Virtual local area networks (VLANS) allow network administrators to use layer 2 switches to create software-based local area networks (LAN) segments that can be defined based on factors other than physical location.
A LAN is a local area network and is defined as all devices in the same broadcast domain. In reality, routers stop broadcasts while switches forward it. A VLAN is therefore a broadcast domain created by layer 2 switches. In practice, routers create broadcast domains but with VLAN’s, we can enable switch to create the broadcast domain. By doing this, the VLANs provide higher performance for large networks by limiting broadcast domains. As the amount of traffic and the number of devices grow, the number of broadcast packets increase as well. By using VLAN’s, it is possible to contain the broadcasts. When we configure VLANs, we get the following advantages:
- Broadcast Control
- Security
- Performance
- Network Management