3Com TR - Manual (Page 99)

7
V
IRTUAL
LAN
S
This chapter provides information on Virtual Local
Area Networks (VLANs). Definitions, benefits, sample
configurations and concepts of VLANs are described
here, including:
■ What are VLANs?
■
Benefits of VLANs
■ VLANs and the Switch 2000 TR
Setting up Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) on
the Switch 2000 TR provides you with less time-con-
suming network administration and more efficient
network operation.
The following sections explain more about the con-
cept of VLANs and explain how they can be imple-
mented on the Switch 2000 TR.
What are VLANs?
A VLAN is defined as a group of location- and topol-
ogy- independent devices that communicate as
though they were on the same physical LAN. This
means that LAN segments are not restricted by the
hardware that physically connects them; the seg-
ments are defined by flexible user groups that you
create using software.
With VLANs, you can define your network according
to:
■ Departmental Groups—For example, you can have
one VLAN for the Marketing department, another
for the Finance department, and another for the
Development department.
■ Hierarchical Groups—For example, you can have
one VLAN for Directors, another for Managers,
and another for general staff.
■ Usage Groups—For example, you can have one
VLAN for users of email, and another for users of
multimedia.