Posts Tagged ‘Vlan Trunking Protocol’
Network administrators have to accommodate new and changing requirements on an ongoing base. They are faced with various, and often time-consuming, tasks like planning, implementing, expanding, and changing the network configuration. To make the most out of their precious available time, repetitive and error-prone tasks should be eliminated where possible. Two often-encountered tasks that can be optimized are the modification of the VLAN configuration and the MST (Multiple Spanning Tree) environment. Both tasks require the consistent modification of a group of devices. The effort required is directly proportional to the number of devices. Cisco Systems offers a unique and proven tool to optimize such tasks; VTP version 3 eases and secures the administration and the deployment in the field.
VTP version 3 is the third version of the VLAN trunk protocol and enhances its initial functions well beyond the handling of VLAN matters.
Key Benefits of VTP Version 3
Much work has gone into improving the usability of VTP version 3 in three major areas:
• The new version of VTP offers better administrative control over which device is allowed to update other devices’ view of the VLAN topology. The chance of unintended and disruptive changes is significantly reduced, and availability is increased. The reduced risk of unintended changes will ease the change process and help speed deployment.
• Functionality for the VLAN environment has been significantly expanded. Two enhancements are most beneficial for today’s networks:
– In addition to supporting the earlier ISL VLAN range from 1 to 1001, the new version supports the whole IEEE 802.1Q VLAN range up to 4095.
– In addition to supporting the concept of normal VLANs, VTP version 3 can transfer information regarding Private VLAN (PVLAN) structures.
• The third area of major improvement is support for databases other than VLAN (for example, MST).