a vlan is not a vpn, right?

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Right. VPN use public internet as a backbone for a private network between locations as I understand it.

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A VLAN creates a broadcast barrier within a switch, which otherwise wouldn't have a barrier.
Gullet is correct about VPNs. However, that is only one way to do it. In general a VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates a secure path through an otherwise insecure network. It doesn't necassarily have to be the Internet. Any time you have to traverse an untrusted network, a VPN may be utilized. For example, more and more people are using VPNs over wireless links between locations to keep data secure.

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i was kind of confused when i wrote this post. i think i am clearer on it now. but still not confident.

i see a vpn as a remote user dialing into their corporate server via the internet. a vpn has some sort of encryption.

i see a vlan as several (can the phrase be used for just one) lans of the same company connected togher via a source such as the internet or leased line.

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VLAN is sort of a byproduct of switching, when you have a flat network using switch, sometimes that you need to separate the collision domain or security or ease of IMAC, you use VLAN. VLAN does not necessary have outside connectivity.

For example, you can select port 1, 3, 5 on the cisco switch for on VLAN1, and port 2, 4, 6 on VLAN2... you can logically modify the VLAN ports say add port 7 or change port 1 to VLAN2 all at the switch and not physicall change the port and patch.

You gor VPN pretty clear.

hope this helps.

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yes, all the comments so far help. switches had been mentioned in another post in this thread, and i have no idea where i seemed to get the idea that a vlan used the internet to connect collision domains/segments.

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This is my post on this topic from another discussion forum.

quote:

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A Virtual Private Network is a method of connecting devices over an outside network so that the data transmitted between the two is encrypted and appears to the clients to be on the same network, even though it is not. The typical application of this is to connect remote users back to their offices over the internet or to connect a branch office to the main office over the internet connection. VPN's tunnel through other networks - they take the higher network (theirs) and wrap it with information for the lower network (for instance the internet) until it gets to the destination and then unwrap the foreign network info and decrypt the data. If you know your OSI model - you can see that this must take place above layers 2 and 3.

A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) is created on Switched networks for the purposes of: creating a smaller broadcast domain to reduce the number of broadcasts on the larger network as a whole, limiting certain protocols to only the devices that need to use that protocol to communicate (such as IPX or Appletalk), or for other network management purposes - such as limiting access with routing access control lists. VLAN's are implemented at layer 2 of the OSI model.

VPN's require a client/server arrangement - with a PC or a remote site having a client on a PC or a "gateway" and the VPN server back at the "main" site decrypting the traffic and managing the connections.

VLAN's are all done on network equipment (switches) and may or may not be "connected" to each other with a device doing layer 3 forwarding/routing between the VLAN's. The nodes on the VLAN (typically PC's or Servers) are not aware of other networks. They are configured either with DHCP or given static IP configuration information (if it is an IP VLAN) such as an address, a subnet mask, and a default gateway at a minimum. DHCP requires broadcasts reaching the DHCP server - therefore it is necessary to "help" or forward the DHCP broadcast traffic from a VLAN to the DHCP server. This is typically done with "DHCP forwarding" or Cisco's "IP Helper".

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thanks for the help, gents. you have all taken part in hammering the differences into me. LOL. i will be copying and pasting bits of this thread into a word document and adding it to the collection that i have tucked into the covers of my books

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I will try to explain VLANs so the boys in Lubbock can understand it:

Say you have boucoup computers on a network and maybe you have a bunch of accounting geeks in many different parts of the building. And you want all the accounting geeks on one subnetwork separate from everyone else because all they do anyway is download porn and play games all day.

Well you can have the boys run cable all over the building and hardwire all the accounting geeks to one switch. But that is a waste of time. There are geeks way over to the other side of the building and that is a hellavalotta wire. Besides that, they get laid off a lot and like to change cubicles a lot and that is a pain to have to rewire them all the time.

So you can set up a VLAN. You program the switches to say: OK this port belongs to the accounting geeks but this one belongs another group. Even though they are all on the same switch. Say for example you have a switch called Dallas and another one way over to the other side called Houston. And there are accounting geeks on ports 1,3, 6, 8 of Dallas and 2, 8,12 of Houston. Well you set up a VLAN that pulls together Dallas 1,3,6,8 and Houston 2,8,7 all in one VLAN. You can call it the Geek VLAN.

Now VPN- that is totally different. In that one you can dial into a server and access the LAN even from a laptop or home computer way far away. It uses security protocols to keep it all secret from the Star Trek freaks who are into hacking and stuff.

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quote:

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Originally posted by thecomeons
a vlan is not a vpn, right?

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