VLAN Full Form

Virtual Local Area Network, commonly abbreviated as VLAN, is used to provide structure to the increasing number of networks in today’s world. Through this, the network manager can sub-divide a LAN in a logical manner into different broadcast domains.

The IEEE 802.1D-2004 standard played a part in the evolution of Ethernet LANs to VLANs to keep up with the increasing transmission demands. This was made possible through the concept of bridging which divides a single physical LAN into two or more VLANs. Before this, it was impossible to have two systems have the same IP address on the same physical network.

Characteristics of VLAN :

• Each VLAN acts as a separate LAN. This reduces the congestion by sharing the traffic between the VLANs.
• VLANs can span multiple switches.
• VLANs make it easier to relocate terminals.

Advantages of VLAN :

• VLANs use bandwidth with more efficiency compared to LANs.
• As they are confined to their respective broadcast domains, they reduce traffic on a network to a great extent.
• Each group is assigned a different broadcast domain hence there is added security to prevent confidential
  information from being seen by other groups.
• It reduces the need for expensive routers hence they reduce the overall cost.

Disadvantages of VLAN :

• Managing larger networks can be pretty complex.
• When you need to add a new VLAN, you need to configure all the switches to accommodate it.
• VLAN’s interoperability can be complex as well.