Allied Telesis AT-S63 User Manual

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AT-S63 Management Software Features Guide
Section VI: Virtual LANs
281
Overview
The purpose of a protected ports VLAN is to allow multiple ports on the 
switch to share the same uplink port but not share traffic with each other. 
This feature has some of the same characteristics as the multiple VLAN 
modes described in the previous chapter, but it offers several advantages. 
One is that it provides more flexibility. With the multiple VLAN modes, you 
can select only one uplink port which is shared by all the other ports. Also, 
you are not allowed to modify the configuration. With protected ports 
VLANs, you can create LAN segments that consist of more than one port 
and you can specify multiple uplink ports.
Another advantage is that the switch can support protected ports VLANs 
as well as port-based and tagged VLANs simultaneously, something that 
is not allowed with the multiple VLAN modes.
An important concept of this feature is groups. A group is a selection of 
one or more ports that function as a LAN segment within the VLAN. The 
ports in each group are independent of the ports in the other groups of the 
VLAN. The ports of a group can share traffic only amongst themselves and 
with the uplink port, but not with ports in other groups of the VLAN.
A protected ports VLAN can consist of two or more groups and a group 
can consist of one or more ports. The ports of a group can be either 
tagged or untagged.
This type of VLAN also shares some common features with tagged 
VLANs, where one or more ports are shared by different LAN segments. 
But there are significant differences. First, all the ports in a tagged VLAN 
are considered a LAN segment, while the ports in a protected ports VLAN, 
though residing within a single VLAN, are subdivided into the smaller unit 
of groups, which represent the LAN segments.
Second, a tagged VLAN, by its nature, contains one or more tagged ports. 
These are the ports that are shared among one or more tagged VLANs. 
The device connected to a tagged port must be 802.1Q compliant and it 
must be able to handle tagged packets.
In contrast, the uplink port in a protected ports VLAN, which is shared by 
the ports in the different groups, can be either tagged or untagged. The 
device connected to it does not necessarily need to be 802.1Q compliant.
Note
For explanations of VIDs and tagged and untagged ports, refer to 
Chapter 22, “Port-based and Tagged VLANs” on page 247.