VLANs in a switched network enable users in various departments (i.e.
, IT, HR, and Sales) to connect
to the same network regardless of the physical switch being used or location in a campus LAN.
Benefits of creating VLANs:
- Smaller broadcast domains
- Improved security
- Improved IT efficiency
- Reduced cost
- Better performance
- Simpler project and application management
Types of VLANs:
- Default VLAN – on cisco switch default is VLAN 1, which by name is assigned to ports by
default, the native and management VLAN is also VLAN 1
- Data VLAN - configured to separate user-generated traffic
- Native VLAN - User traffic from a VLAN must be tagged with its VLAN ID when it is sent to
another switch
- Management VLAN
- Voice VLAN – used to support VoIP
A trunk is a point-to-point link between two network devices that carries more than one VLAN.
Tagging is process of giving frames IEEE 802.1 Q header which identifies VLAN that they belong to.
VLAN tag field details:
- Type – 2 bytes tag protocol ID
- User priority – 3-bit level of service implementation
- Canonical Format Identifier (CFI) - 1-bit enables Token Ring Frames to be carried
- VLAN ID (VID) - 12-bit VLAN identification number
VLAN Ranges:
- Normal:
o Between 1 and 1025
o Small and medium-sized business
o 1002 and 1005 to legacy network technologies
o The last and 1 cannot be removed
o Configurations are stored in flash memory
o VLAN trunking protocol (VTP) helps synchronize database between switches
- Extended:
o Used by service providers
o VLAN ID from 1006 to 4094
o By default, saved in running configuration
o Supporting fewer VLAN features than normal VLAN
o Requires VTP transparent mode to support this range
VLAN creation:
VLAN port assignment:
Data and Voice VLAN configuration example:
Delete VLANs commands:
Switch(config)# no vlan vlan-id (removing vlan from file)
Switch#delete flash:[Link] (removing the entire [Link] file)
Trunk Configuration Commands:
Reset a Trunk to a default state:
Dynamic Trunking protocol (DTP) is a Cisco feature, that negotiate trunking with the neighbour
interface.
To enable trunking from a Cisco switch to a device that does not support DTP, use the switchport
mode trunk and switchport nonegotiate interface configuration mode commands. This causes the
interface to become a trunk, but it will not generate DTP frames.
