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This chapter describes how to configure dynamic port virtual LAN (VLAN) membership using the VLAN Management Policy Server (VMPS).
This chapter consists of these sections:
With VMPS, you can assign switch ports to VLANs dynamically, based on the source Media Access Control (MAC) address of the device connected to the port. When you move a host from a port on one switch in the network to a port on another switch in the network, the switch assigns the new port to the proper VLAN for that host dynamically.
When you enable VMPS, a MAC address-to-VLAN mapping database downloads from a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server and VMPS begins to accept client requests. If you reset or power cycle the Catalyst 5000 series switch, the VMPS database downloads from the TFTP server automatically and VMPS is reenabled.
VMPS opens a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) socket to communicate and listen to client requests. When the VMPS server receives a valid request from a client, it searches its database for a MAC address-to-VLAN mapping.
If the assigned VLAN is restricted to a group of ports, VMPS verifies the requesting port against this group. If the VLAN is allowed on the port, the VLAN name is returned to the client. If the VLAN is not allowed on the port and VMPS is not in secure mode, the host receives an "access denied" response. If VMPS is in secure mode, the port is shut down.
If a VLAN in the database does not match the current VLAN on the port and active hosts are on the port, VMPS sends an access denied or a port shutdown response based on the secure mode of the VMPS.
You can configure a fallback VLAN name. If you connect a device with a MAC address that is not in the database, VMPS sends the fallback VLAN name to the client. If you do not configure a fallback VLAN and the MAC address does not exist in the database, VMPS sends an access denied response. If VMPS is in secure mode, it sends a port shutdown response.
You can also make an explicit entry in the configuration table to deny access to specific MAC addresses for security reasons by specifying a --NONE-- keyword for the VLAN name. In this case, VMPS sends an access denied or port shutdown response.
On the Catalyst 5000 series switch, a dynamic (nontrunking) port can belong to only one VLAN at a time. When the link comes up, a dynamic port is isolated from its static VLAN. The source MAC address from the first packet of a new host on the dynamic port is sent to VMPS, which attempts to match the MAC address to a VLAN in the VMPS database. If there is a match, VMPS provides the VLAN number to assign to the port. If there is no match, VMPS either denies the request or shuts down the port (depending on the VMPS secure mode setting).
Multiple hosts (MAC addresses) can be active on a dynamic port if they are all in the same VLAN. If the link goes down on a dynamic port, the port returns to an isolated state. Any hosts that come online through the port are checked again with VMPS before the port is assigned to a VLAN.
These guidelines and restrictions apply to dynamic port VLAN membership:
Table 14-1 shows the default VMPS and dynamic port configuration.
| Feature | Default Configuration |
|---|---|
| VMPS server | |
VMPS enable state | Disabled |
VMPS management domain | Null |
VMPS TFTP server | None |
VMPS database configuration filename | vmps-config-database.1 |
VMPS fallback VLAN | Null |
VMPS secure mode | Open |
VMPS no domain requests | Allow |
| VMPS Client | |
VMPS domain server | None |
VMPS reconfirm interval | 60 minutes |
VMPS server retry count | 3 |
Dynamic ports | No dynamic ports configured |
These sections describe how to configure VMPS and define dynamic ports on clients.
To use VMPS, you first must create a VMPS database and store it on a TFTP server. The VMPS parser is line-based. Start each entry in the file on a new line. Ranges are not allowed for the port numbers.
Follow these guidelines for creating the VMPS database file:
To create a VMPS database, perform this task:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1 Determine the MAC addresses of the hosts you want to be assigned to VLAN dynamically. | show cam |
Step 2 Create an ASCII text file on your workstation or PC that contains the MAC address-to-VLAN mappings. |
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Step 3 Move the ASCII text file to a TFTP server so it can be downloaded to the Catalyst 5000 series switch. |
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When you configure VMPS, it downloads the VMPS database from the TFTP server and begins accepting VMPS requests.
To configure VMPS, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1 Configure the IP address of the TFTP server on which the ASCII text VMPS database configuration file resides. | set vmps tftpserver ip_addr [filename] |
Step 2 Enable VMPS. | set vmps state enable |
Step 3 Verify the VMPS configuration. | show vmps |
This example shows how to specify the location of the VMPS database, enable VMPS, and verify the configuration:
Console> (enable) set vmps state enable
Vlan Membership Policy Server enable is in progress. Console> (enable)
To disable VMPS, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1 Disable VMPS. | set vmps state disable |
Step 2 Verify that VMPS is disabled. | show vmps |
This example shows how to disable VMPS on the switch:
Console> (enable) set vmps state disable
All the VMPS configuration information will be lost and the resources released on disable. Do you want to continue (y/n[n]): y
Vlan Membership Policy Server disabled. Console> (enable)
To configure dynamic ports on VMPS client switches, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1 Specify the IP address of the VMPS server (the switch with VMPS enabled). | set vmps server ip_addr [primary] |
Step 2 Verify the VMPS server specification. | show vmps server |
Step 3 Configure the VLAN membership assignment to a port. | set port membership mod_num/port_num {dynamic | static} |
Step 4 Verify the dynamic port assignments. | show port [mod_num[/port_num]] |
This example shows how to specify the VMPS server, verify the VMPS server specification, assign dynamic ports, and verify the configuration:
Console> (enable) Console> (enable) show vmps server
VMPS domain server VMPS Status --------------------------------------- 192.0.0.6 192.0.0.1 primary 192.0.0.9 Console> (enable) set port membership 3/1-3 dynamic
Ports 3/1-3 vlan assignment set to dynamic. Spantree port fast start option enabled for ports 3/1-3. Console> (enable) set port membership 1/2 dynamic
Trunking port 1/2 vlan assignment cannot be set to dynamic. Console> (enable) set port membership 2/1 dynamic
ATM LANE port 2/1 vlan assignment can not be set to dynamic. Console> show port
Port Name Status Vlan Level Duplex Speed Type 1/1 connect dyn-3 normal full 100 100 BASE-TX 1/2 connect trunk normal half 100 100 BASE-TX 2/1 connect trunk normal full 155 OC3 MMF ATM 3/1 connect dyn-5 normal half 10 10 BASE-T 3/2 connect dyn-5 normal half 10 10 BASE-T 3/3 connect dyn-5 normal half 10 10 BASE-T Console> (enable)
To show information about MAC address-to-VLAN mappings, perform one of these tasks in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| show vmps mac [mac_address] |
| show vmps vlan [vlan_name] |
| show vmps vlanports [vlan_name] |
To show VMPS statistics, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Show VMPS statistics. | show vmps statistics |
To clear VMPS statistics, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Clear VMPS statistics. | clear vmps statistics |
To clear a VMPS server entry, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Clear a VMPS server entry. | clear vmps server ip_addr |
To reconfirm the dynamic port VLAN membership assignments, perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1 Reconfirm dynamic port VLAN membership. | reconfirm vmps |
Step 2 Verify the dynamic VLAN reconfirmation status. | show dvlan statistics |
This example shows how to reconfirm dynamic port VLAN membership assignments:
To download the VMPS database manually (to download a changed database configuration file or retry after a failed download attempt), perform this task in privileged mode:
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
Step 1 Download the VMPS database from the TFTP server, or specify a different VMPS database configuration file. | download vmps |
Step 2 Verify the VMPS database configuration file. | show vmps |
These sections describe how to troubleshoot VMPS and dynamic port VLAN membership:
Table 14-2 shows VMPS error messages you might see when you enter the set vmps state enable or the download vmps command.
| VMPS Error Message | Recommended Action |
|---|---|
| Specify the TFTP server address using the set vmps tftpserver ip_addr [filename] command. |
| Enter a static route (using the set ip route command) to the TFTP server. |
| Check the filename of the VMPS database configuration file on the TFTP server. Make sure the permissions are set correctly. |
| The Catalyst 5000 series switch does not have sufficient resources to run the database. You can fix this problem by increasing the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). |
After VMPS successfully downloads the VMPS database configuration file, it parses the file and builds a database. When the parsing is complete, VMPS outputs statistics about the total number of lines parsed and the number of parsing errors.
To obtain more information on VMPS parsing errors, set the syslog level for VMPS to 3 using the set logging level vmps 3 command.
A dynamic port might shut down under these circumstances:
To reenable a shut-down dynamic port, enter the set port enable mod_num/port_num command.
These sections show examples of how to configure VMPS and dynamic ports on a Catalyst 5000 series switch:
This example shows a sample VMPS database configuration file. A VMPS database configuration file is an ASCII text file that is stored on a TFTP server accessible to the switch that functions as the VMPS server.
!vmps domain <domain-name>
! The VMPS domain must be defined.
!vmps mode { open | secure }
! The default mode is open.
!vmps fallback <vlan-name>
!vmps no-domain-req { allow | deny }
!
! The default value is allow.
vmps domain WBU
vmps mode open
vmps fallback default
vmps no-domain-req deny
!
!
!MAC Addresses
!
vmps-mac-addrs
!
! address <addr> vlan-name <vlan_name>
!
address 0012.2233.4455 vlan-name hardware
address 0000.6509.a080 vlan-name hardware
address aabb.ccdd.eeff vlan-name Green
address 1223.5678.9abc vlan-name ExecStaff
address fedc.ba98.7654 vlan-name --NONE--
address fedc.ba23.1245 vlan-name Purple
!
!Port Groups
!
!vmps-port-group <group-name>
! device <device-id> { port <port-name> | all-ports }
!
vmps-port-group WiringCloset1
device 198.92.30.32 port 3/2
device 172.20.26.141 port 2/8
vmps-port-group "Executive Row"
device 198.4.254.222 port 1/2
device 198.4.254.222 port 1/3
device 198.4.254.223 all-ports
!
!
!VLAN groups
!
!vmps-vlan-group <group-name>
! vlan-name <vlan-name>
!
vmps-vlan-group Engineering
vlan-name hardware
vlan-name software
!
!
!VLAN port Policies
!
!vmps-port-policies {vlan-name <vlan_name> | vlan-group <group-name> }
! { port-group <group-name> | device <device-id> port <port-name> }
!
vmps-port-policies vlan-group Engineering
port-group WiringCloset1
vmps-port-policies vlan-name Green
device 198.92.30.32 port 4/8
vmps-port-policies vlan-name Purple
device 198.4.254.22 port 1/2
port-group "Executive Row"
Figure 14-1 shows a network with a VMPS server switch and VMPS client switches with dynamic ports. In this example, these assumptions apply:

Use this procedure to configure VMPS and dynamic ports:
Step 1 Configure Switch 1 as the primary VMPS server:
(a) Configure the IP address of the TFTP server on which the ASCII file resides:
(b) Enable VMPS:
After entering these commands, the file Bldg-G.db is downloaded to Switch 1. Switch 1 becomes the VMPS server.
Step 2 Configure the VMPS server addresses on each VMPS client:
(a) Configure the primary VMPS server IP address:
(b) Configure the secondary VMPS server IP addresses:
(c) Verify the VMPS server addresses:
Step 3 Configure port 3/1 on Switch 2 as dynamic:
Step 4 Connect End Station 2 on port 3/1. When End Station 2 sends a packet, Switch 2 sends a query to the primary VMPS server, Switch 1. Switch 1 responds with the VLAN to assign to port 3/1. Because spanning-tree PortFast mode is enabled by default on dynamic ports, port 3/1 connects immediately and enters forwarding mode.
Step 5 Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to configure the VMPS server addresses and assign dynamic ports on each VMPS client switch.
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