VLANs allow you to create and split up many networks within a single device, called a "Switch". For example, They would allow you to create up to 4000+ networks within just one Switch instead of buying 4000 Switches for each network. In essence, VLANs are essentially like tiny "Virtual Switches" all inside of one device. VLANs operate as if they were private booths in a restaurant. They would allow you to seat a group of "guests" (which would be PC's, laptops, phones or printers in this case) within their own booth in order to eat privately and discretely instead of having all of the guests in one large open dining room. So there's some level of privacy there. You can also separate the "guests" (or devices) however you like, and move them around as needed. If you wanted to sit with members of your party from the same group either in that particular restaurant or other participating restaurants, you would need a "Tag" to identify you as a member. You can think of the "tag" as one of those cool vibrating restaurant pagers that you receive when you're waiting to be seated. (This is what we would call "Trunking"). You can also draw a comparison of VLANs to AOL Chat Rooms in the '90s 😉 Each chat room (or VLAN in this case) has its own purpose or "topic" and its own community of online members. The benefit here is, if one of the rooms gets too "chatty", it doesn't affect the other chat rooms. Similarly, network traffic (such as Broadcasts) in one VLAN cannot reach or affect other VLANs.
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