VLAN ID rules

VLAN ID rules

Layer-2 switches and layer-3 devices add VLAN ID tags to the traffic as it arrives and remove them before they deliver the traffic to its final destination. Devices such as PCs and servers on the network do not require any special configuration for VLANs. Twelve bits of the 4-byte VLAN tag are reserved for the VLAN ID number. Valid VLAN ID numbers are from 1 to 4094, while 0 is used for high priority frames, and 4095 is reserved.

On a layer-2 switch, you can have only one VLAN subinterface per physical interface, unless that interface is configured as a trunk link. Trunk links can transport traffic for multiple VLANs to other parts of the network.

On a FortiGate unit, you can add multiple VLANs to the same physical interface. However, VLAN subinterfaces added to the same physical interface cannot have the same VLAN ID or have IP addresses on the same subnet. You can add VLAN subinterfaces with the same VLAN ID to different physical interfaces.

Creating VLAN subinterfaces with the same VLAN ID does not create any internal connection between them. For example a VLAN ID of 300 on port1 and VLAN ID of 300 on port2 are allowed, but they are not connected. Their relationship is the same as between any two FortiGate network interfaces.


Having trouble configuring your Fortinet hardware or have some questions you need answered? Check Out The Fortinet Guru Youtube Channel! Want someone else to deal with it for you? Get some consulting from Fortinet GURU!

This entry was posted in FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiOS 5.4 Handbook and tagged , on by .

About Mike

Michael Pruett, CISSP has a wide range of cyber-security and network engineering expertise. The plethora of vendors that resell hardware but have zero engineering knowledge resulting in the wrong hardware or configuration being deployed is a major pet peeve of Michael's. This site was started in an effort to spread information while providing the option of quality consulting services at a much lower price than Fortinet Professional Services. Owns PacketLlama.Com (Fortinet Hardware Sales) and Office Of The CISO, LLC (Cybersecurity consulting firm).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.