Routing And Switching Questions Long
The purpose of VLAN trunking is to allow the transmission of multiple VLANs over a single physical link between switches. It enables communication between VLANs by encapsulating the frames from different VLANs into a trunking protocol, such as IEEE 802.1Q or ISL (Inter-Switch Link), and then transmitting them over the trunk link.
When a switch receives a frame from a VLAN, it adds a VLAN tag to the frame, indicating the VLAN to which the frame belongs. This VLAN tag contains information about the VLAN ID, allowing the receiving switch to identify the VLAN to which the frame belongs. The switch then forwards the frame over the trunk link, preserving the VLAN tag.
On the receiving switch, the trunk link receives the frame with the VLAN tag intact. The switch examines the VLAN tag and determines the VLAN to which the frame belongs. It then removes the VLAN tag and forwards the frame to the appropriate VLAN.
By using VLAN trunking, multiple VLANs can be transmitted over a single physical link, allowing for efficient utilization of network resources. It also enables communication between VLANs by ensuring that frames are correctly identified and forwarded to the appropriate VLAN based on the VLAN tag.
In addition to enabling communication between VLANs, VLAN trunking also provides flexibility in network design and allows for easier management of VLANs. It simplifies the process of adding, removing, or modifying VLANs by allowing the VLAN configuration to be done centrally on the switches, rather than individually on each switch port.
Overall, VLAN trunking plays a crucial role in facilitating communication between VLANs and optimizing network performance by efficiently transmitting multiple VLANs over a single physical link.