Linksys SRW2008MP VLAN problems

[dkaragan]

Hello,

We have 7 SRW2008MP's and one SRW2016.

We successfully configured 2 VLANS on all the above switches and found no problems when the Linksys SRW switches' VLANS were linked with two copper or FO cables.

We recently needed to extend both Linksys SRW VLAN's through two independent Copper VLAN's provided by an outside source on L3 Cisco Catalyst switches.

The odd think is that:

• When we connect computers directly to both ends of the L3 Cisco Catalyst switches, Traffic passes just fine.
• When we connect the Linksys SRW switches that are setup for two VLAN's to one or both of the L3 Cisco Catalyst switches Vlans, no traffic will pass on either L3 Cisco Catalyst switch VLAN.
• When we reset the Linksys SRW switches to Factory Default, Traffic passes just fine on a single L3 Cisco Catalyst switch VLAN but we no longer have the VLANs we need.

My Question is:

Do the Linksys SRW switches require special VLAN setting in order to utilized the L3 Cisco Catalyst switches VLAN's ?

FYI...We are not using trucked VLAN's. We are using two independent (Copper Connected) Vlans.

Thanks very much for any suggestions/examples you may have.

Dimitri

[alissitz]

Hello and good evening,

I am not sure I understand your term 'two independent vlans'.  Do you mean that these vlans are local to that switch only?

When configuring multiple vlans on the Cisco and small business switches, you need to configure trunking inbetween the switches IF YOU WANT the vlans to span the multiple switches.

Trunking will ensure that non native vlans (by default vlan 1) will have a the correct 802.1q / vlan tag on it; this is called vlan tagging or frame tagging. 

The small business switches can be a bit confusing in that you have to make sure the vlans are marked as tagged and not excluded.  On some models, by default these additional vlans are set to excluded, meaning that these vlans cannot traverse a trunk / inter-switch link.

If you want these vlans to span multiple switches, then make sure to check your trunk configs and ensure that all vlans are set to tag - except the default or native vlan.

Here is a link to the admin guide:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/switches/lan/csbms/srw2008/administration/guide/SRW2008_V10_UG_B-WEB.pdf

HTH,

Andrew Lissitz