Design and Implementation of a VLAN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research supervisor, colleagues, and peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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ABSTRACT

In this study we will try to explore the concept of Virtual Local Area Network in a holistic context. The main focus of the research will be on the design and implementation of Virtual LAN. The research will also analyse many aspects of VLAN in campus networks and will try to gauge its effect. The study also focuses on the components of Virtual Local Area Network and how they may help in the campus networks. The study describes how a VLAN is designed and how it is implemented.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background of the Study1

Problem Statement1

Rationale2

Aims and Objectives2

Research Questions2

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW4

Virtual Local Area Network4

Objectives of VLAN5

1.Flexible Network5

a) Project Team5

b) SOHO5

c) Moving6

d) Client-/Server-Structures6

2.Efficient Networks6

3.Secure Network7

4.Other Objectives8

a)Migratable / Scalability8

b)Network Management8

c)Cost-Effectiveness8

Services Offered by VLAN9

Design of a VLAN9

Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE)9

Architecture10

Topology11

Switches12

a.Cut-Through Switches12

b.Store and Forward Switches12

c.Cell-based Switches13

Application and Web Server14

Front End Design14

Back End Design15

Software Features16

VLAN Assignment17

Exchange of Address Tables17

Frame Tagging18

Time Division Multiplexing19

Proposal of the IEEE20

Layer 3 Switching20

Backbone21

VLAN Implementation22

Port-based VLANs24

MAC-based VLANs25

VLANs Layer 326

Rules-Based VLANs28

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY29

Research Design29

Pitfalls and Problems29

Rationale for a Qualitative Study30

Literature Search30

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS31

Components of a VLAN31

Access Switch31

Trunk link32

Types of VLANs33

Protocols and Design33

The LAN Emulation over ATM Specification Version 1.034

CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION39

The Benefits of Implementing a VLAN40

1.Cost reduction of movement and change41

2.Virtual Working Groups41

3.Security42

VLANs and ATM Problems and Solutions42

Edge Routing (routing end or peripheral)45

One-armed router45

Route Server46

Multiprotocol over ATM (MPOA)47

Challenges of Migration47

CHAPTER 06: EVALUATION49

Contributions of this thesis49

Future Work49

REFERENCES51

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Network managers of today's campus networks face unique design challenges to meet a wider range of security and performance requirements. One such challenge includes managing and configuring VLANs. VLANs are extensively used in campus networks and are often used to address groups of users as a single unit to ease management even though they are spread over physically disparate locations. But there are many potential sources of errors that arise because of existing ad-hoc approaches to VLAN design and management. According to recent statistics, 65% of cyber attacks exploit design and configuration errors which account for substantial amount of network problems. It is also virtually impossible to identify the root cause of misconfigurations in a network with thousands of routers, switches and end systems. Hence, there is an imminent need to develop systems that can assist network operators in managing VLANs, which form a primary component of every campus network design.

Problem Statement

Recent empirical studies (Le, 2008, p. 58: Maltz, 2004, p.24: Sung, 2008, p. 22) have shown most campus networks with size and design complexity surpassing carrier ...