Chapter 9: Virtual Lans; Overview Of Virtual Lans; Benefits - Extreme Networks ExtremeWare XOS Guide Manual

9 Virtual LANs
This chapter covers the following topics:
Overview of Virtual LANs on page 219
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Types of VLANs on page 220
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VLAN Names on page 228
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Configuring VLANs on the Switch on page 229
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Displaying VLAN Settings on page 230
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Tunneling (VMANs) on page 232
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Setting up Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) on the switch eases many time-consuming tasks of
network administration while increasing efficiency in network operations.

Overview of Virtual LANs

NOTE
Beginning with ExtremeWare XOS 11.2, the software supports using IPv6 addresses, in addition to IPv4 addresses.
You can configure the VLAN with an IPv4 address, IPv6 address, or both. See
on using IPv6 addresses.
The term VLAN is used to refer to a collection of devices that communicate as if they were on the same
physical LAN. Any set of ports (including all ports on the switch) is considered a VLAN. LAN
segments are not restricted by the hardware that physically connects them. The segments are defined by
flexible user groups that you create with the command line interface (CLI).

Benefits

NOTE
The system switches traffic within each VLAN using the Ethernet MAC address. The system routes traffic between
two VLANs using the IP addresses.
Implementing VLANs on your networks has the following advantages:
VLANs help to control traffic—With traditional networks, broadcast traffic that is directed to all
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network devices, regardless of whether they require it, causes congestion. VLANs increase the
efficiency of your network because each VLAN can be set up to contain only those devices that must
communicate with each other.
VLANs provide extra security—Devices within each VLAN can communicate only with member
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devices in the same VLAN. If a device in VLAN Marketing must communicate with devices in VLAN
Sales, the traffic must cross a routing device.
ExtremeWare XOS 11.3 Concepts Guide
Chapter 24 for complete information
219