ZyXEL Communications NWA5121-N User Manual page 56

A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) allows a physical network to be partitioned into multiple logical
networks. Devices on a logical network belong to one group. A device can belong to more than one
group. With VLAN, a device cannot directly talk to or hear from devices that are not in the same
group(s); the traffic must first go through a router.
In Multi-Tenant Unit (MTU) applications, VLAN is vital in providing isolation and security among the
subscribers. When properly configured, VLAN prevents one subscriber from accessing the network
resources of another on the same LAN, thus a user will not see the printers and hard disks of
another user in the same building.
VLAN also increases network performance by limiting broadcasts to a smaller and more
manageable logical broadcast domain. In traditional switched environments, all broadcast packets
go to each and every individual port. With VLAN, all broadcasts are confined to a specific broadcast
domain.
IEEE 802.1Q Tag
The IEEE 802.1Q standard defines an explicit VLAN tag in the MAC header to identify the VLAN
membership of a frame across bridges. A VLAN tag includes the 12-bit VLAN ID and 3-bit user
priority. The VLAN ID associates a frame with a specific VLAN and provides the information that
devices need to process the frame across the network.
Use this screen to configure the VLAN settings for your NWA. To access this screen, click
Configuration > Network > VLAN.
Figure 32 Configuration > Network > VLAN
Each field is described in the following table.
Table 26 Configuration > Network > VLAN
LABEL DESCRIPTION
VLAN Settings
Management Enter a VLAN ID for the NWA.
VLAN ID
As Native VLAN Select this option to treat this VLAN ID as a VLAN created on the NWA and not one
assigned to it from outside the network.
Apply Click Apply to save your changes back to the NWA.
Reset Click Reset to return the screen to its last-saved settings.
Chapter 6 Network
NWA5120 Series User's Guide
56