What is a VLAN?

The Avaya Multiservice Switch has the ability to create separate logical LANs on the same physical device. These logical segments are referred to as Virtual LANs (VLANs).VLANs are typically groups of users with similar job functionality (i.e. sales, marketing, engineering etc.) and share common resources. VLANs are not constrained by their physical location and can communicate as if they were on a common LAN. VLAN members can reside on single or multiple ports on one or more media modules on a switch, or on different switches. VLANs are limited broadcast domains, meaning all members of a VLAN receive every broadcast packet seen by members of the same VLAN, but not packets sent by members of a different VLAN. A router is required when communicating between different VLANs.