Concept
IEEE 802.1Q, often referred to as Dot1q, is the networking standard that supports virtual local area networking (VLANs) on an IEEE 802.3 Ethernet network. The standard defines a system of VLAN tagging for Ethernet frames and the accompanying procedures to be used by bridges and switches in handling such frames. The standard also contains provisions for a quality-of-service prioritization scheme commonly known as IEEE 802.1p and defines the Generic Attribute Registration Protocol. Portions of the network which are VLAN-aware (i.e., IEEE 802.1Q conformant) can include VLAN tags. When a frame enters the VLAN-aware portion of the network, a tag is added to represent the VLAN membership. Each frame must be distinguishable as being within exactly one VLAN. A frame in the VLAN-aware portion of the network that does not contain a VLAN tag is assumed to be flowing on the native VLAN. The standard was developed by IEEE 802.1, a working group of the IEEE 802 standards committee, and continues to be actively revised with notable amendments including IEEE 802.1ad, IEEE 802.1ak and IEEE 802.1s. The 802.1Q-2014 revision incorporated the IEEE 802.1D-2004 standard. 802.1Q adds a 32-bit field between the source MAC address and the EtherType fields of the original frame. Under 802.1Q, the maximum frame size is extended from 1,518 bytes to 1,522 bytes. The minimum frame size remains 64 bytes, but a bridge may extend the minimum size frame from 64 to 68 bytes on transmission. This allows a tag to be popped without needing additional padding. Two bytes are used for the tag protocol identifier (TPID), the other two bytes for tag control information (TCI). The TCI field is further divided into PCP, DEI, and VID. Tag protocol identifier (TPID) A 16-bit field set to a value of 0x8100 in order to identify the frame as an IEEE 802.1Q-tagged frame. This field is located at the same position as the EtherType field in untagged frames, and is thus used to distinguish the frame from untagged frames.