Access two VLANS from one access switch port? - eviltoast

I have a 16 port PoE managed switch. I do a lot of initial network installs with multiple AP’s, usually a managed Switch and a router.

I want to build a staging area for the new equipment.

My idea was to use the first 8 ports of the switch for it’s own isolated VLAN, no DHCP. I want use it to connect all of the new equipment for initial setup, so new devices only see each other, and receive IP’s from the new router.

Here’s what I want to accomplish, but not sure if it’s possible.

I want my computer on my home VLAN, but I’d also like it to configure the new equipment, on the above VLAN.

Right now I move an Ethernet cable to the isolated VLAN to accomplish this, but it seems super lame. Is there a way to keep my computer connected to one port and access both my home VLAN as well as my config VLAN without moving my Ethernet cable back and forth? My computers NIC doesn’t seem to work on tagged ports.

Thanks! Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.

  • OtherMiniarts@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Soooo it depends on a few things…

    1. Switch Model
    2. NIC model
    3. Computer OS.

    Personally I have a Linux and MikroTik background, so I would go about setting my home LAN untagged/PVID on the port, and then tag the isolated lab VLAN, thereby making it a hybrid port.

    Then I’d configure the VLAN on my NIC in my computer’s OS - granted that’s a lot easier to do in Linux (and perhaps macOS) than Windows.

    That’d be my preferred method, but I have no idea if that can be performed across different switch vendors, and if desktop versions of Windows natively support VLAN tagging at all (without any third party utilities or special NIC drivers).

    Another option that’d be silly but works: grab a second NIC. If you’re on a tower desktop, i225 PCIe NICs are readily available on Amazon (IOcrest makes some nice x1 cards). If you’re on a laptop - dongle time!