In an Ethernet network, VLANs (Virtual Local Area Networks) are used to logically segment a physical network into multiple virtual networks. This segmentation allows for the isolation of traffic, improved network performance, enhanced security, and simplified network management.
For example, imagine you have a big house with many rooms, each room representing a different group of people doing different activities. Now, you want to make sure that people in one room can talk and share things with each other, but they shouldn’t interfere with what’s happening in the other rooms.
Based on the above example VLANs are like creating virtual rooms within the house. Each virtual room represents a different group of devices or computers on your network, like the Finance team, Marketing team, or guests.
Just as each physical room in your house has its own space, VLANs create separate spaces for different groups of devices on the network. Devices in one VLAN can communicate with each other, but they’re isolated from devices in other VLANs unless there’s a special way for them to connect, like a door or a window between rooms.
VLANs label each virtual room with a tag, like putting a sign on the door of each room to indicate which group belongs there. This helps the network switch know which devices are part of which group, so it can direct traffic accordingly.
Just as you might want privacy in your own room, VLANs provide security and privacy for each group of devices. They prevent devices in one VLAN from seeing or interacting with devices in other VLANs unless explicitly allowed, which helps keep sensitive information safe.
VLANs give you the flexibility to organize your network however you want, just like you can rearrange the rooms in your house to suit your needs. If you need to add a new group or change how things are organized, you can easily create or adjust VLANs without having to physically change the network infrastructure.
In essence, VLANs are like creating separate virtual spaces within your network to organize and manage different groups of devices, ensuring they can communicate effectively while maintaining security and privacy.