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GARP VLAN Registration Protocol

GARP VLAN Registration Protocol (GVRP) uses Generic Attribute Registration Protocol (GARP) to allow end-stations on a network to dynamically register their VLAN membership with GVRP-aware switches. Similarly, these switches dynamically register with other GVRP-aware switches on the network, thus creating a VLAN topology across the network.

GVRP provides dynamic registration of VLAN membership; therefore, members can be added or removed from a VLAN at any time, saving the overhead of maintaining static VLAN configuration on switch ports. Additionally, VLAN membership information stays current, limiting the broadcast domain of a VLAN only to the active members of that VLAN.

For more information about GVRP and GARP, see IEEE 802.1Q and IEEE 802.1p (incorporated in the 802.1D:1998 edition).