Link Types of Ethernet Ports

An Ethernet port of the device can operate in one of the following three link types:

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Access: An access port can belong to only one VLAN, and is generally used to connect user PCs.

Trunk: A trunk port can belong to more than one VLAN. It can receive/send packets from/to multiple VLANs, and is generally used to connect another device.

Hybrid: A hybrid port can belong to more than one VLAN. It can receive/send packets from/to multiple VLANs, and can be used to connect either a device or user PC.

A hybrid port allows the packets of multiple VLANs to be sent without tags, but a trunk port only allows the packets of the default VLAN to be sent without tags.

You can configure all the three types of ports on the same Ethernet switch. However, note that you cannot directly switch a port between trunk and hybrid and you must set the port as access before the switching. For example, to change a trunk port to hybrid, you must first set it as access and then hybrid.

Configuring the Default VLAN ID for an Ethernet Port

An access port can belong to only one VLAN. Therefore, the VLAN an access port belongs to is also the default VLAN of the access port. A hybrid/trunk port can belong to several VLANs, and so a default VLAN ID for the port is required.

zAfter you configure default VLAN IDs for Ethernet ports, the packets passing through the ports are processed in different ways depending on different situations:

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3Com WX3000 operation manual Link Types of Ethernet Ports, Configuring the Default Vlan ID for an Ethernet Port