Advantages of VLANs

ADE

VLANs or Virtual Local Area Networks are a technology used to divide a physical LAN into multiple logical segments. Here are the advantages of VLANs:

1. They establish broadcast domains in switched networks: In traditional LANs, a broadcast sent by any device is received by all other devices in the same network, even if they are not intended recipients. This can lead to network congestion and reduced performance. VLANs, on the other hand, enable the creation of separate broadcast domains, thereby reducing the amount of broadcast traffic and improving network performance.

2. They can simplify adding, moving, or changing hosts on the network: With VLANs, the logical layout of the network can be changed without making any physical changes to the network infrastructure. This means that adding, moving, or changing hosts on the network can be done easily and without requiring any physical reconfiguration of the network.

3. They allow access to network services based on department, not physical location: VLANs enable network administrators to group devices based on department or function, rather than their physical location. This makes it easier to manage network resources and restrict access to sensitive data, as only authorized devices in a particular VLAN can access resources or services within that VLAN.

Other options listed in the question are incorrect:

• B is incorrect, as VLANs are not an alternative to routed networks but rather complement them.
• C is incorrect, as VLANs do not inherently provide packet filtering but can be combined with other security measures to enhance network security.
• F is incorrect, as VLANs do not conserve IP addresses but rather divide a network into logical segments, each with its own address space.