3Com 2500 manual Vlans on, About VLANs, For the network administrator

2	VLANS ON THE
	LANPLEX® SYSTEM

This chapter contains:

■A description of Virtual LAN (VLAN) concepts and their operational aspects in the LANplex® 2500 system

■Examples of VLAN configurations

About VLANs	The VLAN concept in LAN technology helps minimize broadcast and
	multicast traffic. It also makes end-station moves, adds, and changes easier
	for the network administrator.

In the LANplex system, VLANs allow you to:

■Create independent broadcast domains to optimize network performance and create firewalls

■Form flexible user groups independent of the users’ physical network location

Types of VLANs You can use several types of VLANs to group users. These types include:

■Port group VLANs

■MAC address group VLANs

■Application-oriented VLANs

■Protocol-sensitive VLANs

Port Group VLANs

Port group VLANs group together one or more switch ports. This simple implementation of VLANs requires little configuration. All frames received on a port are grouped together. For example, all frames received on a port that is part of a port group are kept within that port group, regardless of