Wireless VLAN and Native VLAN

[dhouser]

OK, I’m a bit confused about what to do with the native VLAN. I know that for QoS/CoS, I should not use VLAN1 as the native VLAN. I also know that I should use a separate VLAN as the management VLAN. So I’m left thinking, do I need a native VLAN? If I do, can I just make a dumb VLAN that goes nowhere and use that as the native VLAN? Or am I just completely missing something. Thanks

[Roberto Salazar · Accepted solution]

Native vlan in 802.1q sense is just a vlan is not not tagged with vlan id, however, it is necessary since you need a "vlan" that is native. Yes, You can use a "dummy" vlan that is not used anywhere in your network to serve as native vlan.

[scottmac]

The native VLAN must also be your management VLAN for Cisco APs.

The Native VLAN can be any number, as long as you configure it accordingly.

Also keep in mind that the local RADIUS server, and DHCP will only deliver to the native VLAN. If you intend to use either of those services on the non-native VLAN/SSID, you'll need to have a layer three device on the line to forward that traffic.

Good Luck

Scott