VLAN membership can be configured in two different ways, known as static and dynamic.
Static VLANs. With a static VLAN, an administrator defines VLANs on a switch and then assigns ports to them. This is the most common way in which VLANs are configured.
Dynamic VLANs. A dynamic VLAN is one in which a switch port automatically configures itself to be part of a particular VLAN, based on the MAC address of a connected system. Think of a scenario where a laptop user uses different connections within an office building. In this case, she could plug into a given jack (which is connected to a switch) and automatically be made part of her native VLAN. In order to accomplish this, a management database needs to be created that maps MAC addresses to VLANs, which requires additional administrative effort. Cisco has a product that provides this functionality – VLAN Management Policy Server (VMPS).