CHAPTER
13-1
Catalyst 2940 Switch Software Configuration Guide
78-15507-02
13
Configuring VLANs
This chapter describes how to configure the supported four normal-range VLAN s (VLAN IDs 1 to 1005)
on your Catalyst 2940 switch. This chapter includes information ab out V LAN m ode s and the VL A N
Membership Policy Server (VMPS).
Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, refer to the command
reference for this release.
The chapter includes these sections:
Understanding VLANs, page 13-1
Configuring Normal-Range VLANs, page 13-4
Displaying VLANs, page 13-11
Configuring VLAN Trunks, page 13-11
Configuring VMPS, page 13-21

Understanding VLANs

A VLAN is a switched network that is logically segmented by function, project team, or application,
without regard to the physical locations of the users. VLANs have the same attributes as physical LANs,
but you can group end stations even if they are not physically located on the same LAN segment . A ny
switch port can belong to a VLAN, and unicast, broadcast, and multicast packets are forwarded and
flooded only to end stations in the VLAN. Each VLAN is considered a logical network, and packets
destined for stations that do not belong to the VLAN mu st be f orwar de d thr oug h a rou t er or b ridge as
shown in Figure 13-1. Because a VLAN is considered a separate logical network, it contains its own
bridge Management Information Base (MIB) information an d c an s uppo rt i ts own impl eme ntat ion o f
spanning tree. See Chapter 11, “Configuring STP.”
Note Before you create VLANs, you must decide whether to use VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP) to maintain
global VLAN configuration for your network. For more information on VTP, see Chapter 14,
“Configuring VTP.”