Vlan capable switch - is my setup possible

Hi,
Just out of curiosity if I had the following typical setup for a home user

SKY HUB ----> Netgear WNR3500v2 wireless router

The netgear is used as a router it gives Ip's to all the wired clients in the house.
I don't use it for wifi any more since it's range isn't very good. I have a self build router for wifi.

If I replaced the netgear with a vlan aware switch, does that mean all clients would then obtain their ip's from the sky hub? Also would it mean I could have the following setup

Vlan1 port1-6
vlan2 port7 direct connection to the garage where my lab is
vlan3 port 8 straight through to the sky hub so everyone has net access.

Van1 -Vlan2 trunk to vlan3 so vlan 1 and 2 are isolated so I can have a proper DMZ setup.

If I've understood correctly if I'd used a vlan aware router, each vlan can have it's own subnet but I figured for a total of 8 wired clients, it seemed overkill and they're aren't cheap £100+.
However for a vlan capable 8 port switch it's 37 quid
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-GS108E-RJ-45-Grey-21...

Your router would also need to be "vlan aware" (in quotes as that is not strictly correct terminology) so that it can route and NAT traffic to/from multiple subnets, you'd also probably want to go for a router that can also provide the DHCP services etc to all of those vlans.

A smart switch will not be able to send traffic from the vlans to the router as it probably doesn't contain ip-helper functionality, and also, as mentioned above, your router probably won't have functionality to hand out IP addresses to more than 1 subnet.

You'd probably want something like a Draytek at that stage.

Oh So I would still need a vlan aware router even if I don't necessarily want each vlan to be on it's own subnet.
So it cna't be all on the same subnet i.e. 192.168.0.0/24 then switch says I have a packet from vlan1, do I have a trunk to vlan2. no just ignore it. Also this vlan aware router - what is the correct terminology? I doubt they'll be listed as such lol

Edited by deleted (Mon 22-Sep-14 18:53:54)

If you want to go down this "route" Draytek used to be the go-to choice but now you have options like an Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite for around £80 or install pfSense on some spare hardware to be a router (these are ethernet routers so if connecting to ADSL you still need something to act as the modem).

When you say you have a diy wireless setup if it is a generic PC-based with a wi-fi card that might be suitable for pfSense and still provide wi-fi.

It is not clear that would even need VLANs at the scale of your network - for example you can isolate things in the same subnet with a smart switch if you find one with protected ports (e.g. Cisco SG300 series) or port isolation (e.g. TP-link Jetstream SG32xx series) but then whether implement using VLANs remains a matter of choice.

Sorry, missed this post, even if it was on the same subnet the router would not be able to read the vlan tagging information and wouldn't know what to do with the packets. So they'd all either get dropped or sent back out as untagged. It wouldn't work basically

"vlan aware" is reasonable terminology but you're right they probably don't market it as such like that. You "simply" need a router which makes reference to vlan tagging etc. Draytek 2860 would be the go-to (for a mid priced solution) to but prlzx has some very good suggestions (of which I am unfamiliar with)

How much are you willing to spend and how much time do you want to spend on understanding the basics of network operating systems? The Mikrotik 2011 series routers offer 10 ports, 5 of them GbE, for less than £100. You can achieve what you outline without VLANs by combining the internal switches with bridges. However, the learning curve for RouterOS can be steep. Alternatively, the Mikrotik CRS109 has 8 GbE ports for a little over £100 and is more of a smart switch than a router. The Ubiquiti EdgeRouter is very fast but the OS is said to have an even steeper learning curve. All of them can, of course, accommodate VLANs but it is hardly worth the hassle for a simple network design.

In reply to a post by gah789:

The Ubiquiti EdgeRouter is very fast but the OS is said to have an even steeper learning curve.

That's fair if you need to make use of the advanced platform features.

However the GUI development has pushed on with the latest firmwares with installation wizards (like WAN + 2LAN) that give you a basic working setup out of the box. The OP probably wouldn't need to see the CLI but it's there should they want to learn later (being mostly Vyatta and with passing similarities to Juniper you can often find worked examples for common scenarios).

Its main selling point is how the performance far exceeds what you would expect from a router at this price and form factor - from experience of using one on a true gigabit internet connection.

However if the TL-SG3210 (also ~ £80) would give enough control with port isolation for the OP's garage lab without needing separate subnets or a different / advanced router, while as a L2 managed switch would also support VLANs and more, I have a hunch this would be a solid basis for the OPs network with opportunities to learn more as they go along.