In conjunction with the IEEE standards, most VLAN aware switches
recognize and support at least two modes, referred to as trunk and
access modes. This support is provided on a switch port basis. The
general concepts of the two modes are as follows:
- Trunk mode
- Indicates that the switch should allow all VLAN ID tagged packets
to pass through the switch port without altering the VLAN ID. Trunk
mode is intended for servers that are VLAN capable, and filters and
processes all VLAN ID tagged packets. In trunk mode, the switch expects
to see VLAN ID tagged packets inbound to the switch port.
- Access mode
- Indicates that the switch should filter on specific VLAN IDs and
allow only packets that match the configured VLAN IDs to pass through
the switch port. The VLAN ID is then removed from the packet before
it is sent to the server (that is, VLAN ID filtering is controlled
by the switch). In access mode, the switch expects to see packets
without VLAN ID tags inbound to the switch port.
For the specific details regarding how to configure a VLAN switch,
consult the specific product documentation.