Understanding VLANs

In a small LAN operating at optimal performance, there are typically a few devices exchanging messages simultaneously. As an organization grows to support more business services, so does a network to support more connected users and network applications. Physically, expanding a network seems simple, but we also need to consider the logical traffic flow and its capacity between devices. For us humans, we don't see the actual traffic flowing across a network without using tools such as Wireshark.

Important note

Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that has the ability to display the raw details within a packet.

Let's imagine that within an organization, there are hundreds of devices all connected to the same physical network. If one device sends a broadcast (shouts on the network), all other connected devices will receive and process each broadcast message. What if a lot more devices are generating broadcast messages simultaneously? The high...