5 ADVANCED MANAGEMENTVirtual LANs (VLANs)Setting up Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) onthe Switch 1000 provides you with less time-consuming network administration and more effi-cient network operation.The following sections explain more about the con-cept of VLANs and explain how they can be imple-mented on the Switch 1000.What are VLANs?A VLAN is defined as a group of location- andtopology-independent devices that communicate asif they are on the same physical LAN. This meansthat LAN segments are not restricted by the hard-ware which physically connects them; the segmentsare defined by flexible user groups that you createusing software.With VLANs, you can define your network accordingto:n Departmental groups — For example, you canhave one VLAN for the Marketing department,another for the Finance department, andanother for the Development department.n Hierarchical groups — For example, you canhave one VLAN for directors, another for manag-ers, and another for general staff.n Usage Groups — For example, you can haveone VLAN for users of e-mail, and another forusers of multimedia.Benefits of VLANsImplementing VLANs on your network has threemain advantages:n It eases the change and movement of devices onIP networksn It helps to control broadcast trafficn It provides extra security
