Lectures on LAN Switching – Part 06

VLAN Configuration in Cisco Catalyst Switches

For this lecture, I will only give the basic commands to easily configure VLANs on Catalyst Switches. You will also notice the fundamental difference in configuring a Catalyst Switch with CatOS, and one with IOS. This lecture will so show the slight difference in configuring an IOS-based Catalyst Switch the ‘old way’ versus the ‘new way’.

For CatOS based switches:

Add a VLAN

set vlan (vlan id) (mod/port)

Delete a VLAN

clear vlan (vlan id)

Show the VLAN list

show vlan


For IOS based switches (Old Way):

*Enter VLAN Database first from Privileged Exec Mode (Enable Mode)

vlan database

*Ensure that the Switch is in VTP Server Mode

vtp server

Add a VLAN

vlan (vlan id)

Delete a VLAN

no vlan (vlan id)

Show the VLAN list from Privileged Exec Mode

show vlan


For IOS based switches (New Way):

*Enter Global Configuration Mode first from Privileged Exec Mode (Enable Mode)

configure terminal

*Ensure that the Switch is in VTP Server Mode

vtp server

Add a VLAN

vlan (vlan id)

Delete a VLAN

no vlan (vlan id)

Show the VLAN list from Privileged Exec Mode

show vlan


For additional VLAN configuration options and VLAN-related information, the Cisco.com website offers a lot of free documentation.