LLDP is used by systems in a local area network (LAN) to exchange configuration and management information with each other. With this protocol, a system can advertise connectivity and management information to other systems on the network. This information can include system capabilities, management addresses, and other information relevant to network operations. This protocol also enables systems to receive similar information about other systems that are on the same local network.
On any LAN, individual components such as systems and switches are not configured in isolation. To host network traffic efficiently, the configuration of systems on the network must be coordinated with each other.
When you manually configure each system, switch, and other components, ensuring compatibility among the components is a challenge. The manual configuration of systems is risky and can easily cause misconfigurations, particularly if different administrators work independently on different systems. A better alternative is to use LLDP, which enables systems to transmit their individual configuration information to peer systems and helps to detect any misconfigurations.
Oracle Solaris supports the use of LLDP to promote the exchange of system and network connectivity information between systems on the network, which reduces the risk of misconfigured network resources.
In this release, LLDP is used by the network diagnostics service to automatically detect problems that could lead to limited or degraded network connectivity, or both. Enabling the LLDP service enhances the ability to perform network diagnostics on your Oracle Solaris system. For more information about network diagnostics, see Chapter 4, Performing Network Diagnostics With the network-monitor Transport Module Utility, in Troubleshooting Network Administration Issues in Oracle Solaris 11.2 .
In Oracle Solaris, LLDP is also used to exchange data center bridging exchange protocol (DCBX) Type-Length-Value (TLV) units. DCBX provides configuration information about DCB features such as priority-based flow control (PFC) and enhanced transmission selection (ETS). For more information about DCB, see Chapter 6, Managing Converged Networks by Using Data Center Bridging.
With LLDP, the system administrator can easily detect faulty system configurations, particularly in complex networks such as virtual local area networks (VLANs) and link aggregations. Information about the network topology can be obtained readily without having to trace physical connections between servers, switches, and other devices that comprise the network.