(Editor's Note: This is part 1 of 4 in a series of blog posts about the new aspects of Kerio Control 7.4.)

VLAN support has been a long-requested feature by our customers, but why? Let's start with what VLANs bring to the table.

Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) multiply the capabilities of Kerio Control by increasing the number of network interfaces beyond the physical connections on the unit. VLANs are used as a means of dividing a large network of computers into smaller, isolated segments, without incorporating additional switches or routers.

So in real business-speak, VLANs enable the network to be structured by department, or function. VLANs are defined on the switch by individual ports; this means access can be restricted on specific ports.

As of today, Kerio Control 7.4 can now use virtual interfaces (rather than costly physical interfaces) to manage access control and bandwidth policies between these virtual network segments.

Check out our Knowledge Base article.

The old rule of thumb used to be that the benefits of VLANs were particularly realized in larger networks. A Cisco guy even says 300 users is the tipping point where you should absolutely use VLANs. I happen to think that's too big of a number, especially with the stress corporate networks are put under these days.

VLAN's can address many network challenges such as:

Security -A VLAN will segregate sensitive data on the network. For example, the HR department's computers can be placed in one VLAN and the accounting departments in another to keep traffic completely separate, and keep access restricted by users on the general network. You can see the obvious benefits to that.

Performance - VLANs allow the network bandwidth to be used more efficiently, which is a nice benefit when corporate networks are being taxed by employees bringing two or three devices into work each day.

Cost - There is a cost savings when you eliminate the need for additional expensive network equipment.

Stay tuned for more about the new capabilities of Kerio Control.

-Andrew