IEEE 802.1Q is the networking standard that supports Virtual LANs (VLANs) on an Ethernet network. The standard defines a system of VLAN tagging for Ethernet frames and the accompanying procedures to be used by bridges and switches in handling such frames. The standard also contains provisions for a quality of service prioritization scheme commonly known as IEEE 802.1p and defines the Generic Attribute Registration Protocol.
Portions of the network which are VLAN-aware (i.e., IEEE 802.1Q conformant) can include VLAN tags. Traffic on a VLAN-unaware (i.e., IEEE 802.1D conformant) portion of the network will not contain VLAN tags. When a frame enters the VLAN-aware portion of the network, a tag is added to represent the VLAN membership of the frame's port or the port/protocol combination, depending on whether port-based or port-and-protocol-based VLAN classification is being used. Each frame must be distinguishable as being within exactly one VLAN. A frame in the VLAN-aware portion of the network that does not contain a VLAN tag is assumed to be flowing on the native (or default) VLAN.
The standard was developed by IEEE 802.1, a working group of the IEEE 802 standards committee and continues to be actively revised with notable revisions including IEEE 802.1ak, IEEE 802.1Qat and IEEE 802.1Qay.
Read more about IEEE 802.1Q: Example Application, Frame Format, Trunk Ports and The Native VLAN, Multiple VLAN Registration Protocol, Multiple Spanning Tree Protocol