Monitoring: N/A

Enabling Multicast Storm Control

Per-interface multicast suppression, which allows you to subject incoming multicast and broadcast
traffic to interface-level suppression.

Note Multicast and broadcast suppression share a common threshold per interface. Multicast suppression
takes effect only if broadcast suppression is enabled. Disabling broadcast suppression on an interface
also disables multicast suppression.

To enable multicast suppression, perform this task:

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 Switch# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Switch(config)# interface interface-id Enters interface configuration mode and specifies the port to be
configured.

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-4
 Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
Disabling Broadcast Storm Control

Command or Action Purpose

Step 3 Switch(config-if)# storm-control Enables multicast suppression.
broadcast include multicast
Step 4 Switch(config-if)# exit Returns to configuration mode.
Step 5 Switch(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 6 Switch# show storm-control [interface] Verifies the configuration.
multicast

This example shows how to enable multicast suppression on ports that already have broadcast
suppression enabled:
Switch# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Switch(config)# interface gigabitethernet 2/1
Switch(config-if)# storm-control broadcast include multicast
Switch(config-if)# end

Switch# show storm-control gigabitethernet 2/1

Interface Filter State Broadcast Multicast Level
--------- ------------- --------- --------- -----
Gi2/1 Forwarding Enabled Enabled 50.00%

Switch# show interface counters storm-control

Port Broadcast Multicast Level TotalSuppressedPackets
Gi2/1 Enabled Enabled 50.00% 0

Disabling Broadcast Storm Control

To disable storm control, perform this task:

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 Switch# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Switch(config)# interface interface-id Enters interface configuration mode and specifies the port to
be configured.
Step 3 Switch(config-if)# no storm-control Disables port storm control.
broadcast level
Step 4 Switch(config-if)# no storm-control action Disables the specified storm control action and returns to
{shutdown | trap} default filter action.
Step 5 Switch(config-if)# exit Returns to configuration mode.
Step 6 Switch(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 7 Switch# show storm-control broadcast Verifies your entries.
Step 8 Switch# copy running-config startup-config (Optional) Saves your entries in the configuration file.

This example shows how to enable multicast suppression on ports that already have broadcast
suppression enabled:
Switch# configure terminal
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Switch(config)# interface gigabitethernet 2/1

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-5
 Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
Disabling Multicast Storm Control

Switch(config-if)# storm-control broadcast include multicast

Switch(config-if)# end

Switch# show storm-control gigabitethernet 2/1

Interface Filter State Broadcast Multicast Level
--------- ------------- --------- --------- -----
Gi2/1 Forwarding Enabled Enabled 50.00%

Switch# show interface counters storm-control

Port Broadcast Multicast Level TotalSuppressedPackets
Gi2/1 Enabled Enabled 50.00% 0

Disabling Multicast Storm Control

To disable multicast suppression, perform this task:

Command or Action Purpose

Step 1 Switch# configure terminal Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2 Switch(config)# [no] storm-control Enables and disables multicast suppression.
broadcast include multicast
Step 3 Switch(config-if)# no storm-control Disables port storm control (broadcast and multicast).
broadcast level
Step 4 Switch(config-if)# exit Returns to configuration mode.
Step 5 Switch(config)# end Returns to privileged EXEC mode.

Displaying Storm Control

Use the show interface capabilities command to determine the mode in which storm control is
supported in an interface.
This example shows how an interface that supports broadcast suppression in software:
Switch# show interface gigabitethernet 2/1 capabilities
GigabitEthernet2/1
Model: WS-X4648-RJ45V-E-RJ-45
Type: 10/100/1000-TX
Speed: 10,100,1000,auto
Duplex: half,full,auto
Auto-MDIX: yes
EEE: no
Trunk encap. type: 802.1Q
Trunk mode: on,off,desirable,nonegotiate
Channel: yes
Broadcast suppression: percentage(0-100), hw
Multicast suppression: percentage(0-100), hw
Flowcontrol: rx-(off,on,desired),tx-(off,on,desired)
VLAN Membership: static, dynamic
Fast Start: yes
CoS rewrite: yes
ToS rewrite: yes
Inline power: yes (Cisco Voice Protocol/IEEE Protocol 802.3af)
SPAN: source/destination
UDLD: yes

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-6
Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
Displaying Storm Control

Link Debounce: no
Link Debounce Time: no
Port Security: yes
Dot1x: yes
Maximum MTU: 9198 bytes (Jumbo Frames)
Multiple Media Types: no
Diagnostic Monitoring: N/A

Use the show interfaces counters storm-control command to display a count of discarded packets.
Switch# show interfaces counters storm-control
Port Broadcast Multicast Level TotalSuppressedPackets
Fa3/1 Enabled Disabled 10.00% 46516510
Gi2/1 Enabled Enabled 50.00% 0

Switch# show storm-control

Interface Filter State Broadcast Multicast Level
--------- ------------- --------- --------- -----
Fa3/1 Blocking Enabled Disabled 10.00%
Gi2/1 Link Down Enabled Enabled 50.00%

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-7
 Chapter 60 Configuring Storm Control
Displaying Storm Control

Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide - Cisco IOS XE 3.8.xE and IOS 15.2(4)Ex
60-8