3com TR User Manual

This chapter provides information on Virtual Local 
Area Networks (VLANs). Definitions, benefits, sample 
configurations and concepts of VLANs are described 
here, including:

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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.

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:

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Departmental Groups—For example, you can have 
one VLAN for the Marketing department, another 
for the Finance department, and another for the 
Development department. 

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Hierarchical Groups—For example, you can have 
one VLAN for Directors, another for Managers, 
and another for general staff.

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Usage Groups—For example, you can have one 
VLAN for users of email, and another for users of 
multimedia.