Dell SmartFabric OS10 User Guide Release 10.5.4

Virtual LANs

VLANs segment a single flat L2 broadcast domain into multiple logical L2 networks. Each VLAN is uniquely identified by a VLAN ID or tag consisting of 12 bits in the Ethernet frame. VLAN IDs range from 1 to 4093 and provide a total of 4093 logical networks.

You can assign ports on a single physical device to one or more VLANs creating multiple logical instances on a single physical device. The virtual logical switches spanning across different physical devices emulate multiple logically segmented L2 networks on a single physical network.

Each VLAN has its own broadcast domain. The unicast, multicast, and broadcast network traffic from ports that belong to a VLAN forwards or floods to ports in the same VLAN only. Traffic between VLANs routes from one VLAN to another. You can also assign each VLAN an IP address to group all the ports within a single IP subnet.

Segment a L2 network using VLANs to:

• Minimize broadcast and multicast traffic in the L2 network
• Increase security by isolating ports into different VLANs
• Ease network management

Configuration notes

All Dell PowerSwitches except S4200-Series, S5200 Series, and Z9332F-ON:

The valid VLAN ID range displays as 1-4093. VLAN IDs 4094 and 4095 are reserved for internal use.