Moxa Managed Ethernet Switch (UI_2.0_FW_5.x) User Manual
49
VLAN
Setting up Virtual LANs (VLANs) on your Moxa switch increases the efficiency of your network by dividing
the LAN into logical segments, as opposed to physical segments. In general, VLANs are easier to manage.
The Virtual LAN (VLAN) Concept
What is a VLAN?
A VLAN is a group of devices that can be located anywhere on a network, but which communicate as if they
are on the same physical segment. With VLANs, you can segment your network without being restricted by
physical connections—a limitation of traditional network design. With VLANs you can segment your network
into:
•
Departmental groups
—You could have one VLAN for the marketing department, another for the
finance department, and another for the product development department.
•
Hierarchical groups
—You could have one VLAN for directors, another for managers, and another for
general staff.
•
Usage groups
—You could have one VLAN for email users and another for multimedia users.
Benefits of VLANs
The main benefit of VLANs is that they provide a network segmentation system that is far more flexible than
traditional networks. Using VLANs also provides you with three other benefits:
•
VLANs ease the relocation of devices on networks:
With traditional networks, network
administrators spend much of their time dealing with moves and changes. If users move to a different
subnetwork, the addresses of each host must be updated manually. With a VLAN setup, if a host
originally on the Marketing VLAN, is moved to a port on another part of the network, and retains its
original subnet membership, you only need to specify that the new port is on the Marketing VLAN. You
do not need to do any re-cabling.
•
VLANs provide extra security:
Devices within each VLAN can only communicate with other devices
on the same VLAN. If a device on the Marketing VLAN needs to communicate with devices on the
Finance VLAN, the traffic must pass through a routing device or Layer 3 switch.
•
VLANs help control traffic:
With traditional networks, congestion can be caused by broadcast traffic
that is directed to all network devices, regardless of whether or not they need it. VLANs increase the
efficiency of your network because each VLAN can be set up to contain only those devices that need to
communicate with each other.
Depart
ment 1
VLAN 1
Depart
ment 2
VLAN 2
Depart
ment 3
VLAN 3
Backbone connects multiple
switches
