Information About VLAN Trunks
The following sections provide information about VLAN Trunks:
Trunking Overview
A trunk is a point-to-point link between one or more Ethernet interfaces and another networking device such as a router or a controller. Ethernet trunks carry the traffic of multiple VLANs over a single link, and you can extend the VLANs across an entire network.
IEEE 802.1Q— Industry-standard trunking encapsulation is available on all Ethernet interfaces.
Trunking Modes
Ethernet trunk interfaces support different trunking modes. 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-Point Protocol (PPP). However, some internetworking devices might forward DTP frames improperly, which could cause misconfigurations.
Layer 2 Interface Modes
Mode |
Function |
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switchport mode access |
Puts the interface (access port) into permanent nontrunking mode and negotiates to convert the link into a nontrunk link. The interface becomes a nontrunk interface regardless of whether or not the neighboring interface is a trunk interface. |
switchport mode dynamic auto |
Makes the interface able to convert the link to a trunk link. The interface becomes a trunk interface if the neighboring interface is set to trunk or desirable mode. The default switchport mode for all Ethernet interfaces is dynamic auto . |
switchport mode dynamic desirable |
Makes the interface actively attempt to convert the link to a trunk link. The interface becomes a trunk interface if the neighboring interface is set to trunk , desirable , or auto mode. |
switchport mode trunk |
Puts the interface into permanent trunking mode and negotiates to convert the neighboring link into a trunk link. The interface becomes a trunk interface even if the neighboring interface is not a trunk interface. |
switchport nonegotiate |
Prevents the interface from generating DTP frames. You can use this command only when the interface switchport mode is access or trunk . You must manually configure the neighboring interface as a trunk interface to establish a trunk link. |
switchport mode private-vlan |
Configures the private VLAN mode. |
Allowed VLANs on a Trunk
By default, a trunk port sends traffic to and receives traffic from all VLANs. All VLAN IDs, 1 to 4094, are allowed on each trunk. However, you can remove VLANs from the allowed list, preventing traffic from those VLANs from passing over the trunk.
To reduce the risk of spanning-tree loops or storms, you can disable VLAN 1 on any individual VLAN trunk port by removing VLAN 1 from the allowed list. When you remove VLAN 1 from a trunk port, the interface continues to send and receive management traffic, for example, Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP), Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP), Link Aggregation Control Protocol (LACP), DTP, and VTP in VLAN 1.
If a trunk port with VLAN 1 disabled is converted to a nontrunk port, it is added to the access VLAN. If the access VLAN is set to 1, the port will be added to VLAN 1, regardless of the switchport trunk allowed setting. The same is true for any VLAN that has been disabled on the port.
A trunk port can become a member of a VLAN if the VLAN is enabled, if VTP knows of the VLAN, and if the VLAN is in the allowed list for the port. When VTP detects a newly enabled VLAN and the VLAN is in the allowed list for a trunk port, the trunk port automatically becomes a member of the enabled VLAN. When VTP detects a new VLAN and the VLAN is not in the allowed list for a trunk port, the trunk port does not become a member of the new VLAN.
Load Sharing on Trunk Ports
Load sharing divides the bandwidth supplied by parallel trunks connecting devices. To avoid loops, STP normally blocks all but one parallel link between the devices. Using load sharing, you divide the traffic between the links according to which VLAN the traffic belongs.
You configure load sharing on trunk ports by using STP port priorities or STP path costs. For load sharing using STP port priorities, both load-sharing links must be connected to the same device. For load sharing using STP path costs, each load-sharing link can be connected to the same device or to two different devices.
Network Load Sharing Using STP Priorities
When two ports on the same device form a loop, the device uses the STP port priority to decide which port is enabled and which port is in a blocking state. You can set the priorities on a parallel trunk port so that the port carries all the traffic for a given VLAN. The trunk port with the higher priority (lower values) for a VLAN is forwarding traffic for that VLAN. The trunk port with the lower priority (higher values) for the same VLAN remains in a blocking state for that VLAN. One trunk port sends or receives all traffic for the VLAN.
Network Load Sharing Using STP Path Cost
You can configure parallel trunks to share VLAN traffic by setting different path costs on a trunk and associating the path costs with different sets of VLANs, blocking different ports for different VLANs. The VLANs keep the traffic separate and maintain redundancy in the event of a lost link.
Feature Interactions
Trunking interacts with other features in these ways:
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A trunk port cannot be a secure port.
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Trunk ports can be grouped into EtherChannel port groups, but all trunks in the group must have the same configuration. When a group is first created, all ports follow the parameters set for the first port to be added to the group. If you change the configuration of one of these parameters, the device propagates the setting that you entered to all ports in the group:
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Allowed-VLAN list.
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STP port priority for each VLAN.
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STP Port Fast setting.
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Trunk status:
If one port in a port group ceases to be a trunk, all ports cease to be trunks.
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If you try to enable IEEE 802.1x on a trunk port, an error message appears, and IEEE 802.1x is not enabled. If you try to change the mode of an IEEE 802.1x-enabled port to trunk, the port mode is not changed.
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A port in dynamic mode can negotiate with its neighbor to become a trunk port. If you try to enable IEEE 802.1x on a dynamic port, an error message appears, and IEEE 802.1x is not enabled. If you try to change the mode of an IEEE 802.1x-enabled port to dynamic, the port mode is not changed.