574 Configuring VLANs
Table 21-1 provides an overview of the types of VLANs you can use to 
logically divide the network.
Switchport Modes
You can configure each port on a PowerConnect 7000 Series switch to be in 
one of the following modes:
• Access — Access ports are intended to connect end-stations to the system, 
especially when the end-stations are incapable of generating VLAN tags.
• Trunk — Trunk-mode ports are intended for Switch-to-Switch links, where 
in general all traffic is tagged.
• General — General ports can be either access or trunk ports.
VLAN membership rules that apply to a port are based on the switchport 
mode configured for the port. Table 21-2 shows the behavior of the three 
switchport modes.
Table 21-1. VLAN Assignment
VLAN Assignment Description
Port-based (Static) This is the most common way to assign hosts to VLANs. 
The port where the traffic enters the switch determines the 
VLAN membership. 
IP Subnet Hosts are assigned to a VLAN based on their IP address. All 
hosts in the same subnet are members of the same VLAN. 
MAC-Based The MAC address of the device determines the VLAN 
assignment. This type of VLAN is useful when a host 
might not always connect to the network through the same 
port but needs to be on the same VLAN. 
Protocol Protocol-based VLANs were developed to separate traffic 
based on the protocol type before IP traffic became the de 
facto standard in the LAN. Use a protocol-based VLAN on 
networks where you might have a group of hosts that use 
IPX or another legacy protocol. With protocol-based 
VLANs, you can segregate traffic based on the EtherType 
value in the frame.