Brocade FastIron Ethernet Switch Platform and Layer 2 Switching Configuration Guide - Manual (Page 363)

If you configure a VLAN that spans multiple devices, you need to use tagging only if a port connecting
one of the devices to the other is a member of more than one port-based VLAN. If a port connecting
one device to the other is a member of only a single port-based VLAN, tagging is not required.
If you use tagging on multiple devices, each device must be configured for tagging and must use the
same tag value. In addition, the implementation of tagging must be compatible on the devices. The
tagging on all Brocade devices is compatible with other Brocade devices.
The following figure shows an example of two devices that have the same Layer 2 port-based VLANs
configured across them. Notice that only one of the VLANs requires tagging.
FIGURE 78 VLANs configured across multiple devices
Support for 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) tagging
Brocade devices provide finer granularity for configuring 802.1Q tagging, enabling you to configure
802.1Q tag-types on a group of ports, thereby enabling the creation of two identical 802.1Q tags
(802.1ad tagging) on a single device. This enhancement improves SAV interoperability between
Brocade devices and other vendors’ devices that support the 802.1Q tag-types, but are not very flexible
with the tag-types they accept.
• FastIron X Series devices support one value for tag-type , which is defined at the global level.
• Brocade FCX Series and ICX 6650 devices support one value for tag-type, which is defined at the
global level, and one value for tag-profile , which is defined at the global and interface level of the
CLI.
802.1 ad tagging for Brocade FCX Series and ICX 6650 devices
The following enhancements allow the Brocade FCX Series and ICX 6650 devices, including those in
an IronStack, to use Q-in-Q and SAV, by allowing the changing of a tag profile for ports:
Support for 802.1ad (Q-in-Q) tagging
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