Symptoms:

• Absence of the “H” flag (hardware offload indicator) on the ports of subsequent bridges.
• Low data transmission speed on bridges that are not the first.
• High CPU usage.
• High latency for packets that need to be routed across bridges without hardware offload.

The problem lies in the device's limitations in handling multiple bridges with hardware offload enabled, due to the lack of support for port isolation.

This issue leads to inconsistent and potentially unacceptable network performance in environments that require a high degree of isolation and efficiency.

Possible consequences:

1. Inconsistent Performance:

The first and most obvious consequence would be inconsistently low performance for different segments of your network, which could be especially problematic if a constant level of performance is expected for critical applications or services.

2. CPU Overload:

Constantly high CPU usage not only affects the performance of traffic passing through the bridges, but could also have an impact on other functions and services running on the same device.

3. Latency Problems:

In applications or services that are sensitive to latency, such as VoIP or online gaming, the consequences could be even more serious, reaching the point of making those services practically unusable.

4. Hidden Costs:

The need to change or upgrade hardware to resolve this issue could result in additional unanticipated costs. Additionally, the time and resources spent identifying and solving problems represent other hidden costs.

Suggested Solutions:

1. Hardware Change:

The most direct way to solve the problem is to switch to a device that supports port isolation on multiple bridges with hardware offload.

2. Configuration Optimization:

Although not ideal, you can manually assign hardware offload functionality to the bridge that handles the most critical or voluminous traffic, thereby reducing the load on the CPU.