s: !!!!! Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 1/1/4 ms If we were SO inclined, we could also add routing protocols, and do anything else we would normally do with an interface operating at layer three. Chapter 16: Multilayer Switches What's the point of having an SVI without any physical ports assigned to it? One example might be to create a management network other than VLAN 1 for all your devices. You wouldn't need any physical ports assigned to the VLAN, except for a trunk port to your other switches. This way, you can keep your management traffic on a separate VLAN from your production traffic. Hybrid Mode (4500, 6500) On a switch supporting hybrid IOS mode, IOS is not an integral part of the switch's function. CatOS is used for switching, which is integral to the operation of layer two. IOS is used only to manage the MSFC. Creating a VLAN is done in CatOS, but creating an SVI for the VLAN is done in IOS. Naming the VLAN is done in CatOS, but adding a description to the SVI is done in IOS. Anything that is related to layer-2 functionality must be configured in CatOS. Layer-3 and above functions must be configured in IOS. On an IOS-only switch, there is always a VLAN 1 virtual interface. This is not the case in hybrid-mode switches because VLAN 1 does not, by default, require layer-3 functionality. I've created two VLANs on a 6509 running in hybrid mode here: Catos-6509: (enable) sho vlan VLAN Name Status IfIndex Mod/Ports, Vlans default active 1/1-2 2/1-2 3/5-48 4/1-48 5/1-48 Lab-VLAN active VLAN0020 active 3/1-4 1002 fddi-default active 1003 token-ring-default active 1004 fddinet-default active 1005 trnet-default active The first, VLAN 10, I have named Lab-VLAN. The second, VLAN 20, has the default name of VLAN0020. To configure these VLANs in IOS, we must first connect to the MSFC using the session command. This command must be followed by the number of the module to which we'd like to connect. The number can be determined with the show module command: Catos-6509: (enable) sho mod Mod