Thoughts on using the Native vLAN for Management

I was just wondering what your thoughts were on using the Native vLAN for the management network. The campus I'm responsible for right now is set up to do so.

*Insert "This was done before I got here excuse" here*

We have 428 devices all using a /23 for management. I'd appreciate any thoughts/advice you have relating to ANYTHING from QoS to Security to common sense. Thanks in advance!

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Comments

cisco_trooper

I don't even use a native VLAN. You can set dot1q to tag the native VLAN, which I think may even be recommended to help mitigate the whole VLAN hopping vulnerability. In addition, since I'm not sure about your set up, I don't use VLAN 1 either.

VLAN Security White Paper [Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches] - Cisco Systems

APA

cisco_trooper wrote: »

I don't even use a native VLAN. You can set dot1q to tag the native VLAN, which I think may even be recommended to help mitigate the whole VLAN hopping vulnerability. In addition, since I'm not sure about your set up, I don't use VLAN 1 either.

VLAN Security White Paper [Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches] - Cisco Systems

just because you are tagging the native vlan doesn't mean you aren't using a native vlan... remember that

dot1q trunks must agree on a native vlan to form correctly.... the native vlan defines what traffic the cdp, pagp,stp traffic traverses over..... usually vlan1 but this can be changed.....

You should move your SVI management traffic off vlan 1 and onto a seperate vlan. If you're leaving vlan 1 untagged and as the native vlan for trunks then you should consider ensuring that you enabled trunk security on switchports where users have the ability to negotiate a trunk....

EdTheLad

A.P.A wrote: »

j

dot1q trunks must agree on a native vlan to form correctly.... the native vlan defines what traffic the cdp, pagp,stp traffic traverses over..... usually vlan1 but this can be changed.....

Not true, these protocols work on vlan 1, if vlan 1 is native they are untagged, if another vlan is native these protocols get tagged with vlan 1.

AutoBahn81

I am not using vlan 1 for anything. In fact it is shut on every device in the campus. I shoulda said that in the beggining...my bad.

APA

EdTheLad wrote: »

Not true, these protocols work on vlan 1, if vlan 1 is native they are untagged, if another vlan is native these protocols get tagged with vlan 1.

Yeah I had a look at your captures in the CCIE forum.... It contradicts what the BCMSN study guide states.... quite interesting to see that they are either untagged or tagged depending on whether you are using the default native vlan or change the native vlan.

I was sure the BCMSN guide said the management traffic will always travel over the configured native vlan. Your captures obviously prove that incorrect

Cheers for the capture info by the way!

Sanis4life

A.P.A wrote: »

Yeah I had a look at your captures in the CCIE forum.... It contradicts what the BCMSN study guide states.... quite interesting to see that they are either untagged or tagged depending on whether you are using the default native vlan or change the native vlan.

I was sure the BCMSN guide said the management traffic will always travel over the configured native vlan. Your captures obviously prove that incorrect

Cheers for the capture info by the way!

Do you have the link to his capture/post?

Thanks!

kryolla

Have you ever wondered why you cant delete vlan 1

redwarrior

This is definitely good proof for why you shouldn't put anything else on vlan 1...would you really want a client device able to do a capture and see all this?