Black Box LB9030A-R2, Руководство пользователя

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VLAN
A virtual LAN (VLAN) is a network of computers that behave
as if they are connected to the same wire, even though they
may actually be physically located on different segments of a
LAN. VLANs are analogous to a group of end stations,
perhaps on multiple physical LAN segments that are not
constrained by their physical location and can communicate
as if they were on a common LAN.
VLANs are configured through software rather than hardware,
which makes them extremely flexible. One of the biggest
advantages of VLANs is that when a computer is physically
moved to another location, it can stay on the same VLAN
without any hardware reconfiguration.
Because VLANs are not limited by the hardware constraints
that physically connect traditional LAN segments to a network,
they can define a network into various logical configurations.
For example, VLANs can define a network by application. In
this scenario, a company might create one VLAN for
multimedia users and another for email users. VLANs can
also define a network by department. For example, a
company might have one VLAN for its Engineering
Department, another for its Marketing Department, and
another for its Account Payable Department.
VLANs can also be set up according to the organization
structure within a company. For example, the company
president might have his/her own VLAN, the executive staff
might have a different VLAN, and the remaining employees
might have yet a different VLAN.
As these examples show, VLANs offer unparalleled flexibility.
The following sections describe how deploying VLANs can
benefit organizations and reduce administration costs.