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+--- Thread: What are the differences between VLAN tagging and trunking in Hyper-V? (/showthread.php?tid=126)
What are the differences between VLAN tagging and trunking in Hyper-V? - savas - 05-04-2023
When it comes to VLANs in a Hyper-V environment, understanding VLAN tagging and trunking is crucial, especially if you’re diving into network virtualization. Both concepts are closely related but serve different purposes.
VLAN tagging refers to the method of adding a VLAN identifier to a data packet as it travels across the network. This identifier tells switches which VLAN the packet belongs to, helping maintain network segmentation. In Hyper-V, you can configure VLAN IDs on virtual network adapters directly in the virtual switch settings. That way, each VM can communicate within its assigned VLAN, ensuring that traffic remains isolated from other VLANs. You’d typically use VLAN tagging when you want to control exactly what traffic goes where on a per-VM basis.
On the other hand, trunking is more about the configuration of the network infrastructure as a whole. Think of trunking as a way to allow multiple VLANs to travel across a single physical link between switches, routers, or in this case, virtual switches. When you set up trunking, you’re essentially saying, "Hey, I want to route multiple VLANs over one connection." In Hyper-V, you can configure virtual switches to handle trunked connections, allowing for efficient use of resources. This means that instead of wiring separate physical connections for each VLAN, you can send the traffic for multiple VLANs over a single cable by using tagging to distinguish between them.
So, while tagging happens at the packet level to identify its VLAN, trunking is more about how you manage and consolidate those VLANs on network paths. They work together beautifully in a Hyper-V environment: tagging ensures packets are correctly marked, while trunking allows those marked packets to travel seamlessly across your virtual network infrastructure. Understanding how to configure both effectively is key to optimizing your VLAN setup in Hyper-V, enabling you to manage traffic flows efficiently without cluttering your physical network.
I hope my post was useful. Are you new to Hyper-V and do you have a good Hyper-V backup solution? See my other post