Switch Storm Control Configuration

Dashboard Location: Switching > Configure > Switch Settings > Storm Control

Network Traffic Flood Protection

Switch storm control configuration in Meraki networks provides administrators with comprehensive network protection against traffic flooding scenarios, enabling broadcast storm prevention, multicast flood mitigation, unknown unicast control, and network stability maintenance. This functionality supports threshold-based traffic limiting, automatic suppression mechanisms, network performance protection, and operational continuity assurance. Storm control is essential for preventing network outages, maintaining bandwidth availability, protecting network resources, and ensuring reliable network operations in enterprise environments.

Diagram

Classes

switch (meraki.domains.organizations.networks)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
storm_control	Class	`[storm_control]`	No

storm_control (meraki.domains.organizations.networks.switch)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
broadcast_threshold	Integer	min: `1`, max: `99`	No
multicast_threshold	Integer	min: `1`, max: `99`	No
unknown_unicast_threshold	Integer	min: `1`, max: `99`	No
treat_these_traffic_types_as_one_threshold	List	Choice[`broadcast`, `multicast`]	No

Examples

Example-1: The example below demonstrates switch storm control configuration using tested YAML configuration from pipeline fixtures.

meraki:
  domains:
    - name: "!env domain"
      administrator:
        name: "!env org_admin"
      organizations:
        - name: "!env org"
          networks:
            - name: "!env network_name"
              product_types:
                - appliance
                - switch
                - wireless
                - camera
                - sensor
                - cellularGateway
              switch:
                storm_control:
                  broadcast_threshold: 30
                  multicast_threshold: 30
                  unknown_unicast_threshold: 30

Configuration Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`storm_control`	Object	No	Storm control configuration settings
`storm_control.broadcast_threshold`	Integer	No	Broadcast traffic threshold as percentage of link capacity (1-100)
`storm_control.multicast_threshold`	Integer	No	Multicast traffic threshold as percentage of link capacity (1-100)
`storm_control.unknown_unicast_threshold`	Integer	No	Unknown unicast traffic threshold as percentage of link capacity (1-100)

Traffic Types and Control

Traffic Type	Description	Common Causes	Control Method
Broadcast	All-hosts traffic	ARP, DHCP, NetBIOS	Threshold limiting
Multicast	Group communication	Video streaming, protocols	Rate control
Unknown Unicast	Learning failures	MAC table overflow	Flood suppression
Mixed Storms	Multiple types	Network loops, misconfigurations	Combined protection

Storm Scenarios

Storm Type	Typical Causes	Symptoms	Prevention
Broadcast Storm	Network loops, spanning tree issues	Network slowdown, timeouts	STP, storm control
Multicast Flood	IGMP failures, streaming issues	Bandwidth saturation	IGMP snooping, rate limiting
Unicast Flood	MAC table exhaustion	Switching failures	Address learning limits
Protocol Storm	Misconfigured protocols	Control plane overload	Protocol tuning

Performance Impact

Impact Area	Measurement	Monitoring	Optimization
CPU Utilization	Processing overhead	Switch metrics	Efficient algorithms
Memory Usage	Buffer consumption	Memory statistics	Buffer management
Forwarding Rate	Packet processing	Throughput metrics	Hardware acceleration
Latency	Processing delay	Timing measurements	Priority handling

Application Considerations

Application Type	Traffic Pattern	Threshold Impact	Configuration
Video Streaming	High multicast	Multicast threshold	Higher limits
VoIP Systems	Broadcast discovery	Broadcast threshold	Moderate limits
Network Boot	TFTP/PXE traffic	Unicast threshold	Temporary increase
Network Discovery	Protocol broadcasts	All thresholds	Balanced settings