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VLAN(4) FreeBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual VLAN(4)
NAME
vlan - IEEE 802.1Q VLAN network interface
SYNOPSIS
To compile this driver into the kernel, place the following line in your
kernel configuration file:
device vlan
Alternatively, to load the driver as a module at boot time, place the
following line in loader.conf(5):
if_vlan_load="YES"
DESCRIPTION
The vlan driver demultiplexes frames tagged according to the IEEE 802.1Q
standard into logical vlan network interfaces, which allows
routing/bridging between multiple VLANs through a single switch trunk
port.
Each vlan interface is created at runtime using interface cloning. This
is most easily done with the ifconfig(8) create command or using the
cloned_interfaces variable in rc.conf(5).
To function, a vlan interface must be assigned a parent interface and
numeric VLAN tag using ifconfig(8). A single parent can be assigned to
multiple vlan interfaces provided they have different tags. The parent
interface is likely to be an Ethernet card connected to a properly
configured switch port. The VLAN tag should match one of those set up in
the switched network.
vlan initially assumes the same minimum length for tagged and untagged
frames. This mode is selected by setting the sysctl(8) variable
net.link.vlan.soft_pad to 0 (default). However, there are network
devices that fail to adjust frame length when it falls below the allowed
minimum due to untagging. Such devices should be able to interoperate
with vlan after changing the value of net.link.vlan.soft_pad to 1. In
the latter mode, vlan will pad short frames before tagging them so that
their length is not less than the minimum value after untagging by the
non-compliant devices.
HARDWARE
The vlan driver supports efficient operation over parent interfaces that
can provide help in processing VLANs. Such interfaces are automatically
recognized by their capabilities. Depending on the level of
sophistication found in a physical interface, it may do full VLAN
processing or just be able to receive and transmit long frames (up to
1522 bytes including an Ethernet header and FCS). The capabilities may
be user-controlled by the respective parameters to ifconfig(8),
vlanhwtag, and vlanmtu. However, a physical interface is not obliged to
react to them: It may have either capability enabled permanently without
a way to turn it off. The whole issue is very specific to a particular
device and its driver.
At present, these devices are capable of full VLAN processing in
hardware: ae(4), age(4), alc(4), ale(4), bce(4), bge(4), bxe(4), cxgb(4),
cxgbe(4), em(4), igb(4), ixgbe(4), jme(4), liquidio(4), msk(4), mxge(4),
due to massive, inadequate icmp(4) filtering that breaks the Path MTU
Discovery mechanism.
These interfaces natively support long frames for vlan: axe(4), bfe(4),
cas(4), dc(4), et(4), fwe(4), fxp(4), gem(4), le(4), nfe(4), rl(4),
sis(4), sk(4), ste(4), vr(4), vte(4), and xl(4).
The vlan driver automatically recognizes devices that natively support
long frames for vlan use and calculates the appropriate frame MTU based
on the capabilities of the parent interface. Some other interfaces not
listed above may handle long frames, but they do not advertise this
ability. The MTU setting on vlan can be corrected manually if used in
conjunction with such a parent interface.
SEE ALSO
ifconfig(8), sysctl(8)
FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE-p11 December 26, 2020 FreeBSD 14.0-RELEASE-p11