Administrator Guide

Overview of Layer Modes
On all systems running the Dell Networking OS, you can place physical interfaces, port channels, and VLANs
in Layer 2 mode or Layer 3 mode.
By default, VLANs are in Layer 2 mode.
Table 24. Layer modes
Type of Interface Possible Modes Requires Creation Default State
10/100/1000 Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet, 10
Gigabit Ethernet
Layer 2
Layer 3
No Shutdown (disabled)
Management N/A No Shutdown (disabled)
Loopback Layer 3 Yes No shutdown (enabled)
Null interface N/A No Enabled
Port Channel
Layer 2
Layer 3
Yes Shutdown (disabled)
VLAN
Layer 2
Layer 3
Yes, except for the
default VLAN.
No shutdown (active for
Layer 2)
Shutdown (disabled for
Layer 3)
Configuring Layer 2 (Data Link) Mode
Do not configure switching or Layer 2 protocols such as spanning tree protocol (STP) on an interface unless
the interface has been set to Layer 2 mode.
To set Layer 2 data transmissions through an individual interface, use the following command.
• Enable Layer 2 data transmissions through an individual interface.
INTERFACE mode
switchport
Example of a Basic Layer 2 Interface Configuration
Dell(conf-if)#show config
!
interface Port-channel 1
no ip address
switchport
no shutdown
Dell(conf-if)#
Interfaces 406