Re: [PATCH] net: bridge: vxlan: Protocol field in bridge fdb

[Ido Schimmel <idosch@idosch.org>]

+ Nik

Please use scripts/get_maintainer.pl when submitting a patch.

On Mon, Aug 18, 2025 at 05:52:58PM +0000, Mrinmoy Ghosh wrote:
> This is to add optional "protocol" field for bridge fdb entries.
> The introduction of the 'protocol' field in the bridge FDB for EVPN Multihome, addresses the need to distinguish between MAC addresses learned via the control plane and those learned via the data plane with data plane aging. Specifically:
> * A MAC address in an EVPN Multihome environment can be learned either through the control plane (static MAC) or the data plane (dynamic MAC with aging).
> * The 'protocol' field uses values such as 'HW' for data plane dynamic MACs and 'ZEBRA' for control plane static MACs.
> * This distinction allows the application to manage the MAC address state machine effectively during transitions, which can occur due to traffic hashing between EVPN Multihome peers or mobility of MAC addresses across EVPN peers.
> * By identifying the source of the MAC learning (control plane vs. data plane), the system can handle MAC aging and mobility more accurately, ensuring synchronization between control and data planes and improving stability and reliability in MAC route handling.
> 
> This mechanism supports the complex state transitions and synchronization required in EVPN Multihome scenarios, where MAC addresses may move or be learned differently depending on network events and traffic patterns.

[...]

> Signed-off-by: Mrinmoy Ghosh <mrghosh@cisco.com>
> Co-authored-by: Mrinmoy Ghosh <mrinmoy_g@hotmail.com>
> Co-authored-by: Patrice Brissette <pbrisset@cisco.com>
> ---
>  drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_core.c      | 132 ++++++++++++++--------------
>  drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_private.h   |  21 +++--
>  drivers/net/vxlan/vxlan_vnifilter.c |  11 +--
>  net/bridge/br.c                     |   4 +-
>  net/bridge/br_fdb.c                 |  52 ++++++++---
>  net/bridge/br_private.h             |   5 +-
>  6 files changed, 127 insertions(+), 98 deletions(-)

Please read these two documents and make changes accordingly before
submitting a new version:

https://docs.kernel.org/process/submitting-patches.html
https://docs.kernel.org/process/maintainer-netdev.html

At the very least the patch should be split to a bridge patch and a
VXLAN patch. I will provide more comments later this week.

Thanks