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Catalyst 2950 Desktop Switch Software Configuration Guide
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Chapter 14 Configuring VLA Ns Configurin g VLAN Trunks

Configuring VLAN T runks

These sec tions descr ibe how VLAN trunks functio n on the swi tch:
Trunking O verview, page 14-15
802.1 Q Configuration Cons ider ation s, page 14-16
Default La yer 2 Ether net Inte rface VL AN Configurat ion, page 14-17

Trunking Overview

A trunk is a point-to-point link between one or more Ethernet switch interfaces and another networking de vice
su c h as a ro ut e r or a s w it c h . Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet trunks carry t he t r affi c of m u lt i pl e V LA N s
over a single link, and you can extend the VLANs across an entire network.
Figure 14-2 shows a network of swit ches that are conn ected by 802.1Q trunks.
Figure 14-2 Catalyst 2950, 2900 XL, and 3500 XL Switches in a 802.1Q Trunking Environment
You can co nfigure a trun k o n a single E ther net int erfac e or o n a n Eth er Channe l bundle. For m or e
inform ation about Ether Channel , see Chapter 27, Configuring EtherChannels.
Ethern et trunk inte rfaces suppor t different trunking modes (see Table 14-4). You can set an interface as
trunking or nontru nking or to negoti ate trunk ing with the neighbor ing interfa ce. To au tonegotiate
trunking, the interfaces must be in the same VTP domain.
Trunk negotiat ion is ma nage d by the Dyna m ic Trunking Pr otocol (D TP) , wh ich i s a Poi nt-to- Poi nt
Protoco l. However, some in terne twor king devices m ight f orward D TP fr am es impr operl y, which could
cause misc onfiguration s.
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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