How to Configure Different Gateways for Different VLANs

networking routing switch vlan dell-powerconnect

11,451

The PowerConnect 6200-series firmware doesn't have any support for policy-based routing (or other functionality that might permit selection from multiple routing tables based on source VLAN / address). It's a very simple layer 3 entity and, thought fast and cheap, not very flexible for more "advanced" configurations.

Your ACL gambit may work, but my guess is that it won't be exactly what you want.

Your best bet would be to avoid creating a layer 3 interface on the Dell switch for the VLANs that need a different default gateway. Then you can use another router, connected to the Dell switch with a VLAN trunk port, to provide routing for those VLANs as a "router on a stick". It means you'll need another router, but it'll get you what you want.

The PowerConnect 6200-series switches are inexpensive and have been very reliable, in my experience, but from a software feature-set perspective their layer 3 entity definitely isn't a Cisco router.

11,451

Kcmamu

Developer, Systems Admin, Geek, Gadget lover, etc. etc. I started programming in BASIC at the age of 11 on a Sinclair ZX81, advanced to a BBC Model B, where I learned 6502 assembly language programming. I never really worked with PCs until the early 90s. In the late 90s, I joined a higher educational institution as a desktop technician, a quickly got promoted to be a systems admin, working predominantly on Windows systems, but also had a keen interest in Linux systems. I later got involved in software development, working in C#, PHP, C. In my current employment, I'm the manager of the company's Information Systems department. The primary focus of our business is industrial control systems (mostly legacy systems). The work isn't exclusively legacy/control systems though, as we also support modern systems for a number of business customers.

Updated on September 17, 2022

Comments

Kcmamu almost 2 years
I have around 10 VLANs, and two different internet gateways. I want traffic on some VLANs to use one gateway, and traffic on other VLANs to use another gateway. (e.g. I wish to route server traffic via one gateway and desktop internet traffic down another).

Is it possible to configure different default routes for different VLANs on a Dell 6224 switch? Or is their a better way of doing what I'm trying to achieve?

The core switch I am using is a Dell PowerConnect 6224 switch.

Currently I'm using:
```
ip route 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 10.58.3.16
```
which creates the default gateway for all VLANs.

I did consider adding multiple routes with equal metric, and setting ACLs between the VLANs to deny access to the 'wrong' gateway, but that idea just doesn't feel right to me.
- Clint Miller about 14 years
  
  I asked a similar question that was answered by this great community with some additional implementation details (on Cisco's platform) if you're interested.
Spence about 14 years

The 6224 is a layer 3 switch. It just has a dirt-simple layer 3 entity, though.
Chopper3 about 14 years

I don't know these boxes, do they really not allow you to have a multi-line routing table??? if not then that's not really an L3-switch in my book.
Chopper3 about 14 years

I edited after spotting that.
Kcmamu about 14 years

Thanks Evan, I feared this would be the answer. An alternative that just crossed my mind and will do almost exactly what I want, is to set up a proxy server for desktop internet use, which uses the 'desktop' gateway, and send everything else over the other gateway. Most of of desktop internet traffic will be web based.
Spence about 14 years

@Chopper3: They fill a niche for very low-end layer 3 needs, but they're definitely not sophisticated. They've worked for me in a number of situations, but anything beyond basic IP / IPv6 routing is beyond their means. They're dirt cheap and fast, though.