What type of port is referred to as an 'untagged' port when configuring VLANs?

An 'untagged' port in VLAN configuration is referred to as an access port. Access ports are designed to carry traffic for a single VLAN and do not include VLAN tagging in the packets they send and receive. This means that when a frame arrives at an access port, the switch associates the incoming traffic with the specific VLAN configured on that port without needing to strip or add VLAN tags.

Since access ports handle traffic for only one VLAN, they are typically used for end devices like computers, printers, and servers, ensuring that all communication from these devices is recognized as belonging to that single VLAN. This is important for maintaining network segmentation and managing broadcast traffic within the designated VLAN.

In contrast, trunk ports are used to carry multiple VLANs and include tags in the Ethernet frames to identify which VLAN a particular frame belongs to. Hybrid ports can support both tagged and untagged traffic, but they are less common in straightforward configurations. Routing ports pertain to Layer 3 devices and deal with inter-VLAN routing, which is a different function. Understanding these distinctions helps clarify why an access port is specifically referred to as an 'untagged' port in VLAN configurations.