Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP)

Cisco CCNP / BCMSN Exam Tutorial: Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP)
By Chris Bryant

When you re studying to pass the BCMSN exam on the way to earning your CCNP certification, you re going to add to your CCNA knowledgebase every step of the way. Nowhere is that more than configuring a trunk between two switches.

You know that IEEE 802.1Q (“dot1q”) and ISL are your two choices of trunking protocols, and you know the main differences between the two. What you might not have known is that there s a third trunking protocol that s running between your Cisco switches, and while it s a transparent process to many, you had better know about it for your BCMSN and other CCNP exams!

The Cisco-proprietary Dynamic Trunking Protocol (DTP) actively attempts to negotiate a trunk link with the remote switch. This sounds great, but there is a cost in overhead – DTP frames are transmitted every 30 seconds. If you decide to configure a port as a non-negotiable trunk port, there s no need for the port to send DTP frames.

DTP can be turned off at the interface level with the switchport nonegotiate command, but as you see below, you cannot turn DTP off until the port is no longer in dynamic desirable trunking mode. (Dynamic desirable is the default mode for most Cisco switch ports.)

SW2(config)#int fast 0/8

SW2(config-if)#switchport nonegotiate

Command rejected: Conflict between nonegotiate and dynamic status.

SW2(config-if)#switchport mode ?

access Set trunking mode to ACCESS unconditionally

dynamic Set trunking mode to dynamically negotiate access or trunk mode

trunk Set trunking mode to TRUNK unconditionally

SW2(config-if)#switchport mode trunk

SW2(config-if)#switchport nonegotiate

When you re working with Cisco switches in a home lab or rack rental environment, run IOS Help regularly to see what options are available for the commands you re practicing with. Cisco switch ports have quite a few options, and the best way to find them is with one simple symbol – the question mark!

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, is the owner of The Bryant Advantage, home of over 100 free certification exam tutorials, including Cisco CCNA certification test prep articles. His exclusive Cisco CCNA study guide and Cisco CCNA training is also available!

Visit his blog and sign up for Cisco Certification Central, a daily newsletter packed with CCNA, Network+, Security+, A+, and CCNP certification exam practice questions! A free 7-part course, “How To Pass The CCNA”, is also available, and you can attend an in-person or online CCNA boot camp with The Bryant Advantage!

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