Virtual LAN (VLAN)

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A Virtual LAN (VLAN) is a subnetwork which can group together collections of devices on separate physical Local Area Network (LAN). A LAN is a group of computers and devices that share a communications line (i.e., Wired Network) or Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) link (i.e., Wireless Network) to a Server within the same geographical area.

VLANs make it easy for network administrators to partition a single Switched network to match the functional and security requirements of their systems without having to run new cables or make major changes in their current network infrastructure. VLANs are often set up by larger businesses to re-partition devices for better traffic management.

VLANs are also important because they can help improve the overall performance of a network by grouping together devices that communicate most frequently. VLANs also provide security on larger networks by allowing a higher degree of control over which devices have access to each other. VLANs tend to be flexible because they are based on logical connections, rather than physical.

One or more network switches may support multiple, independent VLANs, creating an Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model Physical Layer (Layer 2 - data link) implementations of subnets. A VLAN is associated with a broadcast domain. It is usually composed of one or more network switches.

Source: https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/virtual-LAN