The Right Way to Disable MLS

The Right Way to Disable MLS
The correct way to disable MLS depends on the equipment that you are using. Disabling MLS
on a router can be paralleled with disabling MLS on an MSFC for a 6500 series switch. The
command is similar: no mls rp ip issued from the interface. To disable MLS completely, you
can issue the same command from global configuration mode. The consequences of this action
vary depending on the system on which it is issued. When the command is issued on the router,
the router alone disables MLS. When it’s issued on an MSFC, MLS is disabled on the MSFC
and the switch itself.
VLAN 10
Host A
00-f3-81-01-02-b3
Host D
00-f3-81-03-f3-b1
VLAN 50
FE0/0.10
08-01-fb-05-06-4f 08-01-fb-05-6e-51
FE0/0.50
10 08-01-fb-05-06-4f 00-f3-81-01-02-b3
Ethernet header
Destination Source MAC
MAC
Initial Header Information
VLAN
assignment
value
ISL header
50 00-f3-81-03-f3-b1 08-01-fb-05-6e-51
Ethernet header
Destination Source MAC
MAC
VLAN
assignment
value
ISL header
564 Chapter 18  Multilayer Switching (MLS)
MLS is enabled by default for IP traffic and disabled for IPX. To disable MLS on a 6000/
6500 series switch, MLS should be disabled by issuing the no mls ip command on the MSFC.