VLANs act as logical segmentation within our network, letting us group our device(s) based on their functionality or department requirements. In this lab, we’ll use the following VLANs:

• VLAN 10 – Management: This VLAN is dedicated to network infrastructure devices, allowing for secure and efficient management. We’ll give this network address 192.168.10.0/16
• VLAN 20 – Servers: All server-related traffic will be segregated into this VLAN to optimize server communication and enhance security. We’ll give this network address 192.168.20.0/16
• VLAN 30 – Desktop Clients: Desktop computers and workstations will reside in this VLAN, ensuring a separate broadcast domain for user devices. We’ll give this network address 192.168.30.0/16
• VLAN 40 – Wi-Fi Devices: Wireless devices, such as laptops and smartphones, will be isolated in this VLAN, providing enhanced security for the Wi-Fi network. We’ll give this network address 192.168.40.0/16
• VLAN 50 – Printers: Printers, scanners, and other printing devices will form their own VLAN, streamlining print-related traffic. We’ll give this network address 192.168.50.0/16

Entering Configuration Mode

Once logged in via terminal, enter privileged exec mode by typing:

configure terminal # Configuration Mode

Create the VLANs

Once we’ve entered configuraiton mode we can create each VLAN using the vlan command

vlan 10
name Management
vlan 20
name Servers
vlan 30
name DesktopClients
vlan 40
name WifiDevices
vlan 50
name Printers

Assign VLANs to our Interfaces

Now that we’ve created all our VLANs, we need to assign them the required interfaces

interface GigabitEthernet0/1 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 10 # Management interface
interface GigabitEthernet0/2 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 20 # Windows Server
interface GigabitEthernet0/3 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 20 # NAS / storage device
interface GigabitEthernet0/4 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 40 # Wi-fi endpoint 
interface GigabitEthernet0/5 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 50 # Printer
interface GigabitEthernet0/10 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 30 # Desktop client
interface GigabitEthernet0/11 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 30 # Desktop client
interface GigabitEthernet0/12 switchport mode access switchport access vlan 30 # Desktop client
....

Creating our VRF Instances

ip vrf Management
ip vrf Servers
ip vrf DesktopClients
ip vrf WifiDevices
ip vrf Printers

Assign Interfaces to VRFs

interface Vlan10
ip vrf forwarding Management
exit

interface Vlan20
ip vrf forwarding Servers
exit

interface Vlan30
ip vrf forwarding DesktopClients
exit

interface Vlan40
ip vrf forwarding WifiDevices
exit

interface Vlan50
ip vrf forwarding Printers
exit

Configure the Routing Protocols

inter-VRF routing, configure routing protocols within each VRF

router ospf 1
vrf Management
network 192.168.10.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
exit

router ospf 2
vrf Servers
network 192.168.20.0 0.0.0.255 area 0
exit

Verify our configuration

Crosscheck our config to confirm everything is correct. Depending on your security requirements, you may need to run further checks to demonstrate your networks segmentation; we’re just keeping it simple in this case.

show vlan
show ip vrf
show interfaces status

Save our running config and export a backup

write memory