VLAN - Extended Range

Extended range VLANs refer to VLAN IDs that fall outside the standard range of VLANs defined in the original IEEE 802.1Q standard. In the context of VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) identification:

1. Standard Range VLANs: These are VLAN IDs between 1 and 1005. This range is universally supported across all IEEE 802.1Q compliant devices. VLANs in this range can be used for all types of networks and are often sufficient for many small to medium-sized network configurations.

2. Extended Range VLANs: These are VLAN IDs between 1006 and 4094. They were introduced to provide a larger pool of VLAN IDs to accommodate large or complex network infrastructures that require more VLANs than the standard range can offer.

The key points about extended range VLANs are:

• Compatibility: Extended range VLANs are supported by many, but not all, network devices. Some older equipment might only support the standard range.

• Usage Scenarios: They are particularly useful in large enterprise networks or service provider environments where the need for numerous VLANs exceeds the limitations of the standard range.

• Configuration Restrictions: In some network devices, extended range VLANs might have certain restrictions in terms of features and capabilities compared to standard range VLANs.

• VTP Support: In Cisco networks, VTP versions 2 and 3 support extended range VLANs. VTP version 1 does not support these VLANs.

Extended range VLANs provide network administrators with greater flexibility and scalability in designing and managing large and complex network topologies.