Configuring VLANs

You can use VlanDirector to configure the following types of VLANs:

• VLANs within your Ethernet network (Ethernet VLANs)

• VLANs that span your ATM network (ATM VLANs)

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Note VLAN refers to both Ethernet and ATM VLANs. In Cisco's implementation of LANE, LE server encompasses both the LAN emulation (LE) server and the broadcast server.

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Creating Folders

When you start CWSI, the discovery process queries a device (using a supplied IP address and community string) as a starting point to find other devices and links in your network and builds a database containing information about those devices and connections. xsAs a result of the discovery process, VlanDirector automatically creates a folder for each VTP domain in your network.

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Note A VTP domain contains one or more interconnected devices that share the same VTP domain name. A VTP domain defines the boundary of the specified VLAN. For more information, see Appendix B, "Understanding VLAN Trunk Protocol."

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You can create folders to contain VLANs within VTP domain folders. The use of folders simplifies locating and managing VLANs.

To create a folder, take the following steps:

Step 1 In the Names window (Figure 3-1), select a VTP domain folder in which to create a folder.

Figure 3-1: Names Window

Step 2 Select Edit>Create from the menu bar.

The Create Names Entry:VTPDomain window opens (Figure 3-2), with the VTP domain displayed.

Figure 3-2: Create Names Entry: VTPDomain Window

Step 3 Enter a name for the folder in the Name field.

Step 4 In the Type field, click the Folder radio button. Once you click the Folder radio button, only the fields for creating a folder remain.

Step 5 In the Purpose field, you can enter a word or short phrase that describes the folder.

Step 6 In the Description field, you can describe the contents of the folder. Click the dotted button to the right of the field to display and scroll through your entry.

Step 7 Click Create.

Creating VLANs

To create a VLAN, take the following steps:

Step 1 In the Names window (Figure 3-1), click on the domain folder within which you want to create the VLAN.

Step 2 Select Edit>Create from the menu bar.

The Create Names Entry:VTPDomain window opens (Figure 3-3), with the VTP Domain displayed.

Step 3 Enter a name for the VLAN in the Name field.

Step 4 Select a color for the VLAN by clicking the down arrow to the left of the colored box. There are 13 standard colors to choose from, or you can create your own custom color. See "Customizing VLAN Colors." The color identifies the VLAN in the Names window and on the topology map.

Step 5 In the Type field, click the Ethernet radio button.

Step 6 In the Purpose field, enter a word or short phrase that describes the reason for the VLAN.

Step 7 In the Description field, describe the contents of the VLAN. Click the dotted button to the right of the field to display and scroll through your entry.

Step 8 To display the VLAN index, the 802.10 SAID parameter, or to create an ATM VLAN, click the Advanced check box

The advanced parameter configuration fields appear.

Step 9 If the default Vlan Index and 802.10 SAID settings are acceptable, go to Step 12. If not, change them as follows:

(a) In the Vlan Index field, enter a number between 1 and 1024 to identify the VLAN if you do not want to use the number VlanDirector has automatically assigned. Each time you create a VLAN, VlanDirector automatically increments the VLAN index number.

(b) In the 802.10 SAID field, VlanDirector generates a SAID value by adding 100000 to the VLAN index number. If the computed SAID value is in use, VlanDirector increments the SAID value until it finds one that is not in use. You can use the default value or enter another value.

Step 10 To bridge the VLAN across an ATM network, click the LANE Services check box.

The LE server configuration fields appear.

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Note To create an ATM VLAN, you must have default LANE service set up and VTP enabled on the ATM module of devices that support VTP. Enabling VTP on the ATM module automatically creates a default client for the device. If VTP is not enabled, you must manually set up a default client for the device. For additional information about LANE services, see Chapter 5, "Configuring LANE Services."

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Step 11 If the default LE server configuration settings are acceptable, go to Step 12. If not, change them as follows:

(a) Click to add or remove a check mark in the box in the Config? column. A check mark creates a LE server on the device shown. No check mark (empty box) does not create an LE server on the device shown.

(b) The Device <Module/Port> column contains the host name and module/port numbers of the device on which you are creating the LE server. Use the scroll bar to select another recommended host name or drag an ATM link from the CWSI topology window and drop it in this field.

(c) The Order column contains a number indicating the priority of the server for that ATM VLAN. You can have more than one LE server, one acting as the primary LE server and others acting as backups.

(d) To add backup LE servers, select the fabric in the row containing the LE server for which you want to add a backup and click Add Backup. Then repeat steps (a) through (c) for each backup LE server.

Step 12 Click Ok to save the changes and close the window. Click Apply to save the changes and leave the window open.

Figure 3-3: Create Names Entry: VTPDomain Window with Advanced and LANE Services Options Checked

Modifying VLAN Parameters

To modify an existing VLAN, take the following steps:

Step 1 Select the VLAN in the Names window (Figure 3-1) or locate the VLAN using the Find option. See "Finding VLANs in the Names Window."

Step 2 Select Edit>Modify from the menu bar.

The Modify Names Entry:VTPDomain window opens (Figure 3-4). The VTP Domain is displayed and cannot be modified.

Figure 3-4: Modify Names Entry:VTPDomain

Step 3 Change the name of the VLAN by entering a new name in the Name field.

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Note You cannot change the name of default VLANs.

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Step 4 Change the color for the VLAN by clicking the down arrow to the left of the colored box. This color identifies the VLAN in the Names window and on the topology map.

Step 5 In the Purpose field, enter a word or short phrase that describes the reason for the VLAN.

Step 6 In the Description field, describe the contents of the VLAN. Click the dotted button to the right of the field to display and scroll through your entry.

Step 7 To display the VLAN index, the 802.10 SAID parameter, and the LANE Services option, click the Advanced check box.

The advanced parameter configuration fields appear. If an LE server is already configured, the LE server fields also appear.

Step 8 In the 802.10 SAID field, VlanDirector generates a SAID value by adding 100000 to the VLAN index number. If the computed SAID value is in use, VlanDirector increments the SAID value until it finds one that is not in use. You can use the default value or enter another value.

To add LE servers to an existing VLAN, see "Adding LE Servers to Existing VLANs."

Step 9 Click Ok to save the changes and close the window. Click Apply to save the changes and leave the window open.

Adding LE Servers to Existing VLANs

To add an LE server to an existing VLAN, take the following steps:

Step 1 Select the VLAN in the Names window (Figure 3-1) or locate the VLAN using the Find option. See "Finding VLANs in the Names Window."

Step 2 Select Edit>Modify from the menu bar.

The Modify Names Entry:VTPDomain window opens (Figure 3-4).

Step 3 To display LANE Services for the VLAN, click the Advanced check box and then the LANE Services check box.

The LE server configuration fields appear.

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Note To create an ATM VLAN, you must have default LANE service set up and VTP enabled on the ATM module of devices that support VTP. Enabling VTP on the ATM module automatically creates a default client for the device. If VTP is not enabled, you must manually set up a default client for the device. For additional information about LANE services, see Chapter 5, "Configuring LANE Services."

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Step 4 If the default LE server configuration settings are acceptable, go to Step 5. If not, change them as follows:

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Note A check mark in the Config? column creates an LE server on the device shown. No check mark (empty box) does not create an LE server on the device shown.

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(a) The Device <Module/Port> column contains the host name and module/port numbers of the device on which you are creating the LE server. Use the scroll bar to select another recommended device or drag an ATM link from the CWSI topology window and drop it in this field.

(b) The Order column contains a number indicating the priority of the LE server for that ATM VLAN. You can have more than one LE server, one acting as the primary LE server and the others acting as backups.

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Note To change the device for the primary LE server, add a backup LE server with the desired device. Then delete the primary LE server. The backup LE server will become the primary LE server.

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Step 5 Click Modify.

Adding Backup LE Servers to a VLAN

To add an LE server to an existing VLAN, take the following steps:

Step 1 Select the VLAN in the Names window (Figure 3-1) or locate the VLAN using the Find option. See "Finding VLANs in the Names Window."

Step 2 Select Edit>Modify from the menu bar.

The Modify Names Entry:VTPDomain window opens (Figure 3-4).

Step 3 To display the LANE Services for the VLAN, click the Advanced check box.

The LE server configuration fields appear.

Step 4 Click Add Backup.

A new row is added to the LE server creation table.

Step 5 If the default LE server configuration settings are acceptable, go to Step 5. If not, change them as follows:

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Note A check mark in the box in the Config? column creates an LE server on the device shown. No check mark (empty box) does not create an LE server on the device shown.

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(a) The Device <Module/Port> column contains the host name and module/port numbers of the device on which you are creating the LE server. Use the scroll bar to select another recommended device or drag an ATM link from the CWSI topology window and drop it in this field.

(b) The Order column contains a number indicating the priority of the LE server for that ATM VLAN. You can have more than one LE server, one acting as the primary LE server and the others acting as backups.

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Note Deleting a backup LE server raises the subsequent LE server's priority. So you can change the order of the backup LE servers by deleting and readding LE servers until they are in the desired sequence. For example, to reverse the order of backup LE servers A (priority 1) and B (priority 2), delete backup server A. Backup LE server B now becomes the priority 1 backup server. Now you can readd backup LE server A as the priority 2 backup server.

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Step 6 Click Modify.

Deleting LE Servers

To delete an LE server, take the following steps:

Step 1 Select the VLAN in the Names window (Figure 3-1) or locate the VLAN using the Find option. See "Finding VLANs in the Names Window."

Step 2 Select Edit>Modify from the menu bar.

The Modify Names Entry:VTPDomain window opens (Figure 3-4).

Step 3 To display the LANE Services for the VLAN, click the Advanced check box.

The LE server configuration fields appear.

Step 4 Click on the fabric field in the row containing the LE server you want to delete.

Step 5 Click Delete.

Deleting VLANs

To delete an existing VLAN, take the following steps:

Step 1 Select the VLAN you want to delete from the Names window (Figure 3-1) or locate the VLAN using the Find option. See "Finding VLANs in the Names Window."

Step 2 Select Edit>Delete from the menu bar.

Step 3 When prompted, click Yes to confirm the deletion.

Deleting a VLAN removes the VLAN name from the Names window and removes the VLAN from all VTP servers in the domain and all devices that are not running VTP.

Finding VLANs in the Names Window

To locate a VLAN in the Names window (Figure 3-1), click the plus sign next to the Folder in which the VLAN resides and scroll to the VLAN. Or you can use the Find option as follows:

Step 1 Select Edit>Find from the menu bar.

The Vlad - Find window opens (Figure 3-5).

Step 2 If you know the VLAN name, enter it in the What field.

Step 3 If you are unsure of the VLAN name, you can scroll through the list of all VLANs in the Matches field. Click the name of the VLAN you want to find.

Step 4 Click Ignore Case to search for the VLAN name without case sensitivity.

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Note VLAN names are case-sensitive.

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Step 5 Click Find.

When the VLAN is found, it is automatically highlighted in the Names window.

Figure 3-5: Vlad - Find Window

Customizing VLAN Colors

Color identifies the VLAN in the Names window (Figure 3-1) and on the CWSI map. There are 13 standard colors to choose from when creating or modifying a VLAN, or you can create your own custom colors, as follows:

Step 1 Access the Create Names Entry:VTPDomain window or Modify Names Entry:VTPDomain window. See "Creating VLANs" or "Modifying VLAN Parameters."

Step 2 Click the down arrow to the left of the colored box to change the color of the VLAN.

Step 3 Click the desired color or scroll to the bottom of the list and click Custom.... The CWSI - Color window opens (Figure 3-6).

Figure 3-6: CWSI - Color Window

Step 4 Enter numerical values in the fields corresponding to the red, green, and blue colors, or use the sliders to manipulate the colors manually.

Step 5 Enter numerical values in the fields corresponding to the HSB, or use the sliders to manipulate the hue, shading, and brightness manually.

Step 6 Click Ok.