1-6Setting the Aging Time of MAC Address EntriesSetting aging time properly helps effective utilization of MAC address aging. The aging time that is toolong or too short affects the performance of the device.z If the aging time is too long, excessive invalid MAC address entries maintained by the device mayfill up the MAC address table. This prevents the MAC address table from being updated withnetwork changes in time.z If the aging time is too short, the device may remove valid MAC address entries. This decreasesthe forwarding performance of the device.Follow these steps to set the aging time of MAC address entries:To do… Use the command… RemarksEnter system view system-view —Set the aging time of MACaddress entriesmac-address timer { agingage | no-aging }RequiredThe default aging time is 300seconds.Normally, you are recommended to use the default aging time, namely, 300 seconds. The no-agingkeyword specifies that MAC address entries do not age out.MAC address aging configuration applies to all ports, but only takes effect on dynamic MAC addressesthat are learnt or configured to age.Setting the Maximum Number of MAC Addresses a Port Can LearnThe MAC address learning mechanism enables the device to acquire the MAC addresses of thenetwork devices on the segment connected to the ports of the device. By searching the MAC addresstable, the device directly forwards the packets destined for these MAC addresses through the hardware,improving the forwarding efficiency. A MAC address table too big in size may prolong the time forsearching MAC address entries, thus decreasing the forwarding performance of the device.By setting the maximum number of MAC addresses that can be learned from individual ports, theadministrator can control the number of the MAC address entries the MAC address table candynamically maintain. When the number of the MAC address entries learnt from a port reaches the setvalue, the port stops learning MAC addresses.Follow these steps to set the maximum number of MAC addresses a port can learn:To do… Use the command… RemarksEnter system view system-view —Enter Ethernet port view interface interface-typeinterface-number —
