Ch.

9 – VTP
(Trunking, VTP, Inter-VLAN Routing)

CCNA 3 version 3.0

Rick Graziani
Cabrillo College
Note to instructors

• If you have downloaded this presentation from the Cisco Networking

Academy Community FTP Center, this may not be my latest version of
this PowerPoint.
• For the latest PowerPoints for all my CCNA, CCNP, and Wireless
classes, please go to my web site:
http://www.cabrillo.edu/~rgraziani/
• The username is cisco and the password is perlman for all of
my materials.
• If you have any questions on any of my materials or the curriculum,
please feel free to email me at graziani@cabrillo.edu (I really don’t
mind helping.) Also, if you run across any typos or errors in my
presentations, please let me know.
• I will add “(Updated – date)” next to each presentation on my web site
that has been updated since these have been uploaded to the FTP
center.
Thanks! Rick
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 2
Overview

• Explain the origins and functions of VLAN trunking

• Describe how trunking enables the implementation of VLANs in a large
network
• Define IEEE 802.1Q
• Define Cisco ISL
• Configure and verify a VLAN trunk
• Define VTP
• Explain why VTP was developed
• Describe the contents of VTP messages
• List and define the three VTP modes
• Configure and verify VTP on an IOS-based switch
• Explain why routing is necessary for inter-VLAN communication
• Explain the difference between physical and logical interfaces
• Define subinterfaces
• Configure inter-VLAN routing using subinterfaces on a router port

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 3

.

VLAN Tagging

We will begin with a review of VLAN tagging and a

closer look at ISL and IEEE 802.1Q.
.
VLAN Tagging

• VLAN Tagging is used when a link needs to carry traffic for more than
one VLAN.
– Trunk link: As packets are received by the switch from any attached
end-station device, a unique packet identifier is added within each
header.
• This header information designates the VLAN membership of each
packet.
• The packet is then forwarded to the appropriate switches or routers based
on the VLAN identifier and MAC address.
• Upon reaching the destination node (Switch) the VLAN ID is removed from
the packet by the adjacent switch and forwarded to the attached device.
• Packet tagging provides a mechanism for controlling the flow of broadcasts
and applications while not interfering with the network and applications.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 5
.
VLAN Tagging

No VLAN Tagging

VLAN Tagging

• VLAN Tagging is used when a link needs to carry traffic for more than
one VLAN.
• Tagging is used so the receiving switch knows which ports in should
flood broadcast and unknown unicast traffic (only those ports
belonging to the same VLAN).
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 6
.
VLAN Tagging

802.10

• There are two major methods of frame tagging, Cisco proprietary

Inter-Switch Link (ISL) and IEEE 802.1Q.
• ISL used to be the most common, but is now being replaced by 802.1Q
frame tagging.
• Cisco recommends using 802.1Q.
• VLAN Tagging and Trunking will be discussed in the next chapter.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 7
.
A Closer look at VLAN Tagging

ISL
Ethernet Frame
1500 bytes plus 18 byte header
(1518 bytes)

IEEE 802.1Q
SA and DASA and
802.1q
DA Type/Length Data (max 1500 CRC
New
MACs MACsTag Field bytes) CRC

• There are two types of VLAN Tagging:

– ISL (Inter-Switch Link) – Cisco Proprietary
– IEEE 802.1Q
• 802.1Q is recommended by Cisco and is used with multi-vendor
switches.
• Caution: Some older Cisco switches will only do ISL while some new
Cisco switches will only do 802.1Q.
• The following slides on ISL and 802.1Q are FYI only.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 8
 ISL (Frame Encapsulation)

Ethernet Frame
1500 bytes plus 18 byte header
(1518 bytes)

Standard NIC cards and networking devices don’t understand

this giant frame. A Cisco switch must remove this
encapsulation before sending the frame out on an access link.
• An Ethernet frame is encapsulated with a header that transports VLAN
IDs
• It adds overhead to the packet as a 26-byte header containing a 10-bit
VLAN ID.
• In addition, a 4-byte cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is appended to the
end of each frame.
– This CRC is in addition to any frame checking that the Ethernet frame
requires.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 9
ISL - Selected fields
DA - Destination Address
• The DA field of the ISL packet is a 40 bit destination address.
• This address is a multicast address and is currently set to be:
0x01_00_0C_00_00.
• The first 40 bits of the DA field signal the receiver that the packet is in
ISL format.

TYPE - Frame Type

• The TYPE field indicates the type of frame that is encapsulated and
could be used in the future to indicate alternative encapsulations.
• The following TYPE codes have been defined:
Code Meaning
0000 Ethernet
0001 Token-Ring
0010 FDDI
0011 ATM

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 10

ISL - Selected fields

SA - Source Address
• The SA field is the source address field of the ISL packet.
• It should be set to the 802.3 MAC address of the switch port
transmitting the frame. It is a 48-bit value.
• The receiving device may ignore the SA field of the frame.
VLAN - Virtual LAN ID
• The VLAN field is the virtual LAN ID of the packet.
• It is a 15-bit value that is used to distinguish frames on different VLANs.
• This field is often referred to as the "color" of the packet
BPDU - BPDU and CDP Indicator
• The BPDU bit is set for all bridge protocol data units that are
encapsulated by the ISL packet.
• The BPDUs are used by the Spanning Tree Algorithm to determine
information about the topology of the network.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 11

ISL - Selected fields
ENCAP FRAME - Encapsulated Frame
• The ENCAP FRAME is the encapsulated frame, including its own CRC value,
completely unmodified.
• The internal frame must have a CRC value that is valid once the ISL
encapsulation fields are removed.
• The length of this field can be from 1 to 24575 bytes long to accommodate
Ethernet, Token Ring, and FDDI frames.
• A receiving switch may strip off the ISL encapsulation fields and use this
ENCAP FRAME as the frame is received, associating the appropriate VLAN
and other values with the received frame as indicated above for switching
purposes.
CRC - Frame Checksum
• The CRC is a standard 32-bit CRC value calculated on the entire
encapsulated frame from the DA field to the ENCAP FRAME field.
• The receiving MAC will check this CRC and can discard packets that do not
have a valid CRC on them.
• Note that this CRC is in addition to the one at the end of the ENCAP FRAME
field.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 12
IEEE 802.1Q

NIC cards and networking devices can understand this “baby

giant” frame (1522 bytes). However, a Cisco switch must
remove this encapsulation before sending the frame out on an
access link.

SA and DASA and

802.1q
DA Type/Length Data (max 1500 CRC
New
MACs MACsTag Field bytes) CRC

2-byte TPID Tag Protocol Identifier

2-byte TCI Tag Control Info (includes VLAN ID)

• Significantly less overhead than the ISL

• As opposed to the 30 bytes added by ISL, 802.1Q inserts only
an additional 4 bytes into the Ethernet frame
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 13
802.1q
• A 4-byte tag header containing a tag protocol identifier (TPID) and tag
control information (TCI) with the following elements:
TPID
• A 2-byte TPID with a fixed value of 0x8100.
• This value indicates that the frame carries the 802.1Q/802.1p tag
information.
TCI
• A TCI containing the following elements:
- Three-bit user priority (8 priority levels, 0 thru 7)
- One-bit canonical format (CFI indicator), 0 = canonical, 1 =
noncanonical, to signal bit order in the encapsulated frame
(www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2469.html - “A Caution On the Canonical
Ordering of Link-Layer Addresses”)
- Twelve-bit VLAN identifier (VID)-Uniquely identifies the VLAN to
which the frame belongs, defining 4,096 VLANs, with 0 and 4095
reserved.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 14
.
Trunking operation

or 802.1Q

• Trunking protocols were developed to effectively manage the

transfer of frames from different VLANs on a single physical line.
• The trunking protocols establish agreement for the distribution of
frames to the associated ports at both ends of the trunk.
• Trunk links may carry traffic for all VLANs or only specific VLANs.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 15

.
VLANs and trunking

Non-Trunk Links

Trunk Link

Non-Trunk Links

• It is important to understand that a trunk link does not

belong to a specific VLAN.
• The responsibility of a trunk link is to act as a conduit for
VLANs between switches and routers (or switches and
switches).
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 16
.
Configuring Trunking

Note: On many
switches, the
switchport trunk
encapsulation
command must be
done BEFORE the
switchport mode
trunk command.

• These commands will be explained in the following slides.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 17

.
Configuring Trunking

Switch(config-if)switchport trunk encapsulation [dot1q|isl]

• This command configures VLAN tagging on an interface if the switch

supports multiple trunking protocols.
• The two options are:
– dot1q – IEEE 802.1Q
– isl – ISL
• The tagging must be the same on both ends.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 18
.
Configuring Trunking

Switch(config-if)switchport mode [access|trunk]

• By default, 2900XL switchports are configured as “access” ports.

– Not true on most other switches (default is dynamic desirable).
• An access port means that the port (interface) can only belong to a single
VLAN.
• Access ports are used when:
– Only a single device is connected to the port
– Multiple devices (hub) are connected to the port, all belonging to the
same VLAN
– Another switch is connected to this interface, but this link is only carrying
a single VLAN (non-trunk link).
• Trunk ports are used when:
– Another switch is connected to this interface, and this link is carrying
multiple VLANa (trunk link).
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 19
Configuring Trunking

No VLAN Tagging

Switch(config-if)switchport mode access

VLAN Tagging

Switch(config-if)switchport mode trunk

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 20

.

DTP
Dynamic Trunking Protocol

To Trunk or not to Trunk (access mode), that is the

question.
.
DTP – Dynamic Trunking Protocol

• Note: On my web site I have created a document, DTP-CCNA.pdf that

explains DTP in detail.
• The next few slides will give a brief overview of DTP.
• These slides refer to the Catalyst 2950 and 3550 switches.
• There may be some small differences with the 2900XL switches.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 22
.
DTP – Dynamic Trunking Protocol

• Ethernet trunk interfaces support several different trunking

modes.
– Access
– Dynamic desirable (default mode on Catalyst 2950 and 3550)
– Dynamic auto
– Trunk
– Non-negotiate
– dotq-tunnel (Not an option on the Catalyst 2950.)
• Using these different trunking modes, an interface can be set to
trunking or nontrunking or even able to negotiate trunking with
the neighboring interface.
• To automatically negotiate trunking, the interfaces must be in the
same VTP domain. (VTP is discussed in the next section.)
• Trunk negotiation is managed by the Dynamic Trunking Protocol
(DTP), which is a Cisco proprietary Point-to-Point Protocol.
• These various modes are configured using the switchport mode
interface command
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 23
.
DTP – Dynamic Trunking Protocol

• These various modes are configured using the switchport mode

interface command.
• We have already discussed the two “non-dynamic” options:
Switch(config-if)switchport mode access
Switch(config-if)switchport mode trunk
• These options set the interface to non-trunking (access) or trunking
(trunk)
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 24
.
DTP – Dynamic Trunking Protocol

• All of these DTP modes and their various combinations can

be somewhat confusing.
• Looking at some of the basic combinations can help clarify
this.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 25
.
DTP

• By default, Ethernet interfaces on most Cisco switches are set to

dynamic desirable mode. (Catalyst 2950 and 3550 switches.)
• Desirable mode will create a trunk link if the neighboring interface is
set to desirable, trunk, or auto mode.
• Because both interfaces by default are in desirable mode, this means
a link between two Cisco switches will automatically become a trunk
link unless configured otherwise.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 26

.
Creating VLANs

This link will become a trunking link unless one of the

Default: dynamic desirable ports is configured with as an access link, I.e.
switchport mode access

• By default, all ports are configured as switchport mode dynamic

desirable, which means that if the port is connected to another switch with
an port configured with the same default mode (or desirable or auto), this link
will become a trunking link. (See my article on DTP on my web site for more
information.)
• When the switchport access vlan command is used, the switchport
mode access command is not necessary since the switchport access
vlan command configures the interface as an “access” port (non-trunk port).
• This will be discussed in more in the next chapter, section on DTP.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 27
.
DTP

Default for
2900XL

Default for
2950 and
3550

• By default, Ethernet interfaces on Catalyst 2950 and 3550 switches

default to desirable mode. (2900XL switches default to access
mode.)
• Desirable mode will create a trunk link if the neighboring interface is
set to desirable, trunk, or auto mode.
• On 2950 and 3550 switches, because both interfaces by default are in
desirable mode, this means a link between two of these switches will
automatically become a trunk link unless configured otherwise.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 28

.
DTP

Default
2950/3550

• This figure shows the various DTP trunking modes and the results of
the different combinations.
• Selecting the right combination on the two ends of the link is important,
as some combinations should not be used as they will have
“unexpected results”.
• One combination that could result in traffic being blocked from
transmitting the link is if one interface is in access mode and the
neighboring interface is in trunk mode.
• For more information see my article, DTP-CCNA.pdf

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 29

.
DTP

• For now, to keep it simple use either of these commands:

Switch(config-if)switchport mode access
Switch(config-if)switchport mode trunk

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 30

.

VTP
VLAN Trunking Protocol

Create once and send to the other switches.

.
Benefits of VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol)

• Before discussing VTP, it is important to understand that VTP is not

necessary in order to configure VLANs or Trunking on Cisco
Switches.
• VTP is a Cisco proprietary protocol that allows VLAN configuration to be
consistently maintained across a common administrative domain.
• VTP minimizes the possible configuration inconsistencies that arise when
changes are made.
• Additionally, VTP reduces the complexity of managing and monitoring
VLAN networks, allowing changes on one switch to be propagated to
other switches via VTP.
• On most Cisco switches, VTP is running and has certain defaults already
configured.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 32
.
VTP Operation – Revision Number
• VTP advertisements are transmitted out all trunk connections,
including ISL, IEEE 802.1Q, IEEE 802.10, and ATM LANE trunks.
• A critical parameter governing VTP function is the VTP configuration
revision number.
• This 32-bit number indicates the particular revision of a VTP
configuration.
• A configuration revision number starts at 0 and increments by 1 with
each modification until it reaches 4294927295, at which point it
recycles back to 0 and starts incrementing again.
• Each VTP device tracks its own VTP configuration revision
number
• VTP packets contain the sender’s VTP configuration number.
• This information determines whether the received information is more
recent than the current version.
• If the switch receives a VTP advertisement over a trunk link, it inherits
the VTP domain name and configuration revision number.
• The switch ignores advertisements that have a different VTP
domain name or an earlier configuration revision number.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 33
.
Verifying VTP

• This command is used to verify VTP configuration settings

on a Cisco IOS command-based switch.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 34

.
VTP Operation

• VTP clients cannot create, modify, or delete VLAN information.

• The only role of VTP clients is to process VLAN changes and send
VTP messages out all trunk ports.
• The VTP client maintains a full list of all VLANs within the VTP domain,
but it does not store the information in NVRAM.
• VTP clients behave the same way as VTP servers, but it is not
possible to create, change, or delete VLANs on a VTP client.
• Any changes made must be received from a VTP server
advertisement.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 35

.
VTP Operation

• Switches in VTP transparent mode forward VTP advertisements but

ignore information contained in the message.
• A transparent switch will not modify its database when updates are
received, nor will the switch send out an update indicating a change in
its own VLAN status.
• Except for forwarding VTP advertisements, VTP is disabled on a
transparent switch.
• There is also an “off” VTP mode in which switches behave the same as
in the VTP transparent mode, except VTP advertisements are not
forwarded.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 36
.
VTP configuration

• VTP can be configured by using these configuration

modes.
– VTP Configuration in global configuration mode
– VTP Configuration in VLAN configuration mode

• VLAN configuration mode is accessed by entering the

vlan database privileged EXEC command.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 37

.
VTP configuration - Version

• Two different versions of VTP can run in the management domain, VTP
Version 1 and VTP Version 2.
• The two versions are not interoperable in the same VTP domain.
• The major difference between the two versions is version 2 introduces
support for Token Ring VLANs.
• If all switches in a VTP domain can run VTP Version 2, version 2 only needs to
be enabled on one VTP server switch, which propagates it to other VTP
switches in the VTP domain.
• Version 2 should not be enabled unless every switch in the VTP domain
supports version 2.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 38
.
VTP configuration – Domain and Password

• The domain name can be between 1 and 32 characters.

• The optional password must be between 8 and 64 characters long.
• If the switch being installed is the first switch in the network, the
management domain will need to be created.
• However, if the network has other switches running VTP, then the new
switch will join an existing management domain.
• Caution: The domain name and password are case sensitive.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 39

. VTP configuration – Domain and
Password

• By default, management domains are set to a nonsecure mode,

meaning that the switches interact without using a password.
• Adding a password automatically sets the management domain to
secure mode.
• The same password must be configured on every switch in the
management domain to use secure mode.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 40
.
VTP configuration – VTP mode

Switch#config terminal
Switch(config)#vtp mode [client|server|transparent]

Switch#vlan database
Switch(vlan)#vtp [client|server|transparent]
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 41
.
VTP Configuration - Overview

• VTP Configuration in global configuration mode:

Switch#config terminal
Switch(config)#vtp version 2
Switch(config)#vtp mode server
Switch(config)#vtp domain cisco
Switch(config)#vtp password mypassword

• VTP Configuration in VLAN configuration mode:

Switch#vlan database
Switch(vlan)#vtp v2-mode
Switch(vlan)#vtp server
Switch(vlan)#vtp domain cisco
Switch(vlan)#vtp password mypassword
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 42
.
VTP Operation

• VTP switches operate in one of three modes:

– Server
– Client
– Transparent
• VTP servers can create, modify, delete VLAN and VLAN configuration
parameters for the entire domain.
• VTP servers save VLAN configuration information in the switch
NVRAM. VTP servers send VTP messages out to all trunk ports.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 43

.
Verifying VTP

• This command is used to verify VTP configuration settings

on a Cisco IOS command-based switch.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 44

.
Verifying VTP

• This command is used to display statistics about

advertisements sent and received on the switch.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 45

Adding a switch to an existing VTP domain

• Use caution when inserting a new switch into an existing domain.

• In order to prepare a switch to enter an existing VTP domain, perform
the following steps.
• Delete the VLAN database, erase the startup configuration, and power
cycle the switch.
• This will avoid potential problems resulting from residual VLAN
configurations or adding a switch with a higher VTP configuration
revision number that could result in the propagation of incorrect VLAN
information.
• From the privileged mode, issue the delete vlan.dat and erase
startup-config commands, then power cycle the switch.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 46
Three types of VTP messages

• By default, server and client Catalyst switches issue summary advertisements every five minutes.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 47

.

Inter-VLAN Routing
.
Inter-VLAN Routing

• When a node in one VLAN needs to communicate with a node in

another VLAN, a router is necessary to route the traffic between
VLANs.
• Without the routing device, inter-VLAN traffic would not be possible.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 49

.
Inter-VLAN Routing - Non-trunk Links

10.10.0.11/16 10.20.0.22/16

10.20.0.1/16
10.10.0.1/16

• One option is to use a separate link to the router for each VLAN instead of
trunk links.
• However, this does not scale well.
• Although it does load balance between VLANs, it may not make efficient
use of links with little traffic.
• Be sure hosts and routers have the proper IP addresses, associated with
the proper VLANs.
• It is common practice to assign VLAN numbers the same as IP addresses
when possible.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 50
Inter-VLAN Routing

• This diagram in the curriculum is wrong unless it is showing

traffic instead of VLANs.

Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 51

.
Physical and logical interfaces

• Subinterfaces on a router can be used to divide a single physical

interface into multiple logical interfaces.
• Lower-end routers such as the 2500 and 1600 do not support
subinterfaces.
• Each physical interface can have up to 65,535 logical interfaces.
Rtr(config)#interface fastethernet
port/interface.subinterface
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 52
.
Inter-VLAN Routing - Trunk Links

10.10.0.11/16 10.20.0.22/16

10.1.0.1/16
10.10.0.1/16
10.20.0.1/16

Rtr(config)#interface fastethernet 0/1.1

Rtr(config-subif)#description VLAN 1
Rtr(config-subif)#encapsulation dot1q 1
Rtr(config-subif)#ip address 10.1.0.1 255.255.0.0

• We will talk about VLAN 1 and the Management VLAN in a moment.

• It is recommended that VLAN 1 is not used for either Management
traffic or user traffic.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 53
.
Inter-VLAN Routing - Trunk Links

10.10.0.11/16 10.20.0.22/16

10.1.0.1/16
10.10.0.1/16
10.20.0.1/16

Rtr(config)#interface fastethernet 0/1.10

Rtr(config-subif)#description Management VLAN 10
Rtr(config-subif)#encapsulation dot1q 10
Rtr(config-subif)#ip address 10.10.0.1 255.255.0.0

Rtr(config)#interface fastethernet 0/1.20

Rtr(config-subif)#description Management VLAN 20
Rtr(config-subif)#encapsulation dot1q 20
Rtr(config-subif)#ip address 10.20.0.1 255.255.0.0
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 54
Management VLAN

• For more information regarding VLAN 1, Management VLAN, default

VLAN and the Native VLAN, see my article on my web site,
NativeVLAN.pdf.
• This article will help explain the various types of VLANS and attempt to
clear up some of this confusion.
• By default, all Ethernet interfaces on Cisco switches are on VLAN 1.
• On Catalyst switches all of these VLANs listed above default to VLAN
1, which can add to the difficulty of understanding their differences.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 55
Management VLAN

• We won’t go into detail here but here are some guidelines.

• Notice that User VLANs have been configured for VLANs
other than VLAN 1.
• The management VLAN refers to a separate VLAN for your
switches and routers. This helps ensure access to these
devices when another VLAN is experiencing problems.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 56
Summary

• By default, VLAN 1 is the native VLAN and should only be used to carry control
traffic, CDP, VTP, PAgP, and DTP. This information is transmitted across
trunk links untagged.
• User VLANs should not include the native VLAN, VLAN 1. This information will
be sent as tagged frames across VLAN trunks.
• The Management VLAN should be a VLAN separate from the user VLANs and
should not be the native VLAN. This will insure access to networking devices
in case of problems with the network.
• The subinterface on the router that is used to send and receive native VLAN
traffic must be configured with the native option on the encapsulation
interface command. This will let the router know that any frames coming in
untagged belong to that subinterface and are a member of VLAN 1, the native
VLAN. This is assuming that the native VLAN is the VLAN 1, the default native
VLAN.
Rick Graziani graziani@cabrillo.edu 57
 Ch. 9 – VTP
(Trunking, VTP, Inter-VLAN Routing)

CCNA 3 version 3.0

Rick Graziani
Cabrillo College