CHAPT ER
13-1
Catalyst 3560 Switch Software Configuration Guide
OL-8553-06
13
Configuring VLANs
This chapter describes how to configure normal-range VLANs (VLAN IDs 1 to 1005) and
extended-range VLANs (VLAN IDs 1006 to 4094) on the Catalyst 3560 switch. It includes information
about VLAN membership modes, VLAN configuration modes, VLAN trunks, and dynamic VLAN
assignment from a VLAN Membership Policy Server (VMPS).
Note For complete syntax and usage information for the commands used in this chapter, see the command
reference for this release.
The chapter consists of these sections:
Understanding VLANs, page 13-1
Configuring Normal-Range VLANs, page 13-4
Configuring Extended-Range VLANs, page 13-12
Displaying VLANs, page 13-16
Configuring VLAN Trunks, page 13-16
Configuring VMPS, page 13-27

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. Any
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 must be forwarded through a router or a switch
supporting fallback bridging, 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 and can support
its own implementation of spanning tree. See Chapter 17, “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 16,
“Configuring VTP.”