Remote mirroring endpoint and intermediate devices

The remote mirroring endpoint that is used in a remote mirroring session must be an switch that supports the mirroring functions described in this chapter. (A remote mirroring endpoint consists of the remote switch and exit port connected to a destination device.) Because remote mirroring on an switch uses IPv4 to encapsulate mirrored traffic sent to a remote endpoint switch, the intermediate switches and routers in a layer 2/3 domain can be from any vendor if they support IPv4.

The following restrictions apply to remote endpoint switches and intermediate devices in a network configured for traffic mirroring:

• The exit port for a mirroring destination must be an individual port and not a trunk, mesh, or VLAN interface.

• A switch mirrors traffic on static trunks, but not on dynamic LACP trunks.

• A switch mirrors traffic at line rate. When mirroring multiple interfaces in networks with high-traffic levels, it is possible to copy more traffic to a mirroring destination than the link supports. However, some mirrored traffic may not reach the destination. If you are mirroring a high-traffic volume, you can reduce the risk of oversubscribing a single exit port by:

  • Directing traffic from different session sources to multiple exit ports.

  • Configuring an exit port with a higher bandwidth than the monitored source port.