RE: [afnog] VLAN setup with linux

["Mark Tinka" <mtinka at africaonline.co.ug>]

afnog-bounces at afnog.org wrote:
> hi.
> is there a linux package i could use to implement VLANs the way cisco
> switches do it? in other words a substitute for VLAN capable
> switches. i hope this makes sense. thanx  

Not that I can say I've heard of; but the basic principle of VLANs is that
they can be thought of as separate switching hardware, without the actual
physical separation. A virtual number of switches, if you like.

Each VLAN represents a single broadcast domain, which will only pass traffic
between devices located in the same VLAN. Other VLANs [which are,
theoretically, seen as different switches], can only be accessed via a Layer
3 device.

So, on the Linux box, you'd need to have 2 or more NICs/ports to mimic a
switch fabric, and be able to separate each NIC/port into a specified
broadcast domain, thus, creating a VLAN.

Unless of course, I misunderstood the question?

Regards,

Mark Tinka - CCNP
Network Engineer, Africa Online Uganda


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