gutherz@fs06.nas.nasa.gov (Matthew J. Gutherz) (07/06/90)
This is a question about forwarding directed broadcasts. I do know this can dangerous. Does the hardware destination have any effect on directed broadcast forwarding? Will the router only forward directed broadcasts that are directed to one of its interfaces or will it also forward broadcasts that come in with the hardward broadcast address (FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF) ? Matt
satz@cisco.com (Greg Satz) (07/06/90)
The hardware (MAC) address will determine who receives a packet. The network layer address (IP) will determine how that packet is handled and where it is routed. To be a directed broadcast only implies that the IP destination address contains a well formed IP network number in the network part and all ones or all zeros (originating host preference) in the host part. The network mask determines what are network and host parts. To answer your question, no. The hardware address has no bearing on whether a directed broadcast will be forwarded. A directed broadcast is only broadcast on its final hop. Up until then, it is treated like any other unicast packet. Greg Satz cisco