topic Re: VLAN for Printers in Network Access Control

VLAN for Printers

angel-moon — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 14:48:18 GMT

Hello,

Can anyone speak on the validity of it being more secure to have printers in their own VLAN as opposed to in teh same VLAN with workstations? I have heard arguments both for and against.

Thanks in advance!

All replies rated!

Re: VLAN for Printers

balaji.bandi — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 14:53:56 GMT

If you using ISE and good to have their own VLAN, so you can group them whom it can interact with and whom it has not required.

If not ISE environement, also suggested different VLAN, so you can each identify any issue, i know it is more administrative task with out ISE here.

Re: VLAN for Printers

Seb Rupik — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 14:54:43 GMT

Hi there,

All modern printer drivers uses protocols which can be routed, print jobs can either be sent to print servers or directly to the printers themselves. Therefore position in the network from a reachability perspective is not an issue.

You could argue that by placing the printers in a separate VLAN, it is easy to control what devices can reach them, ie. ACLs permitting access only from printer servers.

One of the defining uses of VLANs was to separate corporate functions, so workstations vs printers is one such example.

Personally I would place them in separate VLANs.

cheers,

Seb.

Re: VLAN for Printers

cmarva — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 14:56:30 GMT

in my experience, this is dictated by compliance requirements. I have worked in places where it doesn't matter, and I have worked in places where the printers had to be on their own vlan.

I don't think either model is more secure than the other, on the surface. But having the printers on their own vlan makes it easier to secure them if you have to.