Moxa Technologies PT-7728 user manual Benefits of VLANs, VLANs and the PowerTrans, Managing a Vlan

PT-7728 User’s Manual Featured Functions

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:

yVLANs 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 on VLAN Marketing, for example, is moved to a port in another part of the network, and retains its original subnet membership, you only need to specify that the new port is on VLAN Marketing. You do not need to carry out any re-cabling.

yVLANs provide extra security. Devices within each VLAN can only communicate with other devices on the same VLAN. If a device on VLAN Marketing nePT to communicate with devices on VLAN Finance, the traffic must pass through a routing device or Layer 3 switch.

yVLANs 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.

VLANs and the PowerTrans

Your PT-7728 provides support for VLANs using IEEE Std 802.1Q-1998. This standard allows traffic from multiple VLANs to be carried across one physical link. The IEEE Std 802.1Q-1998 standard allows each port on your PT-7728 to be placed as follows:

yIn a single VLAN defined on the PT-7728

yIn several VLANs simultaneously using 802.1Q tagging

The standard requires that you define the 802.1Q VLAN ID about each VLAN on your PT-7728 before the switch can use it to forward traffic:

Managing a VLAN

A new or initialized PT-7728 contains a single VLAN—the Default VLAN. This VLAN has the following definition:

yVLAN Name—Management VLAN

y802.1Q VLAN ID—1 (if tagging is required)

All the ports are initially placed in this VLAN, and it is the only VLAN that allows you to access the management software of the PT-7728 over the network.

Communication Between VLANs

If devices connected to a VLAN need to communicate to devices on a different VLAN, a router or Layer 3 switching device with connections to both VLANs needs to be installed. Communication between VLANs can only take place if they are all connected to a routing or Layer 3 switching device.

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