VLANS
A LAN was originally defined as a network of computers located within the same area. Today, LANs are defined as a single broadcast domain. This means that if a user broadcasts information on his/her LAN, every user on the LAN will receive the broadcast. A VLAN (Virtual LAN) is a group of ports designated by the switch as belonging to the same broadcast domain. This feature allows workgroups to be defined on the basis of their logical location instead of their physical location.
VLANs can be used to strengthen security between the departments as well as isolating broadcast traffic to increase net bandwidth.
Figure 5-5. The example of VLAN setting on VLAN Page
Each port can be configured to belong to one or more of the nine VLANs by clicking on the desired group(s). By default, all ports are a member of one group. A port can be a member of more than one group.
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