Chapter 9 VLAN
GS2200-24 User’s Guide
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field of the Ethernet frame) and two bytes of TCI (Tag Control Information, starts
after the source address field of the Ethernet frame).
The CFI (Canonical Format Indicator) is a single-bit flag, always set to zero for
Ethernet switches. If a frame received at an Ethernet port has a CFI set to 1, then
that frame should not be forwarded as it is to an untagged port. The remaining
twelve bits define the VLAN ID, giving a possible maximum number of 4,096
VLANs. Note that user priority and VLAN ID are independent of each other. A
frame with VID (VLAN Identifier) of null (0) is called a priority frame, meaning that
only the priority level is significant and the default VID of the ingress port is given
as the VID of the frame. Of the 4096 possible VIDs, a VID of 0 is used to identify
priority frames and value 4095 (FFF) is reserved, so the maximum possible VLAN
configurations are 4,094.
Forwarding Tagged and Untagged Frames
Each port on the Switch is capable of passing tagged or untagged frames. To
forward a frame from an 802.1Q VLAN-aware switch to an 802.1Q VLAN-unaware
switch, the Switch first decides where to forward the frame and then strips off the
VLAN tag. To forward a frame from an 802.1Q VLAN-unaware switch to an 802.1Q
VLAN-aware switch, the Switch first decides where to forward the frame, and then
inserts a VLAN tag reflecting the ingress port's default VID. The default PVID is
VLAN 1 for all ports, but this can be changed.
A broadcast frame (or a multicast frame for a multicast group that is known by the
system) is duplicated only on ports that are members of the VID (except the
ingress port itself), thus confining the broadcast to a specific domain.
9.1.2.1 Automatic VLAN Registration
GARP and GVRP are the protocols used to automatically register VLAN
membership across switches.
GARP
GARP (Generic Attribute Registration Protocol) allows network switches to register
and de-register attribute values with other GARP participants within a bridged
LAN. GARP is a protocol that provides a generic mechanism for protocols that
serve a more specific application, for example, GVRP.
TPID
2 Bytes
User Priority
3 Bits
CFI
1 Bit
VLAN ID
12 bits
