Compare dynamic vs. static VLANs.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Depending on the switch and switch management software, VLANs can be configured statically or dynamically. Static VLANs are configured port-by-port, with each port being associated with a particular VLAN. In a static VLAN, the network administrator manually types in the mapping for each port and VLAN.

Dynamic VLAN ports can automatically determine their VLAN configuration. Although they may seem easier to configure than static VLANs, given the description thus far, that is not quite the case. The dynamic VLAN uses a software database of MAC address-to-VLAN mappings that is created manually. This means that the MAC addresses and corresponding VLANs must be entered and maintained by the network administration team. Instead of saving administrative time, the dynamic VLAN could prove to be more time-consuming than the static VLAN. To its credit, however, the dynamic VLAN does allow the network administration team to keep the entire administrative database in one location. Furthermore, on a dynamic VLAN, moving a cable from one switch port to another is not a problem, because the VLAN will automatically reconfigure its ports on the basis of the attached workstation's MAC address. This is the real advantage of using dynamic VLAN systems.