- Broadcast radiation
Broadcast radiation is the accumulation of broadcast and
multicast traffic on acomputer network . Extreme amounts of broadcast traffic constitute a broadcast storm. A broadcast storm can consume sufficient network resources so as to render the network unable to transport normal traffic.Causes
Most commonly the cause is a redundant switched topology where a loop exists in the Ethernet wiring topology (i.e. two or more links exist between switches). As broadcasts and
multicast s are forwarded by switches out every port, the two switches will broadcast each other's broadcasts - creating aswitching loop .In some cases, a broadcast storm can be instigated for the purpose of a
denial of service (DOS) using one of thepacket amplification attacks, such as thesmurf attack orfraggle attack , where smurf sends a large amount of ICMP Echo Requests (ping ) traffic to a broadcast address, with each ICMP Echo packet containing the spoof source address of the victim host. [ [http://pintday.org/whitepapers/dos-smurf.shtml pintday.org: Magnification Attacks: Smurf and Fraggle ] ]When the spoofed packet arrives at the destination network, all hosts on the network reply to the spoofed address. The initial Echo Request is multiplied by the number of hosts on the network. This generates a storm of replies to the victim host tying up network bandwidth, using up
CPU resources or possibly crashing the victim.In
wireless network s a disassociation packet spoofed with the source to that of thewireless access point and sent to the broadcast address can generate adisassociation broadcast DOS attack.Prevention
*Switching loops are largely addressed with
spanning tree protocol . InMetro Ethernet rings it is prevented using theEthernet Automatic Protection System (EAPS) protocol.*Filtering broadcasts by Layer 3 equipment, typically
router s (and even switches that employ advanced filtering calledbrouter s).*Physically segmenting the
broadcast domain s using routers (or logically withVLAN s) at Layer 3 in the same fashion switches decrease the size ofcollision domain s at Layer 2.*Routers and firewalls can be configured to detect and prevent maliciously inducted broadcast storms with the magnification attacks.
Misinterpretations
#A common misinterpretation is that routing loops have anything to do with broadcast storms. Working at Layer 3, routers (unlike Layer 2 equipment) do not forward MAC-level broadcast traffic.
#Another misinterpretation is that routers cannot forward broadcasts under special circumstances. Some routable protocols support the use of internetwork-level broadcasts. If the router is configured to forward them, the broadcast domain segmentation is compromised.
#Most commonly it is believed that only routers can impact thebroadcast domain or filter broadcasts. As we have seen, switches can blur the layer line (e.g. withVLAN s) and can do filtering (they still need a router for forwarding however).
#A misinterpretation is that a broadcast can be responded to with a broadcast. This is not true. A broadcast can, however, be issued to gather information needed to respond to an initially received broadcast. In a redundant looped topology this second broadcast can reach the interface that sent the initial broadcast.MANET broadcast storms
In a
mobile ad-hoc network (MANET), route request (RREQ) packets are usually broadcast to discover new routes. These RREQ packets may cause broadcast storms and compete over the channel with data packets.One approach to alleviate the broadcast storm problem is to inhibit some hosts from rebroadcasting to reduce the redundancy, and thus contention and collision.References
#Appendix E: Broadcasts in Switched LAN Internetworks [http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/cisintwk/idg4/nd20e.htm] PDFlink| [http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/internetworking/design/guide/nd20e.pdf]
#Defense Against the DoS/DDoS Attacks on Cisco Routers [http://www.securitydocs.com/library/2553] PDFlink| [http://www.securitydocs.com/pdf/2553.PDF] |56.2 KiB
#Disassociation Broadcast Attack Using ESSID Jack [http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/wifi-manager/disassociation-broadcast-attack.html]
#The Broadcast Storm Problem in a Mobile Ad Hoc Network PDFlink| [http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~culler/cs294-f03/papers/bcast-storm.pdf] |1.12 MiB
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.