Ericsson ECN330, User Manual

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Configuring the ECN330-switch
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6.12 VLAN Configuration
6.12.1 IEEE 802.1Q VLANs
In large networks, routers are used to isolate broadcast traffic for each subnet
into separate domains. The ECN330-switch provides a similar service at Layer
2 by using VLANs to organize any group of network nodes into separate
broadcast domains. VLANs confine broadcast traffic to the originating group,
and can eliminate broadcast storms in large networks. This also provides a more
secure and cleaner network environment.
An IEEE 802.1Q VLAN is a group of ports that can be located anywhere in the
network, but communicate as though they belong to the same physical segment.
VLANs help to simplify network management by allowing devices to move to a
new VLAN without having to change any physical connections. VLANs can be
easily organized to reflect departmental groups (such as Marketing or R&D),
usage groups (such as e-mail), or multicast groups (used for multimedia
applications such as videoconferencing).
VLANs provide greater network efficiency by reducing broadcast traffic, and
allow network changes to be made without having to update IP addresses or IP
subnets. VLANs inherently provide a high level of network security since traffic
must pass through a configured Layer 3 link to reach a different VLAN.
The ECN330-switch supports the following VLAN features:
• Up to 4094 VLANs based on the IEEE 802.1Q standard
• Distributed VLAN learning across multiple switches using explicit or
implicit tagging and GVRP protocol
• Port overlapping, allowing a port to participate in multiple VLANs
• End stations can belong to multiple VLANs
• Passing traffic between devices that support VLANs and devices that do
not support VLANs
• Priority tagging