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The difference between port isolation and VLAN

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What is the difference between port isolation and VLAN?

 

The common method of IP design for large networks is through VLAN segmentation with the advantages of convenient management and improved network security. Are there other ways besides VLAN segmentation? Definitely yes, one of them is port isolation. These two methods are mostly used in IP network design.

VLAN segments

VLAN function is used to isolate different network segments. Different vlans can be created to separate different parts of the network and finally create a connection between them using a managed switch of layer 3.

Advantages of VLAN

1. Improve network processing capacity by limiting segments to VLANs.

2. Increasing LAN security. Internal broadcast and unicast traffic in one VLAN is not forwarded to other VLANs, thus helping to control network traffic, reduce equipment investment, simplify network management, and improve network security.

3. Flexible construction of virtual working group. VLAN can be used to divide users into different workgroups, users of a workgroup are not limited by their physical location.

ISOLATION port

It wastes VLAN resources to set different ports in different VLANs, but if port isolation is used, users can isolate ports that are in the same VLAN by setting ports in isolation groups.

Port isolation is generally used to isolate the Internet from other networks, and isolated ports cannot communicate with each other. Therefore, port isolation provides a more secure solution for users. Like the optical lines that transmit the Internet and other organizations’ networks at the same time.

It looks like the same VLAN method, but it’s not! Both VLAN and port isolation are used to isolate a part of devices in a space for protection, but VLAN is used to isolate parts, and the IP part of users in the same VLAN is the same and shares data. If they isolate the port, they cannot communicate even if they are in the same IP segment. In simpler terms, it is not possible to route between isolated ports.

Result

1. Isolated ports cannot communicate with each other, but they can communicate with the Uplink port. Ports in the same VLAN can communicate with each other, but cannot communicate with ports in different VLANs.

2. Isolated ports are still in the same IP segment, while there is a separate IP segment for each VLAN.

3. Port isolation is limited to one switch, if there are two or more switches, it cannot work. A VLAN can work even if there are multiple switches as long as the VLAN IDs are different.

4. The connected uplink port cannot identify the data from which isolated port, but it can identify which VLAN the data belongs to.