Setting up a virtual local area network (VLAN) can be a complicated process, especially if you’re operating a large enterprise network, a network with legacy or hybrid architectures, or a network with specific workloads that require additional security and regulatory compliance safeguards.

Here is an excellent YouTube for learning the basics of VLAN terms and configuration 

Each VLAN configuration process will look a little different, depending on the specifications you bring to the table, and some of these steps — particularly steps five through eight — may be completed simultaneously, in a slightly different order, or even in a more automated fashion if you choose to set up a dynamic VLAN.

Example of a multi media network including Control, Video Over IP, AES67 digital audio VLANs:

DigitalMedia Networking 1

In this example the myServer controller is dually being used for control automation but also for NAT translation so the various downstream devices can access the Internet via the LAN1 (the "Bar's Network").

VLAN 10 is Control that also need access to the Internet (for content or updates)

VLAN 20 is Video Over IP

VLAN 30 is AES67 devices

VLAN 40 is for Control devices that do NOT need access to the Internet - like for TV on / off integration (prevents unauthorized firmware updates)

Each VLAN keeps it's content to it's own network which keeps the content from congesting the other networks.

myServer needs to be a member of all of those networks so it can control the devices on the respective networks.  myServer's ethernet network interface is "tagged" to be a member of all VLANs.

The Control network is for items like:  DirecTV receivers, TVs to control power on / off, streaming devices that not only need to be controlled, but also need access to the Internet for streamed content.

In this example the "16 port" L3 switch manages the different VLANS and particular ports are assigned to the specific VLANs.  VLAN particular downstream switches are then connected to those ports that connect to the VLAN specific device types.

Address reservations via DHCP are managed by either the "16 port switch" or via myServer's built in DHCP server.  All Devices can either be Static IP addressed, or DHCP reserved (so the addresses never change from what is assigned).

 

1. Brainstorm VLAN Groupings

In a traditional local area network with no virtualized barriers, all devices and network components communicate and share information with each other; you’re likely setting up a VLAN in the first place because this foundational setup is too loose for your requirements.  Typical would be for Video Over IP or Audio over IP or Point of Sale or Camera specific networks. But what are the ideal segments that will make your network function optimally and securely?

At this point in VLAN creation and configuration, it’s time to determine what VLAN groupings make the most sense for your network’s strategic complexities. Consider not only how many VLANs you’ll need but also the purpose each VLAN will serve and how they need to be set up to fulfill that purpose. While many organizations stick to more traditional boundaries like physical locations or departments, there may be more effective and secure ways for you to group and set up VLAN rules.

For example, if your company works closely with a third-party professional services firm that needs access to certain HR and security applications and data but not others, you could divide your VLANs based on which ones need looser versus stricter identity and access management controls. From there, determine which users and devices will align with and be assigned to each grouping.

2. Prepare Unique VLAN IDs

Every single VLAN you set up will need a unique VLAN identification number so you can segment network traffic to the appropriate places and keep documentation organized for multiple VLANs simultaneously. VLAN IDs are purely numeric and range from one to 4,095. While you don’t necessarily “need” these VLAN IDs to be operational yet, it’s a good idea to figure them out now so you can use them when labeling your network diagram in the next step.

3. Create a Logical Network Diagram or Map


Before you even begin setting up your VLANs and connecting devices and switches, the best way to ensure a successful VLAN network setup is to map out the specificities and relationships of your network with a network diagram. The labels and connections you illustrate at this stage of VLAN creation will give you the labels and organizational structure you need to keep track of all the devices, switches, routers, and other components necessary to fulfill your architectural plans.

Your team may choose to create this diagram manually or with tools that are already in your portfolio. However, a number of free and low-cost network diagramming tools specifically offer templates and icons that make it easier to illustrate the network you’re setting up, often with low-code/no-code interfaces and tools. If you’re interested in finding a network diagramming tool to make this step more efficient, consider investing in a network diagram software like Vizio.

4. Optional: Purchase Additional Equipment

Based on the VLAN grouping requirements and design(s) you’ve developed in the previous three steps, you should have a clearer picture of any missing hardware or software that you need to purchase. Perhaps you have more VLAN groupings than you expected and need to bring in additional switches and routers. Or maybe your organization is growing quickly, and you want to purchase new switches with more ports for more devices. There’s also the possibility that you are moving from a primarily on-premises network setup to a hybrid or cloud setup that requires new software or third-party relationships.

Regardless of your new requirements, start by creating an inventory list of any networking equipment you currently own, including information about switch and router formats, configurations, port counts, speeds, and other details pertinent to VLAN setup. From there, make a separate list of the networking tools you’re missing, the cost of these missing tools, and any other specialized information that should be considered during the buying process. 

5. Connect Network Devices to Appropriate Switch Ports

You should now connect VLAN servers, end-user devices, and other relevant network devices — as long as their IP addresses are already configured — to the switch ports that have been selected for the corresponding VLAN group. While individual devices, ports, switches, and routers have not yet necessarily been configured in their settings to align with a certain VLAN and function, you should still know which devices and network components have been set aside for which VLANs. If you’re unsure about the switch ports that should be connecting to each device, reference your network diagram (or go back to the network diagramming stage and create a more detailed diagram). 

If you are opting to create a dynamic VLAN instead of a static VLAN, steps five through eight may look a little different for you. For example, you may spend these steps creating or identifying the appropriate rule-based protocols for your devices and setting up automation rules rather than manually connecting ports and devices to VLANs.

6. Configure Switch Ports

Now that your devices are connected to the correct switch ports, it’s time to configure the switch ports so they can perform according to their assigned functions. Many of your ports will simply need to be set up as access ports in the switch’s settings; an access port is a simple connection that allows devices to connect to only one VLAN. Access ports are most appropriate for devices and users that will not be using VLAN tagging or participating in inter-VLAN routing. 

Trunk ports are also configured in a switch’s settings, but they are designed to manage higher bandwidth traffic and can manage traffic for more than one VLAN. Devices should only be connected to trunk ports if they have been authorized and configured for VLAN tagging and inter-VLAN routing. Before moving on to the next step, double-check that devices are connected to the correct type of switch port for their operational needs.

7. Set up VLAN Specifications via Network Switch Settings

All of the prework is done: It’s time to actually create the virtual local area networks you want through network switch settings. You’ll do this by accessing your network switch management interfaces and going to the section where you can create VLANs. Create the number of VLANs you determined were necessary in previous steps and assign them the unique VLAN IDs you selected in step two.

8. Assign Switch Ports to VLANs

Again, keep in mind that steps five through eight may go in a slightly different order, depending on your team and their preferences. So if you have not yet assigned switch ports to the appropriate VLAN, it’s time to do that now. Tagged ports (trunk ports) are likely already associated with the correct VLANs, but you should confirm that they are set up correctly at this time. For untagged ports (access ports), you’ll need to manually connect them to the correct VLAN. Remember, trunk ports can be associated with more than one VLAN, if appropriate.

9. Optional: Add VLAN Tags

VLAN tagging is the process through which VLAN network traffic is further segmented and specialized. When VLAN tags are in use, associated devices and ports automatically interact with devices and ports that share those same tags; however, tags also give network administrators the power to further direct traffic and support case-by-case inter-VLAN routing scenarios. 

VLAN tagging is most appropriate for networks with complex traffic patterns and a diverse range of users, devices, and security permissions. If you choose to set up trunk ports with multiple VLANs running through them, as demonstrated in step six, you’ll need to make sure at least some of your VLANs receive tags so traffic doesn’t get muddled in trunk ports. 

If you’re not sure if your network would benefit from VLAN tags, read this in-depth article on the topic to help you make your decision: Tagged vs. Untagged VLAN: When You Should Use Each.

10. Optional: Configure Inter-VLAN Routing

If your network requires VLAN-to-VLAN communication as a part of its regular operations, you’ll want to use the VLAN tags you set up in the previous step to direct inter-VLAN routing. While it sounds counterintuitive to open traffic flow between VLANs, many organizations choose to do this because the different layer at which routers operate makes it possible for them to still control what types of traffic flow across VLANs and when and how devices and users move from VLAN to VLAN. As part of the inter-VLAN configuration step, you may also need to set up or double-check your VLAN access controls, ensuring only approved users and devices can take advantage of inter-VLAN routing.

11. Quality-Test Your VLAN

Now that everything’s set up, it’s time to test network connectivity and performance. Make sure that all devices within the same VLAN are able to interact with each other and, conversely, that they are not able to reach devices in other VLANs. Ping and traceroute are both effective tools for testing VLAN connectivity and performance, but a number of other network security and management tools may be appropriate as well.

12. Document and Reassess VLAN Performance Periodically

Enterprise networks in particular frequently change as more devices and users, new hardware and software requirements, and new operational and security use cases arise. Network administrators and/or network security team members should maintain an up-to-date network diagram, equipment inventory, changelogs, and other configuration documentation so it’s easy to see what the network looks like now, if and where any vulnerabilities have reared their heads, and if any other changes are necessary to improve network performance. Each time you go through this process, update your documentation so you have a full history of the network and what you’ve done to maintain it.

Should You Use a Static VLAN or Dynamic VLAN?

Static and dynamic VLANs bring different advantages to network administrators, depending on the size, complexity, and requirements of their network. Below, we’ve explained how each type works and when you should use it.

Static VLAN

Static VLANs exist when network administrators manually connect network devices to physical switch ports and those devices receive their VLAN assignment based on that connection. If the device ever needs to be reassigned to a new VLAN, the network administrator would physically connect it to a new switch port that is already associated with that VLAN. In other words, a static VLAN is one in which switch ports are assigned to VLANs and devices are not assigned to VLANs; they receive their orders directly from the switch port they’re connected to.

This type of VLAN is best for smaller networks, or networks that change infrequently and include fewer VLAN segments because network administrators have to manually connect (and sometimes reconnect) devices to the right ports for them to work. With a larger network that’s changing frequently, this task alone could become a full-time job and riddled with errors. Static VLANs are most advantageous for network administrators who need an easy-to-setup VLAN with predictable infrastructure and limited authentication needs.

Dynamic VLAN

A dynamic VLAN is one in which devices are assigned to that VLAN on a dynamic and semi-automated basis. Specialized criteria determine which devices are assigned to which VLANs and when. These criteria may include specialized network access controls and protocols, VLAN membership policy servers (VMPS) and databases, or some other combination of servers and data-driven rules. With a dynamic VLAN, devices are assigned to VLANs while ports frequently are not assigned to particular VLANs; they are simply the conduit through which pre-assigned device traffic flows.

Dynamic VLANs are best for larger and more complex networks that need to maintain frequently changing authentication and usage rules. It’s a much more difficult implementation process when compared to static VLAN, but for more strenuous network rules and requirements, dynamic VLAN ultimately saves network professionals time in the long run, as they can simply update protocols and VMPS entries when new VLAN assignments are needed across multiple devices.

Bottom Line: The Importance of Preparation for Optimal VLAN Performance

While the actual process of setting up a VLAN can be as simple as updating network switch settings and connecting devices to VLAN switch ports, the strategy behind a successful VLAN setup can be much more daunting. You’ll need to consider any specialized security or compliance requirements, the different device types that need access, and the resources and monitoring it will take to set up and sustain an efficient VLAN. 

All the steps listed above are crucial aspects of creating and configuring a sustainable VLAN network. But perhaps the most important step of all is documenting your thought process and your network architecture, especially as they change over time. Maintaining detailed documentation will help your existing network and security team members stay on top of the most pertinent network updates and issues while simultaneously ensuring that any future members of the team receive the foundational training necessary to successfully work in your VLAN ecosystem.

 

 

 

 

Setting up a VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) is a fundamental network configuration task that allows you to logically segment a network without changing its physical layout. VLANs are used to improve network performance, enhance security, and simplify management by dividing a single physical network into multiple logical networks.

By grouping devices on the same VLAN, even if they’re physically dispersed, you control and isolate network traffic, reduce broadcast traffic, and manage different user groups more efficiently.

VLAN setup is beneficial in various environments, from small offices to large enterprise networks, as it allows better control over network resources, minimizes security risks, and facilitates efficient troubleshooting. Whether segmenting traffic by department, user type, or security level, VLANs are essential for creating a flexible, scalable, and secure network infrastructure.

The process of creating a VLAN typically involves configuring network switches to assign specific ports or devices to a VLAN, assigning each VLAN a unique ID, and setting up IP address ranges for each VLAN. Devices within a VLAN can communicate with each other directly, but traffic between different VLANs requires inter-VLAN routing, typically through a router or Layer 3 switch.

A Layer 3 switch combines switching and routing capabilities, enabling high-speed data forwarding within networks and facilitating inter-VLAN routing, enhancing network performance and management. So, if you’ve got the right equipment, let’s get started with setting it up.

Note: while we have tried to make the whole exercise of setting up a VLAN as simple as possible, it is assumed that you, the reader, have a basic grasp of network configuration. We also assume that you have a working knowledge of the concepts, and purposes, of IP addresses, gateways, switches, and routers. In addition, you also need to know about navigating the interface and sub-interface configuration procedures on computers and networking devices.

Step-by-step – How to set up a VLAN

The best way to learn how to set up a VLAN – apart from going to networking school – is to actually do it in a practical exercise.   Our assumptions are you have an Allonis L3 Network switch that supports VLANs.

Physical and Logical Connections

In this network configuration, our router will have a single physical or logical connection to our network. This router will help bridge the two VLANs – that cannot communicate with one another – by connecting to our switch via a single cable.

Data Packet Journey

Here’s how it works: data packets that are sent out from a computer in the Accounting VLAN – and intended for a computer in the Logistics VLAN – will travel to the switch. The switch, upon recognizing the packets need to cross over to another VLAN, will forward the traffic to the router.

Understanding Sub-Interfaces

The router, meanwhile, will have one physical interface (a network cable, in our example) that has been split into two logical sub-interfaces. The sub-interfaces will each be authorized to access one VLAN.

Packet Forwarding Mechanism

When the data packets arrive at the router, they will be forwarded to the correct VLAN via the authorized sub-interface and then arrive at their intended destination.

Our Router on a Stick VLAN setup, with inter-VLAN capabilities, will look like this:

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/How-to-Set-Up-a-VLAN-final-design-300x170.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/How-to-Set-Up-a-VLAN-final-design-300x170.jpg 300w" alt="How to Set Up a VLAN final design" width="628" height="355" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Planning your tasks

The whole task of creating our network architecture will be divided into four main categories where you will:

  • Connect all devices to form the correct architecture
  • Configure interfaces so all the devices can “talk” to one another
  • Create VLANs and assign computers to their respective VLANs
  • Confirm correct configuration by demonstrating the computers cannot communicate beyond their VLAN

So, without further ado, let’s start creating our VLAN. Remember, it will initially have a switch and four computers connected to it. You can bring the router into the design later if you choose to do so.

Connect all devices

Drag and drop a switch, a router, and four computers into the main design board. For our demo, we will be using a 2960 switch and a 2911 router. The switch will connect to four computers (PC0, PC1, PC2, and PC3) using copper straight-through wire connections (you will see the description of the hardware and connection types at the very bottom of the Tracer window).

Next, connect the switch to each computer using the FastEthernet ports.

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Connecting-switch-and-computers-1-300x170.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Connecting-switch-and-computers-1-300x170.jpg 300w" alt="Connecting switch and computers 1" width="628" height="355" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Once all devices are connected you should have all-green traffic flowing between the devices. As the tool tries to emulate devices booting and connecting in the real world, it might take a minute or two. So don’t worry if the data flow indicators remain orange for a few seconds. If your connections and configurations are correct, it will all soon change to green.

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Connecting-switch-and-computers-2-300x170.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Connecting-switch-and-computers-2-300x170.jpg 300w" alt="Connecting switch and computers 2" width="628" height="355" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

To make things easier to grasp, let’s mark the two computers on the left as belonging to the Accounting department (blue) and the other two as belonging to the Logistics departments (red).

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ACCT-and-LOGS-VLAN-300x170.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/ACCT-and-LOGS-VLAN-300x170.jpg 300w" alt="ACCT and LOGS VLAN" width="628" height="355" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Configure interfaces

Now, let’s start assigning IP addresses so our computers can start communicating with one another. The IP assignments will look like this:

  • ACCT PC0 = 192.168.1.10/255.255.255.0
  • ACCT PC1 = 192.168.1.20/255.255.255.0
  • LOGS PC2 = 192.168.2.10/255.255.255.0
  • LOGS PC3 = 192.168.2.20/255.255.255.0

The default gateway for the computers is 192.168.1.1 for the first two in Accounting, and 192.168.2.1 for the last two computers in Logistics. You can access the configuration by going to the Desktop menu and then clicking on the IP Configuration window.

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Desktop-configuration-and-IP-configuration-menu-300x170.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 628px) 100vw, 628px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Desktop-configuration-and-IP-configuration-menu-300x170.jpg 300w" alt="Desktop configuration and IP configuration menu" width="628" height="355" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Once you’re there, start filling in the configurations for all the computers:

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IP-address-and-Default-Gateway-configuation-300x292.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/IP-address-and-Default-Gateway-configuation-300x292.jpg 300w" alt="IP address and Default Gateway configuration" width="563" height="548" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

When you are done, we can now move on to the switch. First, though, we need to remember that there will be two types of ports on our switch:

  • Access Ports: these are the ports that will be used to allow everyday devices like computers and servers to connect to it; in our example, these are the FastEthernet 0/1, FastEthernet 1/1, FastEthernet 2/1, and FastEthernet 3/1 – one for each computer.
  • Trunk Ports: these are the ports that allow a switch to communicate with another switch – or in our example a VLAN-to-VLAN communication on the same switch (via the router) – to expand the network; we will use the GigaEthernet0/0 ports on both the connectivity devices.

With that in mind, let’s move on to the fun part – configuring the switch to run our VLANs.

Create VLANs and assign computers

So, let’s create the VLANs first – they will be named ACCT (VLAN 10) and LOGS (VLAN 20).

Go to the switch’s CLI to type in the commands:

Switch#config terminal

Switch(config)#vlan 10

Switch(config-vlan)#name ACCT

Switch(config-vlan)#vlan 20

Switch(config-vlan)#name LOGS

The commands in your CLI should look like this:

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Switch-create-VLAN-CLI-300x292.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Switch-create-VLAN-CLI-300x292.jpg 300w" alt="Switch create VLAN CLI" width="563" height="548" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Or, if you’re not up to it, you can simply use the GUI to create the VLANs (and still see the commands run as they are being executed below). Go to the Config-VLAN Database menu and ADD the VLANs by entering their numbers (10,20) and names (ACCT, LOGS).

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Switch-create-VLAN-GUI-300x292.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Switch-create-VLAN-GUI-300x292.jpg 300w" alt="Switch create VLAN GUI" width="563" height="548" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Next, we need to assign each port, which the switch uses to connect the computers, to their respective VLANs.

You can simply choose the interface and then check the box of the corresponding VLAN from the configuration menu on the right:

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Assign-switch-port-to-a-VLAN-300x292.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Assign-switch-port-to-a-VLAN-300x292.jpg 300w" alt="Assign switch port to a VLAN" width="563" height="548" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

As you can see from the image above, you can alternatively go into the CLI interface of each port and use the command: switchport access vlan 10 to perform the same task.

Don’t worry; there is a shorter way of doing this in case there are a large number of ports to assign. For example, if you had 14 ports, the command would be:

Switch(config-if)#int range fa0/1-14

Switch(config-if-range)#switchport mode access

The second command makes sure that the switch understands the ports are to be ACCESS ports and not TRUNK ports.

Confirm correct configuration

And that’s it; we have created two VLANs on the same switch. To test it, and confirm our configuration is correct, we can try pinging P1 and P3 from P0. The first ping should be fine while the second one should time out and lose all the packets:

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/VLAN-ping-test-no-router-272x300.jpg.webp 272w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 584px) 100vw, 584px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/VLAN-ping-test-no-router-272x300.jpg 272w" alt="VLAN ping test - no router" width="584" height="644" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

How to set up an inter-VLAN

Rationale Behind Inter-VLAN

Now, although we have divided the computers into two VLANs – as was required – it makes more sense that the two departments (Accounting and Logistics) would need to communicate with one another. This would be the norm in any real-life business environment. After all, logistics couldn’t be purchased or supplied without financial backing, right?

Objective of Inter-VLAN Setup

So, we need to make sure that ACCT and LOGS are able to communicate – even if they are on separate VLANs. This means we need to create an inter-VLAN communication.

Initial Setup Requirements

Here’s how to go about it!

We will need the help of our router; it will act as a bridge between the two VLANS – so, go ahead and add a router to your design if you haven’t already done so.

Router and Switch Configuration

Jumping into the configuration, we must understand that we will use one port on the router for both VLANs’ communication by “splitting” it into two ports. Meanwhile, the switch will only use one TRUNK port to send and receive all communications to, and from, the router.

Sub-Interface Creation and Configuration

So, going back to our router, we will split the GigabitEthernet0/0 interface into GigabitEthernet0/0.10 (for VLAN10) and GigabitEthernet0/0.20 (for VLAN20). We will then use the IEEE 802.1Q standard protocol for interconnecting switches, routers, and for defining VLAN topologies.

Assigning the Sub-Interfaces

Once done, these “sub-interfaces” – as they called – are then assigned to each VLAN that we want to connect or bridge.

Setting IP Addresses for Sub-Interfaces

Finally, remember the gateways – 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.2.1 – we added to the computers’ configurations earlier? Well, these will be the new IP addresses of the split ports or sub-interfaces on the router.

The CLI commands to create the sub-interfaces under the GigabitEthernet0/0 interface would be:

Router (config)#interface GigabitEthernet0/0.10

Router (config-subif)#encapsulation dot1q 10

Router (config-subif)#ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0

Repeating it all for the second sub-interface and VLAN we get

Router (config)#interface GigabitEthernet0/0.20

Router (config-subif)#encapsulation dot1q 20

Router (config-subif)#ip address 192.168.2.1 255.255.255.0

Once you close the CLI, you can confirm your configuration is correct by simply moving the mouse over the router to see your work, which should look something like this:

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Now, we know that we can only connect our sub-interfaces (on the router) to our switch via its trunk port – and so, we will need to create it now.

All you need to do is go in the switch’s GigabitEthernet0/0 configuration and run: switchport mode trunk.

And there you have it; you have just created two VLANs that contain two computers each and which can still communicate with one another. You can prove this by pinging the first Logistics computer (PC2) with IP address 192.168.2.10 from the first Accounting computer (PC0) with the IP address 192.168.1.10:

https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ping-LOGS-PC-from-ACCT-PC-Success-300x292.jpg.webp 300w" type="image/webp" sizes="auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px;" />https://cdn.comparitech.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Ping-LOGS-PC-from-ACCT-PC-Success-300x292.jpg 300w" alt="Ping LOGS PC from ACCT PC - Success" width="563" height="548" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; vertical-align: middle; font-weight: inherit; outline: 0px; contain-intrinsic-size: 3000px 1500px; margin: 0px auto; display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 6px;" loading="lazy" decoding="async" />

Great Success!

Why set up a VLAN or inter-VLAN

At this point, some of you may be wondering why we would need to go through this exercise and bother with VLANs or inter-VLANs at all. Well, there are many reasons, some of which are:

  • Security Breaking up a network into components ensures that only authorized users and devices can access a sub-network. You wouldn’t want your accountants to interfere with the work of your logistics department or vice versa.
  • Safety In case there is a virus outbreak, only one subnet would be affected as the devices on one subnet wouldn’t be able to communicate – and thus transfer – the virus to another one. This way, clean-up procedures would be focused on that one subnet which also makes it easier to identify the culprit machine a lot faster.
  • Ensures privacy by isolation If someone wanted to find out about your network’s architecture (with the intent of attacking it), they would use a packet sniffer to map out your layout. With isolated sub-networks, the culprits would only be able to get a partial picture of your network thus denying them critical information about your vulnerabilities, for example.
  • Eases network traffic Isolated sub-networks can keep traffic usage down by keeping resource-intensive processes limited to their own scope and not overwhelming the whole network. This means, just because IT is pushing critical updates to the accounting machines, doesn’t mean the logistics department has to face a network slowdown too.
  • Traffic prioritization With businesses that have various types of data traffic the sensitive or resource-hogging packets (VoIP, media, and large data transfers, for example) can be assigned to a VLAN with larger broadband while those that only need the network to send out emails can be assigned to a VLAN with lesser bandwidth.
  • Scalability When a business needs to scale-up the resources available to its computers it can reassign them to new VLANs. Their administrators simply create a new VLAN and then move the computers into them with ease.

As we can see, VLANs help protect a network while also improving the performance of the data packets that travel around it.

Static VLAN vs Dynamic VLAN

We thought it would be worth mentioning that there are two types of VLANs that available for implementation:

Static VLAN

This VLAN design depends on hardware to create the sub-networks. The computers are assigned to a specific port on a switch and plugged right in. If they need to move to another VLAN, the computers are simply unplugged from the old switch and plugged back into the new one.

The problem with this is that anyone can move from one VLAN to another one by simply switching the ports they are connected to. This means administrators would require physical security methods or devices put in place to prevent such unauthorized accesses.

Dynamic VLAN

This is the VLAN we have just created in the exercise we did earlier. In this VLAN architecture, we have software VLANs where the administrators simply use logic to assign specific IP or MAC addresses to their respective VLANs.

This means devices can be moved to any part of the business, and as soon as they connect to the network, they return to their pre-assigned VLANs. There is no need for additional configurations.

If there is one drawback with this scenario, it can only be that the business would need to invest in an intelligent switch – a VLAN Management Policy Switch (VMPS) – which can be on the expensive side when compared to the traditional switch used in static VLANs.

It can also be safely assumed here that businesses with a few computers and a smaller IT budget can choose to implement a static VLAN while those with a large number of devices and a need for more efficiency and security would be wise to invest in a dynamic VLAN.

Conclusion

We hope you have found all the information you needed to learn about how to set up a VLAN. We also hope that the exercise was easy to follow and that you can now go on to build upon the knowledge you have gained. Because, even as you continue to scale upwards, these basic steps remain the same – you simply continue to add hardware and configurations to the basics.

VLAN FAQs

What is a VLAN?

A VLAN is a method that makes networks more efficient by reducing the scope of broadcast transmissions to just a section of the network. A broadcast goes to every part of the network, which can create a lot of traffic all over the system, including to areas that will never need to receive that broadcast or respond to it. Effectively, a VLAN divides up a network into sections.

How is a VLAN different from a LAN?

LAN stands for Local Area Network, which is the common name for a typical network inside an office. The virtual LAN (VLAN) creates sections of that LAN, which seem to be separate systems, even though they are actually all connected together. The segmentation of the LAN into VLANs happens at the Data Link Layer (Layer 2), so it is implemented on switches and bridges.

Routers are at the Network Layer (Layer 3). They operate for the entire network but use software techniques to distinguish between VLAN sections. The router can bridge between these sections with inter-VLAN routing.

What are the types of VLAN?

There are five types of VLAN:

  1. Default VLAN: Switches have settings that can implement VLANs but these are all initially set to VLAN1. As all switches have the same VLAN, there is only one VLAN operating, which effectively means that the technology is disabled.
  2. Data VLAN: Also known as a user VLAN, this strategy creates two groups: one for users and one for devices. This ill only carry data.
  3. Voice VLAN: Meant for the office telephone network and implemented with VoIP, this VLAN carries voice traffic. This traffic gets priority over data traffic to ensure a high quality of service.
  4. Management VLAN: Accesses the management functions of a switch for tasks such as logging, and extracting activity and status data for system monitoring. When other VLANs are set up, the management VLAN should be left as VLAN1.
  5. Native VLAN: Used for trunk ports that handle traffic from all VLANs, creating a common transmission channel that traffic can be split out of for individual VLANs.

 

Constructing a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)

In a system that includes other types of networked devices than Dante / AES67 or VideoOverIP, or a large-scale system that comprises of many media devices, you can avoid unnecessary packet transfers between the different types of device and make the network more stable by segmenting it. Ideally, a separate number of switches should be prepared for each network segment, but you can reduce the required number of switches and cables by using VLANs to create network segments. This method can reduce maintenance costs as well.

Network segmentation refers to the creation of virtual local area networks (VLANs) that are distinct from physical connections. When there are different types of networked devices within a system, you can create VLANs so that while the networks may share the same physical switches, they function as separate virtual networks.

Constructing a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN)

You can provide connections between switches for each VLAN, but you can also use VLAN tagging so that data for various VLANs can be transferred over a single trunk (cable). This enables you to create virtual networks that are separate from the physical wiring.

Here, we will present an example in which two VLANs are created and the switches are connected by a trunk. For example, in a live system using a CL/QL Series console, VLAN 1 (ports 1 and 2) could be used as the control network and VLAN 2 (ports 3 to 8) could be used as the AES67 / Dante or VideoOIP network.  It is recommended to create separate VLANs for each media type ie: AES67 / Dante network vs. VideoOverIP network.

In the above example, it could also be said that VLAN 1 is the 100 Mbps control network while VLAN 2 is the broadband 1 Gbps network for audio transmission (Dante and / or AES67). By segmenting these networks, you can prevent the 1 Gbps network from overburdening the 100 Mbps network (although both networks coexist in the trunk). In the rest of this section, we will configure VLAN settings according to the example network configuration described above.

You can use network segmentation to connect the primary and secondary AES67/Dante lines to the same switch, but we recommend that you avoid doing this, because while connecting the lines to the same switch may provide the redundancy necessary for handling cable problems and other issues, if the switch malfunctions, both lines will be cut off.

Before you perform the following settings, make sure that the PC is connected to VLAN 1, which is the VLAN that you will be configuring first (in this example, the PC should be connected to port 1 or 2). VLAN 1 is a special default VLAN, so you should always connect the PC to a VLAN 1 port when you configure switch settings.

First, create the necessary VLAN. In the default settings, only VLAN 1 exists, so add VLAN 2. In the following page, click “Add”. In the VLAN ID box in the dialog box that appears, type “2”, and click “Apply”. When you are creating multiple VLANs, entering a VLAN name can help you identify each individual VLAN (but you do not have to enter a name).

Next, you will need to set the VLAN mode for each switch port. By default, each port is a trunk port, so you will have to change ports 1 to 8 to access ports. In the following page, select port 1, and then click “Edit”.  Click "VLAN / Port Setting" on Allonis L3 switches.

In the dialog box that appears, select “Access”.

Change ports 2 to 8 to access ports in the same way. To set the ports more quickly, click “Copy Settings” while port 1 is selected, and copy the settings to ports 2 to 8.

Next, assign each port to one of the VLANs. In the following page, you can specify which ports are allowed to access each VLAN.  For Allonis L3 switches, click on "VLAN / Membership". First, make sure that VLAN ID is set to “1” and Interface Type is set to “Port”. Ports 3 to 8 will not be included in VLAN 1, so set them to “Forbidden”. Ports 9 and 10 are the trunk ports, but VLAN 1 includes special default VLAN settings, so leave them set to “Untagged”. Before you switch to the settings for VLAN 2, don’t forget to click “Apply”.

To switch to the settings for VLAN 2, set VLAN ID to “2”, and click “Go”. Ports 1 and 2 will not be included in VLAN 2, so set them to “Forbidden”. Ports 3 to 8 will be included in VLAN 2, so set them to “Untagged”. Ports 9 and 10 are the trunk ports, so set them to “Tagged”.  On Allonis L3 Switches, "VLAN / Membership" you can choose a port and add it to the defined VLANS it should belong to.

The VLANs (VLAN 1 and VLAN 2) have now been successfully created within the switch, and the trunk ports (ports 9 and 10) make it possible for these virtual networks to span across switches. Don’t forget to save the settings after you change them.

 

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VLAN terms and configuration 

VLANs are one of the most complicated concepts to wrap your head around when you're getting started
with computer networking. Heck, I mean, they're even confusing for experienced network admins.
So in this video, I'm gonna try to break down the complex concept of VLANs to make them easier
to understand and therefore easier to use. So if VLANs are a concept that you've been struggling with,
pay careful attention to this video and hopefully by the end, you'll have a much greater understanding
of exactly how VLANs work. Okay, we've got a lot to cover, so let's get started.
VLANs can be difficult to understand.
So if you need any help configuring VLANs in your own network, the friendly and knowledgeable technicians
at Rogue Support are here to assist. Whether you wanna set up an isolated guest network or a secure subnet for all of your IoT devices,
Rogue Support technicians are well versed in VLAN setup and troubleshooting. It's as simple as opening up a ticket,
receiving bids on your job, and then working with the technician that you select on your schedule.
And you don't pay anything until your issue is resolved. We're also proud to announce the Rogue Support Referral Program
that allows you to make some extra cash by referring customers to Rogue Support for all of their computer networking,
security, and wireless needs. If you're interested in becoming a Rogue Support Referral partner,
be sure to visit rogue.support.referrals for more info. VLAN stands for Virtual Local Area Network.
So let's start with the LAN portion of VLAN to get this video started. A LAN, or local area network,
in its simplest form is the inside interface of a router. So if you go down to Best Buy
and you purchase a router off the shelf, you're gonna have a WAN port that you plug your internet connection into,
as well as one or more LAN ports that you plug your devices into. Devices can be basically anything
that connects to the network. A computer, a network switch, a wireless access point that then has other wireless devices
such as your smartphone connecting to the network. When you have a single LAN,
all of your devices are grouped together in one big subnet. Each device gets its own IP address within that subnet
so that the devices can all talk to each other, and then they can make requests out to the internet.
In a simple LAN scenario, the IP addressing for the subnet is typically gonna be something like 192.168.1.0 slash 24.
This number defines the range of IP addresses that are available to pass out to devices on this network.
And in this case, the slash 24 at the end means that the network has 254 available IP addresses.
Those IP addresses range from 192.168.1.1 all the way up to 192.168.1.254.
The slash 24 determines the size of that subnet.
It should also be noted that dot zero and dot 255 are also part of the subnet,
but those two IP addresses are reserved for special functions. Dot zero being the network address
used to identify the subnet itself, and dot 255 being the broadcast address
or the address used when a device needs to send information to every other device on the subnet.
The slash 24 portion of our network is what's known as CIDR or C-I-D-R format.
But you may see a network defined as 192.168.1.0 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
Slash 24 in CIDR notation is the same as a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.
And basically this number defines how many available IP addresses
are contained within that particular network subnet, with slash 24 being one of the most common types.
Now, this would also not be a comprehensive overview of VLANs and networking if I didn't mention that I'm only talking about IPv4 here.
IPv6 also exists, but I'm not gonna be covering that in this video. All right, so at this point,
we should have a basic understanding of what a LAN or local area network is. And we can use CIDR or subnet masking
to determine the size or the number of IP addresses that are contained within that LAN.
Now, imagine that on that same router or network switch, we have the ability to layer in
additional local area networks on top of the standard LAN that we just talked about.
These are known as VLANs or virtual local area networks. A VLAN is formatted with the same type of network subnetting
as a normal LAN, but the difference is that every ethernet frame that travels across the network in a VLAN
has an additional bit of information called the VLAN ID. This can sometimes also be referred to as a VLAN tag.
And you can think of VLAN tags as grouping network devices together in their own network subnet,
regardless of the actual physical network that they're connected to. So let's give some examples here, right?
Where do we see VLANs used most often when it comes to home user networks?
One example would be a guest network. So you have your main secure LAN where most of your devices reside,
but then you also want to allow guests that are visiting your home to connect to the network and have internet access.
But you don't want those guests devices to be able to communicate with any of your own devices,
right? You wanna keep them separated. So in this case, we could create a separate virtual area network or VLAN
for our guest devices, and then give it a VLAN tag such as VLAN 10.
So then our main network by default has a tag of one, and we can now create a guest network
that has a VLAN tag of 10. And maybe we also wanna create a virtual network
for our IOT devices, right? All of these smart devices, such as wifi controlled light bulbs and RGB strips
and robot vacuums, surveillance cameras, gaming consoles, television, like all of these little devices that populate our lives.
These devices often come with some sort of app or cloud connectivity so that they're reaching out of your network
and communicating with some server out in the world somewhere. These are devices that you might wanna keep
completely separate from your secure LAN devices. So we'll group all those devices together
into another virtual LAN subnet, and we're gonna call it VLAN 20.
So now we have say three different networks available on the same physical networking hardware.
We have our default LAN, we have a guest network that we've set to VLAN ID 10,
and we have an IOT network that we've set to VLAN ID 20. What reasons do we have for separating these out, right?
First and foremost, as I already kind of alluded to is security. So in my two examples of the guest network
and the IOT network, we can set up firewall rules in the firewall to lock those groups of devices out
from communicating with the devices in our default LAN. So for example, if you are a restaurant,
you wouldn't want one of your guests hopping onto your WiFi and then running scans against your servers
and your point of sale system to try to find vulnerabilities. Likewise, if you have some IOT devices
that connect out to a cloud service on the internet somewhere and that cloud service gets hacked,
you wouldn't want hackers to be able to, you know, piggyback down that connection to your IOT device.
And then from there, see all of the secure computers on your network. Another reason you might want to implement VLANs
is just for organization of devices. Many businesses, for example, have dedicated VLANs for surveillance cameras
or voice over IP telephones. Another factor is efficiency and performance.
So if you're using VLANs, especially in like really large networks that utilize what's known as layer three switching,
those devices can benefit from having specific traffic routed in specific ways
to reduce network congestion and unnecessary traffic. Now, we're not gonna get too deep
into layer three networking in this video, so let's now pivot to a networking analogy.
So imagine our network as an office building that houses multiple different companies
inside the building. In our office building, we have a front door, right? Outside of that front door is the general public.
That's gonna be our WAN or the internet. And then inside the front door is our LAN, right?
The private area of our office building. The front door functions as our firewall
because in order to get inside that front door, you're gonna need a key, right? We don't just let anyone in.
Our front door firewall is the first line of defense against the rest of the world.
Now, once you're in that front door, you're in the lobby, right? Or a common space. If all of the companies in that office building
were wide open, it would be absolute chaos. So each company then is partitioned off into different offices aside from that common space.
VLANs are like the various company offices that we've partitioned off from the common space
where you create separate rooms or areas for each company, right? It's kind of a way to group all of the employees
from that company together in that one office space. Now, everything is part of that one big office building,
but only employees with special access, for example, like a key card that they have to swipe,
are allowed into the partitioned areas that they have access to. So that key card that an employee has to swipe
is like a VLAN tag on an ethernet frame. It lets the physical network know which VLAN or partition
that ethernet frame is supposed to be a part of. All right, so now let's take a step back and talk about some really common VLAN terminology.
So we already talked about VLAN IDs or tags. You remember, we set up VLAN ID 10 for our guest network
and we set up VLAN ID 20 for our IoT network. Once those VLANs are created on the network,
we then need to tell our network switches, right, our physical ethernet ports, which VLANs are allowed.
And to do this, there are three main terms that we use, untagged or native VLAN, tagged VLAN, and trunk ports.
So we're gonna talk about these terms as they relate to a single port on a network switch.
So imagine the RJ45 port or SFP port that you plug a wire into.
When you set a VLAN as untagged on a network port, this is telling that port what the default VLAN should be
for any device that is plugged in that does not understand VLANs
or does not specifically have a VLAN tag that is associated with that device.
For example, your desktop PC. By default, you are not configuring your desktop PC
with any VLAN tags, right? So when you plug it into a network switch, it is going to become a member of the network subnet
that is untagged on the switch port that you plug it into. Now, this doesn't have to be your default physical LAN.
You can set any of your VLANs as untagged in a network switch port so that a device that's plugged into that port
that doesn't have a specific VLAN ID will be on your untagged VLAN by default,
and therefore will be placed into that VLANs network subnet. And that might start to sound confusing,
but we are going to actually go over some for real examples in a little bit that should make that a little bit clearer.
But imagine that you're sitting in a waiting room at your doctor's office, and you notice that there's an exposed RJ45 port
in the wall, right? A hacker could plug a device into that port to try to see what information they can obtain
about the network it's connected to. So it would probably be a good idea
to ensure that the untagged VLAN for that specific port in the waiting room
is perhaps your guest network VLAN, right? So that you are not exposing your secure network
to just randos that are hanging around waiting for their doctor's appointment. Next, we have the concept of tagged networks
on a switch port, right? So we talked about untagged, now we're gonna talk about tagged VLANs
or tagged networks on a switch port. Alongside that untagged VLAN on a network switch port,
you can also allow specific VLANs as tagged VLANs on that same port.
So let's say that you created a voiceover IP VLAN for your phone system, and you gave your voiceover IP network a VLAN ID of 30.
You may have a network switch port where the untagged network subnet is VLAN ID one,
but you've also allowed on that same port tagged network VLAN ID of 30.
So your voiceover IP telephone is configured to connect to VLAN 30. So when you plug it into that network switch port,
it's not gonna take the default untagged VLAN ID one, it's gonna say, hey there,
you know, I'm supposed to be on VLAN 30. And since that switch port that I plugged the phone into is configured with tagged VLAN 30,
everyone's happy and your voiceover IP phone is configured into the voiceover IP network
running on VLAN ID 30. Going back to our shared office space analogy,
say two people walk into the front door. One of those people has no idea where they're supposed to go, right?
So they're allowed into the lobby and they sit down and wait. But the other person knows exactly
where they're supposed to go, right? They're trying to get to the doctor's office because they have an appointment. So imagine if that front door was the switch port,
in this analogy, the person who doesn't know where they're supposed to go has no VLAN tag, right?
So they get the default. They're told to go sit in the lobby. Whereas the second person knows where they're supposed to go
they need to go to the doctor's office. So they have a VLAN tag that gets them into that partitioned area
of the office building and they are allowed into that location. Another term you'll hear a lot when you're dealing with the basics of VLANs
is a trunk port. When you configure a network switch port as a trunk port,
this just means that your default LAN is typically the untagged network on that port,
but it also has all of your other VLANs allowed as well. But those VLANs are tagged on that port.
So in our example, VLAN ID one would be the untagged network on that port.
But if a device has a VLAN tag associated with it, such as the voice of RIP telephone, that switch port can pass traffic
for any of the other VLANs in the network, such as the guest network on VLAN 10, the IOT network on VLAN 20,
or the VoIP network on VLAN 30. What's the difference then between a trunk port
that has the default LAN and all of your VLANs attached to it versus manually configuring a switch port
with VLAN ID one as untagged and VLANs 10, 20 and 30 as tagged.
Actually, there's no difference in terms of functionality, but the difference comes in administration.
If you manually configure your switch ports and then later add another VLAN,
say VLAN 40 for surveillance cameras or something, you then have to go back in
and remember to manually add VLAN 40 to your switch ports, whereas a trunk port is going to have
that added automatically, since it always carries all of your VLANs.
Now, typically we see trunk ports being used to interconnect network switches together to ensure that all of our VLANs
are visible to all of our network switches. All right, so now that we've got a basic understanding
of how VLANs work and some of the terminology in use, let's take a look at how you might be able
to actually configure VLANs in various types of equipment. I'm gonna start by showing you a few VLAN examples
that may be used in everyday life. One of the first things I should mention is that not all routers are going to be VLAN capable.
So for example, if you just go down to your local big box store and pick up some,
you know, Netgear something just right off the shelf, it might have like guest network capabilities,
but you're not able to add your own VLANs because they try to make these things as simple as possible.
So if you're in your router and you're looking for like, where are the VLAN settings and you're not finding them,
you might need to upgrade to some, you know, more prosumer or higher level of equipment.
So now let's look at a few different diagrams to help explain VLANs, both the untagged VLANs
and tagged VLANs, as well as trunk ports. We're gonna start with that trunk port. So what I have here is on the left-hand side,
we have our router. And in the router, again, this is just generic router, a generic router that has the ability to add VLANs
or separate VLAN subnets to the network. And here we can see that I have VLAN ID one,
that's gonna be our default VLAN or native VLAN, it's sometimes called. Then I added a guest network in green,
an IoT network in blue, and a VoIP or voice over IP network in red.
And what you can see here is that I have all of these networks traveling from the router
over to the switch, we can see all four colors. So I'm denoting each VLAN as its own color.
Now the switch has a trunk port. So the trunk port is receiving all VLANs that are sent to it.
So in this example here, with a trunk port that has the LAN untagged,
so the native default network is our LAN and it's untagged. And then we do have the capability of seeing the VLAN 10,
VLAN 20, VLAN 30 on that same network port. If I just plug in a PC, in this case,
it's like a Mac mini on the diagram, right? But if I just plug in a regular desktop PC that doesn't understand VLANs or like an IoT device
that doesn't understand VLANs, it's going to get an IP address in the default subnet, right?
Because it's not specifically looking for one of the tagged VLANs that's traveling along with that port.
However, if we see here, I have a voiceover IP telephone, that voiceover IP phone is configured to look for VLAN 30.
And since it finds VLAN 30 as one of the tagged VLAN port options on that port,
it's gonna configure itself into VLAN 30. It basically says, hey, here I am, I'm looking for VLAN 30.
And that port goes, oh, I know about VLAN 30. Here is your IP addressing information
for the VLAN 30 subnet, which in this case is 192.168.30.0.24.
Now I should mention that in this example, I am setting the VLAN ID equal to the third octet
in the slash 24 subnet for each of these different networks. You don't have to do that.
I just think that, you know, when I'm setting up networks, like logically, it makes sense to me to kind of make sure that the VLAN
is part of the network subnet that devices will get IP addresses from in that VLAN,
if that makes sense. All right, here's another example. So now we still have that trunk port that's carrying all VLANs over to the switch,
but I've now configured a different port for IoT devices. Right, so if I have some sort of wired IoT device,
like in this case, I have a Raspberry Pi, right? And say that Raspberry Pi is running something, you know, home assistant or something like that,
and I am physically plugging it into the network switch, but I don't want it to be in the default network.
I don't want it to be on my secure LAN. I want it to go into that IoT network that we set up.
So since that Raspberry Pi has not been configured to specifically look for a VLAN ID,
I'm gonna configure a switch port where the untag, the default network
when you plug something in that doesn't know about VLANs, the untag network is the IoT network.
Now I'm also on this same port, still carrying across tagged VLAN ID 30
for a voice over IP telephones. What that means is if I plug in an IoT device or any device that doesn't know about VLANs,
it's gonna get an IP address in the IoT subnet because that is the untagged or default VLAN for that port.
However, if I plug my phone in, which does understand VLANs, it's gonna say, hey, I'm here, I'm looking for VLAN 30.
And in this case, yes, we do see VLAN 30. So it gets an IP address in VLAN 30.
All right, let's look at another example. So this is an example where all we want, anything plugged into the port
is going to be on the guest network, right? So remember our example from earlier in the video,
where you walk into a doctor's waiting room and you happen to see an exposed RJ45 ethernet port
just sitting there on the wall. If someone comes in, a hacker comes in and they plug something into that port,
we don't want them to have access to any of our secure doctor stuff, right? So depending on the secure doctor network,
we want them to only have a guest network as if they were connecting to the guest wifi.
Now it's guests only as untagged. So anything that's plugged in there
is going to get an IP address in the VLAN 10 network. But in this example, if I take my phone,
which is looking specifically for VLAN 30, and I plug it into that port
and if it only has untagged guest network on VLAN 10,
it is not going to get an IP address at all. Because it's going to say, hey, I'm a voice over IP phone,
I'm looking for VLAN 30. And the port's going to say, I don't know nothing about no VLAN 30, I'm so sorry.
You know, kick rocks. So this is how you can start to get really granular
with your security and basically say, look, if I've got an exposed port in a public area of my office,
I don't want to have any secure access available through that exposed ethernet port.
All right, last example. And then we are actually going to show you how to configure some of this stuff in different types of network equipment.
All right, so same concept here. We've got our four VLANs, all four are trunked across to this switch.
And in this case, we're gonna set up a wireless access point and what wireless SSIDs are going to broadcast
from that access point? Well, we're gonna have one, we set up an SSID for the secure LAN,
we set up an SSID for our guests, and we set up an SSID for IoT devices
that need wireless access. And again, all of these networks, I'm not showing it in this video, but they should be firewalled off from each other
so that for example, the guest network can only see the internet, but it can't see any of the other networks.
The IoT network can only see the internet, but it can't see the other networks. And then our secure network, you know, if you want,
can have access to all of the other networks because that's your secure, your sort of main network. So in this case, what we do is we plug in our access point
and we tell the switch, look, we're gonna plug an access point into this port. I want the untagged VLAN for this access point
to be our secure VLAN, VLAN one, and it's gonna have an SSID of LAN.
Then we also want to have tagged VLANs of 10 and 20 because we also have wireless SSIDs for VLAN ID 10,
our guest network, and VLAN ID 20, our IoT network. Now, in this case, we only have hardwired voice over IP phones,
so I don't need to put the voice over IP VLAN tag into the access point
because it's never gonna get used. So now, if a PC or Mac that doesn't know about VLANs
connects up to the LAN SSID, it's gonna get an IP address in that network.
In fact, any of these devices, we're basically not dealing with devices
that know about VLANs at all for the purposes of this setup. It's just you're put on the correct VLAN
based on the wireless SSID that you actually connect to, and since we are pushing those VLANs into the access point,
it knows about the guest network, it knows about the IoT network, and it knows about our secure network. So whichever one of those SSIDs you connect to,
that's the network that you're getting placed into, and you'll get an IP address from the DHCP server.
Okay, clear as mud, I'm sure. So let's now look at Unifi. So anyone who's a fan of this channel
knows that I am a fan of the Unifi ecosystem of products, and the way that VLANs work in Unifi is two steps.
In fact, this is kind of the same way that it works in any networking equipment. You've got the creation of the VLAN networks themselves,
and then you have which untagged and tagged VLANs
are traveling to each switch port in your entire network. All right, so from within Unifi,
if we come over here to settings, and then we click on networks, here you can see that I have set up my four different VLANs.
We've got the default VLAN, guest on VLAN ID 10, IoT on 20, and VoIP on 30.
So let's click into one of these, and you can see how I set these up. So basically, I unchecked sort of the autoscale network.
I don't like using that, so I can actually set the size of the subnet. If we scroll down a little bit further,
I set advanced to manual, and then that lets me enter in a VLAN ID.
Now, not related to actual VLAN functionality, but something that's super important for this type of setup
is the next setting right here, which is network isolation. So in the case of a guest wireless network, for example,
you're gonna have guests like at a restaurant or at a hotel that are connecting to that guest wireless, and you don't want those guests
to be able to see other devices on that same guest wireless network. So we enable client isolation,
which means that device that connected to that network can only see the internet. It cannot see other devices in that network.
However, if I pop over to my IoT network and we scroll down, notice that I don't have client isolation
on the IoT network. And why is that? Because in the IoT network,
we might want devices to talk to each other, right? So imagine the example of taking your smartphone
and streaming video over to a smart television or like an Apple AirPlay type of situation.
In that case, those devices within the IoT network do need to talk to each other.
Or for example, if you have some sort of smart light bulb setup where you've got like a Phillips Hue, for example,
has their little base station which connects to the network and it controls all of the light bulbs and whatnot
on that same network. So we do want devices within the IoT network to be able to communicate with each other.
We just wanna firewall those off so that they can't touch the guest network or the phone network or the secure network.
So once you've set up your VLAN with a specific VLAN ID, then in UniFi, they have what's called the port manager.
So if we come over here to the port manager and we click on VLANs, this gives us a graphical representation
of the untagged and tagged ports for every single one of our switch ports
in the UniFi ecosystem, right? We can pick which switch we're working with up here in the corner, and then these are all the ports associated
with that particular switch. So here we have port one, okay? So let's look at this.
In UniFi speak, blue means our default switch port,
our native network for that port. So if you plug a device in that doesn't understand VLANs,
this is the network it's gonna get put into. But then we have green, which is the tagged VLANs also as part of that port.
So port one is our trunk port, right? So we have default is untagged,
and then VLAN 10, VLAN 20, VLAN 30 are all tagged as part of that port.
If we now go back to our IoT port example, we can see that in our IoT network,
we want untagged VLAN 20 and tagged VLAN 30, because IoT devices that plug into that port
should get an IP address in the IoT network. But if we happen to plug a voice over IP phone that understands VLAN 30,
we want it to receive an IP address in VLAN 30. And here we can see that on port two.
So port two, VLAN 20 is blue, meaning that it is the native or untagged VLAN
for port number two on this switch. And then we also have VLAN ID 30 as tagged,
meaning it's riding along. If you know about VLAN 30, great, you can connect to it. Otherwise, you're gonna get the blue IoT VLAN 20.
Let's look at our next example, the guest port only example, right? Where you've got the doctor's waiting room
and you have an exposed network port in that waiting room. Anyone that plugs into that should get on the guest network.
In Unifi, that's gonna be our port three right here. So port three, notice that it's gray for default,
it's blue for the guest network, because that is our native or untagged VLAN for that port.
And then we are not carrying across any other tagged VLANs. So VLAN 20 is gray, VLAN 30 is gray.
So if you plug anything into port three, the only option is the guest network VLAN.
And if you have a device that understands VLAN tagging, like this phone that has VLAN 30 associated,
it's just not gonna work. And then finally, let's look at our access point example where we have the untagged default VLAN ID one,
and then we have tagged VLAN 10 for guests and tagged VLAN 20 for IoT devices.
In that case, it's gonna be port four. So there we have blue is our default VLAN ID one as untagged
and then we have green untagged VLAN ID 10 for guests and green untagged VLAN ID 20 for IoT devices.
Now, one of the things about Unifi is you could go through here and manually configure
every single one of your switch ports, but they also have a switch port manager or port profiles,
where if I knew that I was gonna have a bunch of ports that were that guest network only configuration
or the access point configuration, all these different sort of scenarios that I've been throwing out here,
you can set all of those up as port profiles, and then just assign the port profile to all of the ports
as opposed to doing it manually. So it just saves you a little bit of time by actually grouping the VLANs that you want together
and then assigning those to multiple ports simultaneously. Now let's look at the same exact VLAN setup,
but this time we're gonna be doing it with like a mishmash of equipment and I'm actually gonna be plugging stuff in
so that you can see IP addresses change and whatnot. So in this case, I have this Synology RT6600AX,
and this is kind of like a prosumer home router, one with all the thousands of antennas on it and whatnot.
And then I have this more like enterprise level Aruba 24 port switch with PoE.
So you can do VLANs with a mix of equipment, assuming that all of the equipment
that you're working with understands VLANs. VLANs are a standard, right? They're gonna be the same across anything,
like the nomenclature might be a little bit different, the buttons you have to press and the menu items you have to surf around to might be different
from equipment to equipment, but it's all generally gonna be the same concepts.
So I'm logged into the Synology router and I opened up the network setting and I clicked on local network here,
and this is where we can add additional VLANs. Now, interesting thing about this Synology router
is that while we can actually add different VLANs, here you can see I've got primary network, guest network,
IOT network and VoIP network. And if I click into any one of these and hit edit,
we can see the VLAN ID is assigned right there, as well as all of the networking information up above.
But the interesting thing about this Synology router is if I click on VLAN tag,
you unfortunately only have two options for VLAN tagging. You can make each of the ports in the back of the Synology
of which there are four, you can make those ports trunk ports, meaning that the primary network is the untagged VLAN
and any other VLANs you set up are traveling alongside as tagged VLANs,
or you can set up a single VLAN only. So like if you look at ports one, two and three here,
I've got my primary network untagged across all of those, and then I've got the guest VoIP and IOT network
tagged across all of those. But port four, I called VoIP, and I just did an untagged VLAN 30,
which is my VoIP network for that fourth port. So anything you plug into that fourth port is just gonna go straight onto VLAN 30.
Connected over to this Aruba is port one, right? So the trunk port that goes over to the Aruba
and in the Aruba, I have both ports one and two configured as trunk ports. So let's take a look at that next.
So I set up all of the VLANs in the Synology RT6600AX.
And then when I first logged into this Aruba switch, I also have to tell this Aruba switch about VLANs, right?
So it doesn't know about any of those VLANs by default, I actually have to tell it about those VLANs. That's one of the disadvantages
with working with a mishmash of equipment. Typically, you have to configure each different piece of equipment
to understand the VLANs that you're feeding into it. Whereas with something like Unifi, you just set it up in that one console
and your routers and switches and access points, they're all gonna know about your VLANs because they're all sort of configured in the same place.
So if I come over here to VLAN and VLAN configuration, this top section here is where I can add VLANs.
It's as simple as just clicking Add, and then you give it the VLAN ID and you give it a friendly name.
It can be anything you want. And so I did that three times to create VLAN ID 10 for guest,
VLAN ID 20 for IoT and VLAN ID 30 for VoIP. So we've now told it about all of our VLANs.
And of course, the VLAN ID one is the default or native VLAN by default.
And if we scroll down here, we can see VLAN membership by interface.
And once again, just like Unifi, where we had the blue for untagged and green for tagged,
we don't have colors here, but we can see untagged VLANs here, and we can see tagged VLANs over here.
Remember, I said the first two ports on this switch are essentially trunk ports, right? So we have untagged VLAN one,
and then I have 10, 20, 30 as the tagged VLANs. Now, if I wanna edit this, I can just select one or more ports and then say Edit.
And it basically shows me what to do, right? What is the untagged VLAN? I can select one and then I can say,
what are the tagged VLANs? And it gives me the sort of syntax of tagged VLANs down below.
Now, going back to our IoT example, where we have untagged VLAN ID 20,
but tagged VLAN ID 30, in case we wanna plug a phone into that port, you set it up like this.
Edit, untagged VLAN is 20, that's our IoT network,
tagged VLANs 30 only, right? So now, no native VLAN access
and no guest network access on this particular port. So let's test that out.
Right now, my PC here is plugged into port one, meaning that it doesn't know about VLANs,
so it should have an IP address in the default network of 192.168.1.x.
Let's double check that. If we run ipconfig here, we can see 192.168.1.192 is the IP address of this computer.
Now, if I unplug this computer from port one and plug it into port three, which is our IoT setup,
once it gets its IP address, if we now run ipconfig again, look at that.
Now the IP address is 192.168.20.192.
However, if I unplug my computer, plug it back into port one, and then I take my voice over IP phone here
and I unplug it and I unplug this into, or I plug the voice over IP phone into that same port.
Remember, this is the port where I just plugged in my computer and I got 192.168.20.192.
I have now plugged in the voice over IP phone and once this boots up, we'll take a look at the IP address.
This, by the way, is the Crosstalk 280. It's absolutely a gorgeous phone and it's Android-based
and it has a camera built right in, so you could do Zoom calls and Google Hangouts, as well as just phone-to-phone video conferencing,
plus it still has all the tactile buttons down below. I love this phone. Okay, so it just connected and it is registered,
so I know that this phone can see the internet, no problem, and if we come over here to settings and network
and click on IPv4, the phone's IP address is 192.168.30.125.
Let me grab some video of that because I know it's gonna be impossible to see. There you go. The IP address, 192.168.30.125.
So that is successful, right? My computer that doesn't know about VLANs plugged in and it got an IP address in the untagged VLAN for that port
and then my phone, which does know about VLANs, I plugged in and it got an IP address
in the VLAN that was tagged on that port because this phone knows about it and specifically asked for an IP address
in that other voice over IP, VLAN. All right, now we have our guest port example, right?
So in our guest port, we only have untagged VLAN 10 on the port and nothing else.
So I set that up as port four. Let's take a look at it. So port four here we can see, untagged VLAN 10
and no tagged VLANs at all riding across that port. Let's go ahead and unplug our laptop
and we're gonna plug it into port four and the network is connected. Let's do ipconfig and the IP address is 192.168.10.192.
because it's in the guest network only. Now, if I plug my phone into that port, it's not gonna get an IP address at all
because it's asking for VLAN 30 and that port doesn't carry VLAN 30 as untagged or tagged.
So that's it. And now let's look at our final example where we have our access point plugged into a port
and that port has the LAN network, the secure LAN untagged,
the guest network tagged as VLAN 10 and the IOT network tagged as VLAN 20. All three of those networks are traveling across here.
And then this is broadcasting out three different SSIDs. Each SSID is associated with a different VLAN.
So when you connect on whichever SSID, that's the IP address you're gonna get. You're gonna be placed into that specific network subnet.
So there's VLANs made easy and hopefully this video helped to demystify VLANs
and you can now be confident enough to start playing around with them in your own networks.
And remember, if you get stuck on any VLAN configuration or if you just want to have us
do a complete network design for you, open up a ticket at Rogue Support and we'll make sure that you're well taken care of.
If anything is still unclear or if you have questions about VLANs, pop those down into the comments below
and I will do my best to get them answered. And if you'd like to keep this party going, I have hand selected a couple of videos on the right here
for you to watch next. The top video is my recent review of the Starlink Gen 3 Dish and Internet Service.
And the bottom video is my unboxing of the new Pro Max network switches from Ubiquiti,
which feature RGB ether lighting. You can actually configure those switches to show you VLANs in different colors
right through the switch ports. Really cool.