Session Aging
Session aging is enabled by default, and all sessions are monitored for inactivity so that they can be purged when they are inactive for longer periods of time to conserve resources.
Aging for Permitted MAC Addresses
Aging for a permitted or non-blocked MAC address occurs in two phases, known as MAC aging and software aging.
The MAC aging time for non-blocked MAC addresses
is the length of time specified with the mac-age-time command.
The software aging period for non-blocked MAC addresses is configurable, using
the
max-sw-age
command (the default is 120 seconds). When the MAC aging period ends, the software
aging period begins. When the software aging period ends, the session is aged
out.
Aging for Denied MAC Addresses
Software aging is not applicable for blocked MAC addresses. The hardware aging period
for blocked MAC addresses is set to 70 seconds by default, and it can be configured
using the
max-hw-age command. Once the hardware aging period ends, the blocked MAC address ages out so
that the session is deleted and can be authenticated again if the ICX device receives
traffic from the MAC address.
Disabling MAC Address Aging
Aging can be disabled for all MAC sessions globally or at the interface level to prevent the MAC sessions from being aged out.
You can disable aging of either the permitted
(authenticated and restricted) sessions or the denied sessions. If disable-aging is
configured for permitted MAC sessions, only the permitted sessions are prevented
from being aged out, while the denied sessions age out after the hardware aging
period. If disable-aging is configured for denied sessions, only the denied
sessions are prevented from being aged out, while the permitted sessions age out
based on the MAC aging interval configured using the mac-age-time command
plus the software aging period.