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MULTILINK ML1600 ETHERNET COMMUNICATIONS SWITCH – INSTRUCTION MANUAL 10–1
Multilink ML1600
Ethernet Communications Switch
Chapter 10: VLAN
GE Consumer & Industrial
Multilin
VLAN
10.1 VLAN Description
10.1.1 Overview
Short for virtual LAN (VLAN), a VLAN creates separate collision domains or network
segments that can span multiple MultiLink switches. A VLAN is a group of ports designated
by the switch as belonging to the same broadcast domain. The IEEE 802.1Q specification
establishes a standard method for inserting VLAN membership information into Ethernet
frames.
VLANs provide the capability of having two (or more) Ethernet segments co-exist on
common hardware. The reason for creating multiple segments in Ethernet is to isolate
collision domains. VLANs can isolate groups of users, or divide up traffic for security,
bandwidth MGMNT, etc. VLANs are widely used today and are here to stay. VLANs need not
be in one physical location. They can be spread across geography or topology. VLAN
membership information can be propagated across multiple MultiLink switches.
The following figure illustrates a VLAN as two separate collision domains. The top part of
the figure shows two “traditional” Ethernet segments. Up to 32 VLANs can be defined per
switch.
FIGURE 10–1: VLAN as two separate collision domains
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