VLAN's AGAIN !!!!!

[mikkydoos]

Hi all,

 

I'm looking at setting up a couple of VLAN's to separate out staff & pupil machines and CCTV.

 

Have I got the correct hardware in place and how do I do it?

 

2 x Netgear GSM7312 L3 Switch (I'm currently using these to connect 2 buildings together via fibre. 1 at router end, 1 remote)

1 x Netgear GSM7224 L2 Switch

Loads of smart switches in the classrooms and offices.

 

My DHCP server is virtual in a quad ethernet port host server

 

 

Do my classroom switches need to be VLAN configurable or just the L3 switch?

 

Confused..

Edited January 14, 2014 by mikkydoos

[localzuk]

It all really depends how you're using VLANs. If they're statically assigned, and the classroom switches will only have a single VLAN on them, then they don't even need to be clever switches. You simply need to have the switch they connect to set to that VLAN on the port it connects to - so every bit of traffic coming in and going out on that port is marked as in that VLAN.

 

If you will have different VLANs on a switch (some ports VLAN 1, others VLAN 2 etc...), then you need the device to understand VLANs and be able to mark ports as being on those VLANS, and then be able to 'trunk' the VLANs up to the core switch.

[mikkydoos]

Localz

 

So if I have say..

 

a switch in a classroom with 15 pc's connected to it and 2 cameras

 

Do I need to run 2 cables to that room coming from 2 ports on my L3 switch trunked to 2 ports (or range of) on my smartswitch ?

[localzuk]

No, you'd need a VLAN configurable switch in the room. If it were HP, I'd use the terms 'tagged' and 'untagged' for the port configuration.

 

In the situation described, you'd mark the 15 ports used by PCs as 'untagged' on the 'PC' VLAN. You'd then mark the 2 ports with CCTV on as being 'untagged' on the CCTV VLAN. Then, you'd mark the uplink port as tagged on both the PC and CCTV VLANs, and the same on the other end (on whatever switch it connects to).

 

So, your cable has both VLANs traversing it, and the switch segments the traffic accordingly.

[mikkydoos]

Got ya. Nice one.

 

So cabling stays the same apart from at the L3 end where obviously 1 server will go into 1 VLAN port or range and the CCTV box will go into the other. Switches handle the rest until I come out of the switch at the other end where I have ports configured likewise.

 

y ?

[localzuk]

Pretty much. I've rustled you up a simplified diagram so you see what I mean.

 

[mikkydoos]

Localz, you rock m8.

 

Thank you

[zag]

Thanks for this, I find VLANs incredibly confusing too at this really helps.

 

I'm also using netgear switches, how are you finding them?

[mikkydoos]

Ok apart from the TERRIBLE TERRIBLE CR@P web interface that is really flakey. They work though.

[Boredguy]

All of our switches are Netgear, and they are fine for running multiple VLans over. Yes the web interface for some of them is a little broken as it does not display the Tag/Untagged image, but we just right click on the broken link to see if it's meant to be the U or T picture.