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Catalyst2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter13 Configuring VLANs Configuring VLAN Trunks
Configuring VLAN Trunks
These sections describe how VLAN trunks function on the switch:
Trunking Overview, page 13-15
802.1Q Configuration Considerations, page 13-16
Default Layer 2 Ethernet Interface VLAN Configuration, page 13-17

Trunking Overview

A trunk is a point-to-point link between one or more Ethernet switch interfaces and another networking device
such as a router or a s wi t ch . Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet trunks carry the traffi c of mu l t i pl e VL A N s
over a single link, and you can extend the VLANs across an entire network.
Figure 13-2 shows a network of switches that are connected by 802.1Q trunks.
Figure13-2 Catalyst 2950, 2900 XL, and 3500 XL Switches in a 802.1Q Trunking Environment
You can configure a trunk on a single Ethernet interface or on an EtherChannel bundl e. For m ore
information about EtherChannel, see Chapter 26, Configuring EtherChannels.
Ethernet trunk interfaces support different trunking modes (see Ta ble 13- 4). You can set an interface as
trunking or nontrunking or to negotiate trunking with the neighboring interface. To autonegotiate
trunking, the interfaces must be in the same VTP domain.
Trunk negotiation is managed by the Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP), which is a Point-to-P oint
Protocol. However, some internetworking devices might forward DTP frames improperly, which could
cause misconfigurations.
Catalyst 6000 series
switch
Catalyst
2900 XL
switch Catalyst
3500 XL
switch
Catalyst
2950
switch
Catalyst
3500 XL
switch
VLAN2
VLAN3VLAN1
VLAN1
VLAN2
VLAN3
802.1Q
trunk 802.1Q
trunk 802.1Q
trunk 802.1Q
trunk
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