We wrote an article which covers Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs)as a concept, and another article onconfiguring VLANs on Cisco switches. The remaining subjects to cover are the different options that exist for routing between VLANs. This will let us illustrate the concepts ofinter-vlan routing, Router on a Stick (RoaS), and Layer 3 Switches (occasionally called MultiLayer Switches).
Why do we need Routing Between VLANs?
As we learned in a prior article, VLANs create a logical separation between Switch ports. Essentially, each VLAN behaves like a separate physical switch. To illustrate this, below aretwo topology pictures of the same environment – one Physical and one Logical.
The Physical topology depicts a switch and four hosts in two different VLANs – Host A and Host B are in VLAN 20 and Host C and Host D are in VLAN 30. The logical topology reflects how the physical topology operates – the two VLANs essentially create two separate physical switches.
PhysicalLogical
Despite all four hosts being connected to the same physical switch, the logical topology makes it clear that the hosts in VLAN 20 are unable to speak with the hosts in VLAN 30. Notice since there is nothing connecting the two “virtual” switches, there is no way for Host A to speak to Host C.
Since Host A and Host C are in different VLANs, it is also implied that they are in different Networks. Each VLAN will typically correspond to its own IP Network. In this diagram,VLAN 20 containsthe 10.0.20.0/24 network, and VLAN 30 contains the 10.0.30.0/24 network.
The purpose of a Switch is to facilitate communication within networks. This works great for Host A trying to speak to Host B. However, if Host A is trying to speak to Host C, we will need to use another device – one whose purpose is to facilitate communication between networks.
If you’ve read the Packet Traveling series, then you know that the device which facilitates communication between networks is a Router.
A router will perform the routing function necessary for two hosts on different networks to speak to one another. In the same way, a Router is what we will need in order for hosts in different VLANs to communicate with one another.
There are three options available in order to enable routing between the VLANs:
- Router with a Separate Physical Interface in each VLAN
- Router with a Sub-Interface in each VLAN
- Utilizing a Layer 3 Switch
The remainder of this article will explore these three options and their configuration.
Router with Separate Physical Interfaces
The simplest way to enable routing between the two VLANs to simply connect an additional port from each VLAN into a Router.
The Router doesn’t know that it has two connections to the same switch — nor does it need to. The Router operates like normal when routing packets between two networks.
In fact, the process of a packet moving from Host A to Host D in this topology will work exactly as it does in this video. The only difference is since there is only one physical switch, there will only be one MAC address table – each entry includes the mapping of switchport to MAC address, as well as the VLAN ID number that port belongs to.
Each switch port in this diagram is configured as an Access port, we can use the range command to configure multiple ports as once:
Switch(config)# interface range eth2/0 - 2Switch(config-if-range)# switchport mode accessSwitch(config-if-range)# switchport access vlan 20Switch(config)# interface range eth3/0 - 2Switch(config-if-range)# switchport mode accessSwitch(config-if-range)# switchport access vlan 30
Of course, before assigning the switchport to a VLAN, it is a good idea to create the VLAN in the VLAN Database.
The Router interfaces also use a standard configuration — configuring an IP address and enabling the interface:
Router(config)# interface eth0/2Router(config-if)# ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0Router(config-if)# no shutdownRouter(config)# interface eth0/3Router(config-if)# ip address 10.0.30.1 255.255.255.0Router(config-if)# no shutdown
Below you will find various show commandsfor the Router and the Switch, these can be used to understand and validate how the environment is functioning.
RouterShow Commands
show runip int briefip routearpcdp neighbor
Router# show running-config...interface Ethernet0/2 ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0!interface Ethernet0/3 ip address 10.0.30.1 255.255.255.0
Router# show ip interface briefInterface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol...Ethernet0/2 10.0.20.1 YES manual up upEthernet0/3 10.0.30.1 YES manual up up...
Router# show ip routeCodes: L - local, C - connected, ...Gateway of last resort is not set 10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 2 masksC 10.0.20.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet0/2L 10.0.20.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet0/2C 10.0.30.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet0/3L 10.0.30.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet0/3
Router# show arpProtocol Address Age (min) Hardware Addr Type InterfaceInternet 10.0.20.1 - aabb.cc00.0220 ARPA Ethernet0/2Internet 10.0.20.11 2 0050.7966.6800 ARPA Ethernet0/2Internet 10.0.20.22 5 0050.7966.6801 ARPA Ethernet0/2Internet 10.0.30.1 - aabb.cc00.0230 ARPA Ethernet0/3Internet 10.0.30.33 4 0050.7966.6802 ARPA Ethernet0/3Internet 10.0.30.44 4 0050.7966.6803 ARPA Ethernet0/3
Router# show cdp neighborsCapability Codes: R - Router, S - Switch, I - IGMP, B - Source Route Bridge...Device ID Local Intrfce Holdtme Capability Platform Port IDSwitch Eth 0/3 126 R S I Linux Uni Eth 3/0Switch Eth 0/2 126 R S I Linux Uni Eth 2/0
SwitchShow Commands
show runmac tablevlan briefcdp neighbor
Switch# show running-config...vlan 20 name RED!vlan 30 name BLUE...interface Ethernet2/0 switchport access vlan 20 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet2/1 switchport access vlan 20 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet2/2 switchport access vlan 20 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet3/0 switchport access vlan 30 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet3/1 switchport access vlan 30 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet3/2 switchport access vlan 30 switchport mode access
Switch# show mac address-table Mac Address Table-------------------------------------------Vlan Mac Address Type Ports---- ----------- -------- ----- 20 0050.7966.6800 DYNAMIC Et2/1 20 0050.7966.6801 DYNAMIC Et2/2 20 aabb.cc00.0220 DYNAMIC Et2/0 30 0050.7966.6802 DYNAMIC Et3/1 30 0050.7966.6803 DYNAMIC Et3/2 30 aabb.cc00.0230 DYNAMIC Et3/0Total Mac Addresses for this criterion: 6
Switch# show vlan briefVLAN Name Status Ports---- --------------------------- --------- --------------------...20 RED active Et2/0, Et2/1, Et2/230 BLUE active Et3/0, Et3/1, Et3/2...
Switch# show cdp neighborsCapability Codes: R - Router, S - Switch, I - IGMP, B - Source Route Bridge...Device ID Local Intrfce Holdtme Capability Platform Port IDRouter Eth 3/0 152 R B Linux Uni Eth 0/3Router Eth 2/0 166 R B Linux Uni Eth 0/2
Router with Sub-Interfaces
The previously described method is functional, but scales poorly. If there were five VLANs on the switch, then we would need five switchports and five router ports to enable routing between all five VLANs
Instead, there exists a way for multiple VLANs to terminate on a single router interface. That method is to create a Sub-Interface.
A Sub-Interface allows a single Physical interface to be split up into multiple virtual sub-interfaces, each of which terminate their own VLAN.
Sub-interfaces to a Router are similar to what Trunk ports are to a Switch – one link carrying traffic for multiple VLANs. Hence, each router Sub-interface must also add a VLAN tag to all traffic leaving said interface.
The logical operation of the Sub-interface topology works exactly as the separate physical interface topology in the section before it. The only difference is with Sub-interfaces, only one Router interface is required to terminate all VLANs.
Keep in mind, however, that the drawback with all VLANs terminating on a single Router interface is an increased risk ofcongestion on the link.
The Sub-interface feature is sometimes referred to asRouter on a Stickor One-armed Router. This is in reference to the single router terminating the traffic from each VLAN.
The Switch’s port facing the router is configured as a standard Trunk:
Switch(config)# interface eth1/1Switch(config-if)# switchport trunk encapsulation dot1qSwitch(config-if)# switchport mode trunk
The Router’s configuration of Sub-interfaces is fairly straight forward. First, we enable the physical interface:
Router(config)# interface eth1/1Router(config-if)# no shutdown
Next, we create and configure the first Sub-interface:
Router(config)# interface eth1/1.20 Router(config-subif)# encapsulation dot1Q 20Router(config-subif)# ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0
Apart from usingthe Sub-interface distinguisher (eth1/1.20) and using the encapsulation dot1q <VLAN#> command, the rest of the interface configuration is exactly the same as any other regular physical interface.
Similarly, we will also configure the Sub-interface for VLAN 30:
Router(config)# interface eth1/1.30Router(config-subif)# encapsulation dot1Q 30Router(config-subif)# ip address 10.0.30.1 255.255.255.0
A point of clarity regarding the Sub-interface syntax. The number after the physical interface (fa0/3.20 and fa0/3.30) simply serves the purpose of splitting up the physical interfaces into Sub-interfaces. The number specified in the encapsulation dot1q vlan ## command is what actually specifies what VLAN ID# the traffic belongs to.
These two values do not have to match, but often they do for the purpose of technician sanity.
Below you will find various show commands for the Router and the Switch. These can be used to understand and validate how the environment is functioning.
Router Sub-Interface Show Commands
show runip int briefip routearpcdp neighbor
Router# show running-config...interface Ethernet1/1 no ip address!interface Ethernet1/1.20 encapsulation dot1Q 20 ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0!interface Ethernet1/1.30 encapsulation dot1Q 30 ip address 10.0.30.1 255.255.255.0
Router# show ip interface briefInterface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol...Ethernet1/1 unassigned YES NVRAM up upEthernet1/1.20 10.0.20.1 YES manual up upEthernet1/1.30 10.0.30.1 YES manual up up...
Router# show ip routeCodes: L - local, C - connected, ...Gateway of last resort is not set 10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 2 masksC 10.0.20.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1.20L 10.0.20.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1.20C 10.0.30.0/24 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1.30L 10.0.30.1/32 is directly connected, Ethernet1/1.30
Router# show arpProtocol Address Age (min) Hardware Addr Type InterfaceInternet 10.0.20.1 - aabb.cc00.0211 ARPA Ethernet1/1.20Internet 10.0.20.11 0 0050.7966.6800 ARPA Ethernet1/1.20Internet 10.0.20.22 0 0050.7966.6801 ARPA Ethernet1/1.20Internet 10.0.30.1 - aabb.cc00.0211 ARPA Ethernet1/1.30Internet 10.0.30.33 0 0050.7966.6802 ARPA Ethernet1/1.30Internet 10.0.30.44 0 0050.7966.6803 ARPA Ethernet1/1.30
Router# show cdp neighborsCapability Codes: R - Router, S - Switch, I - IGMP, B - Source Route Bridge...Device ID Local Intrfce Holdtme Capability Platform Port IDSwitch Eth 1/1 150 R S I Linux Uni Eth 1/1
Switch Trunk Show Commands
show runmac tablevlan briefint trunkcdp
Switch# show running-config...vlan 20 name RED!vlan 30 name BLUE...interface Ethernet1/1 switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q switchport mode trunk!interface Ethernet2/1 switchport access vlan 20 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet2/2 switchport access vlan 20 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet3/1 switchport access vlan 30 switchport mode access!interface Ethernet3/2 switchport access vlan 30 switchport mode access
Switch# show mac address-table Mac Address Table-------------------------------------------Vlan Mac Address Type Ports---- ----------- -------- ----- 1 aabb.cc00.0211 DYNAMIC Et1/1 20 aabb.cc00.0211 DYNAMIC Et1/1 30 aabb.cc00.0211 DYNAMIC Et1/1 20 0050.7966.6800 DYNAMIC Et2/1 20 0050.7966.6801 DYNAMIC Et2/2 30 0050.7966.6802 DYNAMIC Et3/1 30 0050.7966.6803 DYNAMIC Et3/2Total Mac Addresses for this criterion: 7
Switch# show vlan briefVLAN Name Status Ports---- --------------------------- --------- -------------------...20 RED active Et2/1, Et2/230 BLUE active Et3/1, Et3/2...
Switch# show interfaces trunkPort Mode Encapsulation Status Native vlanEt1/1 on 802.1q trunking 1Port Vlans allowed on trunkEt1/1 1-4094Port Vlans allowed and active in management domainEt1/1 1,20,30Port Vlans in spanning tree forwarding state and not prunedEt1/1 1,20,30
Switch# show cdp neighborsCapability Codes: R - Router, S - Switch, I - IGMP, B - Source Route Bridge...Device ID Local Intrfce Holdtme Capability Platform Port IDRouter Eth 1/1 136 R B Linux Uni Eth 1/1
Layer 3 Switch
The last option for routing between VLANs does not involve a router at all. Nor does it involve using a traditional switch.
Instead, a different device entirely can be used. This device is known as a Layer 3 Switch(or sometimes also as a Multilayer switch). But exactly what is a Layer 3 switch?
A Layer 3 Switch is different from a traditional Layer 2 Switch in that it has the functionality for routing between VLANs intrinsically. In fact, when considering how a L3 Switch operates, you can safely imagine that a Layer 3 Switch is a traditional switch with a built in Router.
With regard to VLANs the Multilayer switchis configured mostly the same way as a regular L2 switch:
MultilayerSwitch(config)# vlan 20MultilayerSwitch(config-vlan)# name RED MultilayerSwitch(config)# vlan 30MultilayerSwitch(config-vlan)# name BLUEMultilayerSwitch(config)# interface range eth2/0 - 2MultilayerSwitch(config-if-range)# switchport mode accessMultilayerSwitch(config-if-range)# switchport access vlan 20MultilayerSwitch(config)# interface range eth3/0 - 2MultilayerSwitch(config-if-range)# switchport mode accessMultilayerSwitch(config-if-range)# switchport access vlan 30
Then, for each VLAN that you want the Multilayer switch to route for, you have the option of configuring an IP address within what is known as an SVI, or a Switched Virtual Interface.
AnSVI serves as the L3 termination point for each VLAN – aka, the way in or out of each VLAN. Another way of looking at it is that the SVI serves as the interface on the built-in Router of the Multilayer switch, allowing traffic from one VLAN to reach the built-in Router and be routed to another VLAN as necessary.
The configuration for an SVI involves two parts. First, enabling IP Routing; and Second, applying an IP address to the VLAN.
To enable IP Routing, use the following command:
MultilayerSwitch(config)# ip routing
IP Routing only needs to be enabled once. Some L3 switches come with it enabled by default. Applying the command while it is already enabled will not cause any harm, so if in doubt as to whether it is already enabled or not, simply applying it again is safe.
To apply an IP address to the VLANs, configure the SVI as follows:
MultilayerSwitch(config)# interface vlan 20MultilayerSwitch(config-if)# ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0MultilayerSwitch(config-if)# no shutdownMultilayerSwitch(config)# interface vlan 30MultilayerSwitch(config-if)# ip address 10.0.30.1 255.255.255.0MultilayerSwitch(config-if)# no shutdown
The two configurations above will enable routing between VLAN 20 and VLAN 30. The hosts in each VLAN can use the IP addresses 10.0.20.1 and 10.0.30.1 as their default gateway (respectively).
When Host A sends a packet to Host B, the packet will be switched within the same VLAN – no L3 processing will occur.
When Host A sends a packet to Host C, the packet will be sent to the SVI to be routed to the other VLAN – all regular L3 processing will occur: the TTL will be decremented and the L2 header will be rewritten.
Multilayer Switch Configuration
show runmac address-tablevlan brief
MultilayerSwitch# show running-config...ip routing...interface Vlan20 ip address 10.0.20.1 255.255.255.0!interface Vlan30 ip address 10.0.30.1 255.255.255.0
MultilayerSwitch# show mac address-table Mac Address Table-------------------------------------------Vlan Mac Address Type Ports---- ----------- -------- ----- 20 0050.7966.6800 DYNAMIC Et2/1 20 0050.7966.6801 DYNAMIC Et2/2 30 0050.7966.6802 DYNAMIC Et3/2 30 0050.7966.6803 DYNAMIC Et3/1Total Mac Addresses for this criterion: 4
MultilayerSwitch# show vlan briefVLAN Name Status Ports---- --------------------------- --------- -------------------...20 RED active Et2/1, Et2/230 BLUE active Et3/1, Et3/2
ip routearpip int brief
MultilayerSwitch# show ip routeCodes: L - local, C – connected, ...Gateway of last resort is not set 10.0.0.0/8 is variably subnetted, 4 subnets, 2 masksC 10.0.20.0/24 is directly connected, Vlan20L 10.0.20.1/32 is directly connected, Vlan20C 10.0.30.0/24 is directly connected, Vlan30L 10.0.30.1/32 is directly connected, Vlan30
MultilayerSwitch# show arpProtocol Address Age (min) Hardware Addr Type InterfaceInternet 10.0.20.1 - aabb.cc80.0200 ARPA Vlan20Internet 10.0.20.11 0 0050.7966.6800 ARPA Vlan20Internet 10.0.20.22 0 0050.7966.6801 ARPA Vlan20Internet 10.0.30.1 - aabb.cc80.0200 ARPA Vlan30Internet 10.0.30.33 0 0050.7966.6803 ARPA Vlan30Internet 10.0.30.44 0 0050.7966.6802 ARPA Vlan30
MultilayerSwitch# show ip interface briefInterface IP-Address OK? Method Status Protocol...Ethernet2/1 unassigned YES unset up upEthernet2/2 unassigned YES unset up up...Ethernet3/1 unassigned YES unset up upEthernet3/2 unassigned YES unset up up...Vlan20 10.0.20.1 YES manual up upVlan30 10.0.30.1 YES manual up up
Note: both sets of tabs and configuration above are from the same device. For the sake of organization, one set of tabs refer to the L3 functionsand the other refers to the L2 functions.
Summary
This article discussed the three different options for Routing between VLANs. In each case, the hosts in communication behave exactly the same. In fact, the hosts have no visibility into how and what they are connected to.
Each strategy above hasits own benefits and limitations. Hopefully at this point you have a good idea of the options availableto enable communication between hosts on different VLANs.
