What is pvlans?

Private VLANs (PVLANs) are a derivation of VLANs designed to enhance network security by removing traffic between devices within the same VLAN. PVLANs allow for enhanced isolation of devices within the same VLAN while still maintaining the ability to communicate with devices in other VLANs.

A PVLAN consists of three types of ports:

  1. Promiscuous ports: Connect to a router or other similar device, and receive all traffic from the PVLAN sub-interfaces it is connected to.

  2. Isolated ports: These are end device ports that can only communicate with the promiscuous port.

  3. Community ports: These are also end device ports but can communicate with other community ports within a VLAN.

PVLANs are useful in scenarios where network devices require high security, such as in banking or healthcare sectors. When implementing PVLANs, all intra-VLAN communication is disabled, and communication is allowed only through the router or firewall. This creates an additional layer of security while ensuring that devices still remain connected to the network.

Overall, PVLANs increase network security by limiting communication within the VLAN while still providing connectivity to the network at large.