Manual is not completely clear to me so here's some questions for any vlan expert...
"VLAN successflly passes through regular Ethernet bridges."
So, if a router has an ethernet bridge enabled over ether1 & ether2, and the vlan travels over this bridge, it doesn't need a vlan interface to be mentioned? Not on the bridge, not on the bridge participating physical interfaces? As long as the vlan interface on the adjacent routers can 'see' eachother through the bridge the vlan will travel through as well? I have it working on some routers. But some other router seems to have an issue with it.
Do I also read the manual well, that in case any vlan travels over more than one router/switch the service tag has to be enabled?
Also the ARP funcion puzzles me. On longer run vlan (over several routers) mostly I learned that to have the vlan 'running' I need to disable ARP, or at least set it so 'reply only'. When I enable it the vlan stops to run.
But on some vlans it is just the otherway around? Why? Has this anything to do with bridges? Because some of my long vlans run over routers AND ethernet bridges AND are bridged themselves over two router interfaces....
If a 'bridged'-router has a 3rd interface connected to a different network.
To have it participating in the vlan, do I have to bring the ether3 into the ethernet bridge? Or do I have to make a vlan attached to this ether3 and bring that one into the bridge?
Also, Q in Q. I understand that you can make several lans inside eachother. So vlan interfaces stacked upon eachother..
Does this mean they should not run side by side on a physical interface? It seems to work but than again, I also see loads of problems. (But I see them anyway..)
vlan adds 4bytes to the ethernet header. So on a single lan the packages traveling through the link get infact an extra 4bytes inserted in the ethernet header, for the packages belonging to this vlan...
If I now make a second vlan 'inside'(or 'on top') than an extra 4byts flag is inserted. So we have 8 bytes extra now. So package beloning to vlan2 always have 8bytes header now?
What if I need 200 vlans? Now last vlan gets 200x4=800extra bytes header?
Hence I thought it was better to have vlans running side by side. So package always only get its header attached, so only 4 bytes.
What to do to overcome many vlans on an interface (= wireless so I want to reduce payload as much as possible)? If Q in Q creates too many overhead, and parrallel vlans are not possible, can I 'pipe' several vlans entering router on one or more interfaces, into one new vlan that is created on a backhaul interface?
How do I do the vlan connection?
For instance on ether 2 and ether 3 each have 3 vlans entering (Q in Q?).
This makes 6 to transport over the backhaul.
Now I can do Q in Q, but create extra payload only in doing so.
Or I can make one new vlan on ether1.
How do I now make sure traffic from each of the vlan from ether2 and ether3 travel over ether1?
Do I make one big 'vlan-bridge' bridge and bridge all the vlan's from ether 1, 2 and 3 into this bridge?
Or do I bridge the ether 1, 2 and 3 themselves in a bridge so vlans are all actually termination and starting at this router?
Many questions, would be nice someone can give me some lessons here....