Network+™: Study Guide, Fourth Edition

3.10. Virtual LANs (VLANs)

With the introduction of Ethernet switches, and their subsequent replacement of Ethernet hubs in corporate LAN environments, came the power to manage traffic flow much more efficiently and in many different ways. One of those ways was to allow users on different switch ports to participate in their own network separate from, but still connected to, the other stations on the same or connected switch. This "network-within-a-network" concept became known as Virtual LAN (VLAN) technology.

Let's say, for example, that you have a 24-port Ethernet switch. If you have a group of users that constantly use a particular server and produce very large amounts of broadcast traffic, you might want to separate them into their own ...