Configuring Bridge Groups

Last published : Sep 24, 2026
Typically, when you want to merge two or more VLANs into a single domain, you change the VLAN configuration on all the devices in the separate domains. This can be a tedious task. To more easily merge multiple VLANs into a single broadcast domain, you can use bridge groups.
The bridge groups feature works the same way as a VLAN. Multiple VLANS can be bound to a single bridge group, and all VLANs bound to same bridge group form a single broadcast domain. You can bind only Layer 2 VLANs to a bridge group. For Layer 3 functionality, you must assign an IP address to a bridge group.
In Layer 2 mode, a broadcast packet received on an interface belonging to a particular VLAN is bridged to other VLANs that belong to the same bridge group. In the case of a unicast packet, the NetScaler appliance searches its bridge table for the learned MAC addresses of all the VLANs belonging to same bridge group.
In Layer 3 forwarding mode, an IP subnet is bound to a bridge group. The NetScaler accepts incoming packets belonging to the bound subnet and forwards the packets only on VLANs that are bound to the bridge group.
IPv6 routing can be enabled on a configured bridge group.
Note
Bridge Group feature and Bridge BPDU mode cannot work together.
Related information

Configuration steps

Perform the following steps to configure a bridge group:
  • Enable Layer 2 mode
  • Add a bridgegroup and bind VLANs to the bridgegroup

CLI procedures

To enable Layer 2 mode by using the CLI: At the command prompt, type:
  • enable ns mode l2
  • show ns mode
To add a bridge group and bind VLANs by using the CLI:
At the command prompt, type:
  • add bridgegroup \<id>
  • bind bridgegroup \<id> -vlan \<positive_integer>
  • show bridgegroup \<id>
Example:
> add bridgegroup 12
 Done
To remove a bridge group by using the CLI:
At the command prompt, type:
  • rm bridgegroup \<id>
Example:
rm bridgegroup 12

GUI Procedures

To configure a bridge group by using the GUI:
Navigate to System > Network > Bridge Groups, add a new bridge group and bind VLANs to the bridgegroup, or edit an existing bridge group.