VTP

VTP (Virtual Trunking Protocol) is a Cisco proprietary protocol that manages the addition, deletion, and renaming of VLANs across a switched network. It enables centralized VLAN management where one switch (VTP server) can propagate VLAN configuration changes to other switches (VTP clients) in the same VTP domain. This reduces administrative overhead and ensures VLAN consistency across the network infrastructure.

Diagram

Classes

configuration (iosxe.devices)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory	Default Value
vtp	Class	`[vtp]`	No

vtp (iosxe.devices.configuration)

Name	Type	Constraint	Mandatory
file	String		No
version	Integer	min: `1`, max: `3`	No
interface_type	Choice	`Loopback`, `Vlan`, `GigabitEthernet`, `FiveGigabitEthernet`, `TenGigabitEthernet`, `FortyGigabitEthernet`, `HundredGigabitEthernet`, `PortChannel`	No
interface_id	String		No
interface_only	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
password	String		No
password_hidden	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
password_secret	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
pruning	Boolean	`true`, `false`	No
domain	String		No
mode	Choice	`client`, `off`, `server`, `transparent`	No
mode_instance	Choice	`mst`, `unknown`, `vlan`	No

By centralizing VLAN management, VTP reduces administrative overhead and ensures consistent VLAN configurations across all switches in a VTP domain, preventing misconfigurations and improving network stability.

VTP Parameters

VTP domain name
VTP mode (server, client, transparent)
VTP version
VTP password
VTP pruning
VTP database file
Interface type/ID (for interface-specific VTP settings)

You can use these VTP parameters to define how your network manages VLANs centrally. Customize the domain, mode, version, and other settings to fit your network’s VLAN management and operational needs. Adjusting these parameters lets you tailor VLAN propagation and consistency for your environment.

Examples

vtp mode server

Sets the VTP operational mode to server, allowing the switch to create, modify, and delete VLANs and propagate these changes.

vtp domain CiscoNet

Configures the VTP management domain name, which must match across all switches intended to share VLAN information.

vtp password mysecret

Sets the VTP password for authentication, ensuring only authorized switches can participate in the VTP domain.

vtp version 2

Specifies the VTP protocol version to be used, affecting compatibility and feature support (e.g., VTPv3 supports extended VLANs).

vtp pruning

Enables VTP pruning, which prevents unnecessary broadcast, unknown unicast, and multicast traffic from being sent over trunk links to switches that do not have active ports for a particular VLAN.

Sample Configuration

The following configuration describes how to set up VTP on a Cisco device. It includes setting the VTP mode, domain name, password, version, and enabling pruning for efficient VLAN management.

vtp mode server
vtp domain COMPANY-DOMAIN
vtp password VtpSecurePassword123
vtp version 3
vtp pruning

Example YAML Code

The following YAML code sets up VTP on an IOS-XE device, specifying the VTP mode, domain, version, password, and pruning settings for centralized VLAN management.

iosxe:
  devices:
    - name: Device1
      configuration:
        vtp:
          file: vtp-database
          version: 3
          interface_type: GigabitEthernet
          interface_id: "0/0/1"
          interface_only: false
          password: VtpSecurePassword123
          password_hidden: true
          password_secret: true
          pruning: true
          domain: COMPANY-DOMAIN
          mode: server
          mode_instance: vlan