Virtual Lans; What Are Vlans - 3Com TR User Manual

V
IRTUAL
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This chapter provides information on Virtual Local
Area Networks (VLANs). Definitions, benefits, sample
configurations and concepts of VLANs are described
here, including:

What are VLANs?

Benefits of VLANs
VLANs and the Switch 2000 TR
Setting up Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) on
the Switch 2000 TR provides you with less time-con-
suming network administration and more efficient
network operation.
The following sections explain more about the con-
cept of VLANs and explain how they can be imple-
mented on the Switch 2000 TR.
LAN
S
What are VLANs?
A VLAN is defined as a group of location- and topol-
ogy- independent devices that communicate as
though they were on the same physical LAN. This
means that LAN segments are not restricted by the
hardware that physically connects them; the seg-
ments are defined by flexible user groups that you
create using software.
With VLANs, you can define your network according
to:
Departmental Groups—For example, you can have
one VLAN for the Marketing department, another
for the Finance department, and another for the
Development department.
Hierarchical Groups—For example, you can have
one VLAN for Directors, another for Managers,
and another for general staff.
Usage Groups—For example, you can have one
VLAN for users of email, and another for users of
multimedia.