DTP (Dynamic Trunking Protocol) is used to negotiate a trunk link between two switches. From the DTP point of view, a port can be ‘desirable‘ (it will actively try to negotiate a  trunk), ‘auto‘ (it will form a trunk if the other side wants to be a trunk) and ‘non-negotiate‘ (port will not negotiate the link). The reason for this protocol is to have a working access or trunk link immediately after you connect the switch to the network.   Most of the combinations are:

• auto – auto => access
• auto – desirable => trunk
• desirable-desirable => trunk
• auto – trunk => trunk
• auto – access => access
• desirable – trunk => trunk
• desirable – access => access

What you should pay attention to is the default setting of a port on different switch models. On a 2950 (Layer 2 switch) and a 3550 (Layer 3 switch), a port is, before any configurations, in desirable. If you connect two of these switches, you will have a trunk link formed. On the other hand, on a 2960 or a 3560, a port is in auto, so between these models, you will have an access port (by default, in VLAN 1). Even more problems could arrive when you have in a network switches of different models. If you connect a 2960 and a 2950, because the first is in auto and the second  is in desirable, a trunk link will be negotiated, so you should be careful when dealing with these kinds of situations.