vlan and trunking configuration....newbie need help

Hello all...I attended my networking class the other day and at the end of it I left with a feeling of confusion and dissapointment as I didn't know anything about the topic above and we had to configure everything from scratch. Hope to obtain your insight as I am lost as to what am i to do first...

scenario:
1.There are two switches(client and server). Each switch are to be
trunked using a cross cable at port f0/1.
2.There are 5 routers; R1 - R2:vlan 12, R1-R3:vlan 13, R2-R4: vlan
24, R3-R5 :vlan 35, R4 - R5: vlan 45
3.Local VLan for R1: 101, R2:102,R3:102,R4:104, R5:105
4. Switch: f0/1 - f0/5 --> trunk ports
:vlan - f0/6:12, f0/7:13, f0/8:24, f0/9:35, f0/10:45
- f0/11-12:101, f0/13-14:102, f0/15-16:103,
f0/17-18:104, f0/19-20:105

MY question is:
1) how do i set this up step by step?
2)I am confused as to what am I supposed to configure on each the switch especially which vlan am I supposed to use on the client and on the server.
3) if all routers are connected to the server switch and all pcs are connected to the client switch, what is the configuration for that.
4)how do i set up the trunk? do i set it on both switches?

in short, there are just so many questions to ask...can someone just give insight with all the configuration on the switches and router step-by-step....Please help....I dunno where to begin...I have a feeling I might fail this subject....
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kraziefeanie, don't panic!
First off. VLANs and trunking is fairly simple really.

At it's most basic a network made up of interconnected devices can carry traffic, but obviously everything that flows across it is part of the same single big collection of traffic - you can't separate things out. Setting up Virtual LANs, VLANs, lets you do that.

If you have three VLANs on an infrastructure you have what is effectively three separated networks across the same physical devices.

Okay, so far so good. Now if you think about a port on one of your switches, then one important question is "which VLAN is that port in?" It might be in VLAN1 or VLAN2 or VLAN3 in terms of which traffic you see when you plug into that port. But what about a port that doesn't go to a host but interconnects between two switches or a switch and a router?

If you are to see all three VLANs right across your infrastructure then obviously the interconnecting links have to somehow carry all the VLANs at the same time. This is called trunking. You designate the ports that interconnect devices as trunk ports and then all the VLANs can flow across them.

There you have the basics. As to how to set the thing up, first plan it on paper. Start by figuring out the basic physical arrangement and physical interconnection of the devices in the network. Then draw it. Once that's clear, read through the information and identify how many VLANs you have in total across the whole thing.

Then thirdly, sort out where in the network each VLAN has to appear. Draw them onto the diagram by using say a different colour line for each.

Armed with that, actually building it should be easy. Set up the physical infrastrucure and designate the appropriate ports as trunks for the interconnections. Then define all your VLANs. Then assign the relevant non-trunk ports into the relevant VLANs.

Just a final thought - I read through the info you provided and didn't quite get the whole picture. Double-check against your original question that you have noted all the details down correctly.

Well, I hope that helps because it certainly tired me out!

kraziefeanie,

The Bishop has certainly done an great job in describing the theory and steps you should take in order to clear things up in your mind.

I'd just like to note that we have an excellent VLAN article here on the site, containing around 55 diagrams to help you understand the theory.

If you like, give it a try by selecting "Networking" from the java based menu above and selecting the 'Virtual Local Area Network - VLANs' section down the bottom.

Please let us know if there are any questions once you've read the whole section.

Cheers,

Chris is right of course, the VLAN articles are superb and will give you the full picture.
Just to complete the picture, one thing I forgot to mention before is the use of the routers - they allow traffic to pass from one VLAN into another

Wow! Just a quick read of one of the Bishop's sermonettes and I've got a far better understanding of VLANS than I ever had. I'll have to check the VLAN article out.

Hi all!

How about ether channels? What are ether channels all about and how do I go about configuring for ether channels? Hope to attain your insights...