VLAN management and client support in stock GUI (Flint 2)

[Integritas]

Hi @bruce

Just adding to the comments here regarding VLANs. And although I agree with others here that the ability to configure via the GL.iNet UI would be fantastic, I recently added a separate post simplifying the ask as a starting point, and crucially, this should not be something that's restricted to Flint 2 (the title of the post we're in right now focuses on Flint 2): GL.iNet UI shows no clients connected due to use of VLANs.

I am very pleased with the GL.iNet family of products and the employees' clear dedication to its customers and to relentless improvement, as I say in the linked post. Love it! But the current UI for users who implement VLANs is essentially a bug (in the world of "features and bugs"). It may well be that GL.iNet decides never to implement configuration of VLANs within the GL.iNet UI. But the UI should still be a faithful representation of connected clients, traffic, etc. Right now, with the VLANs I've implemented, the GL.iNET UI suggests the router has zero connected clients, which is just flat out wrong.

@packetmonkey and @mark3 do a nice job of describing the "why" behind our requests.

@packetmonkey

At home, I use Unifi wireless equipment, so I don't even use the wireless built into the Flint 2. As such, I have my core switch split into VLANs (guest wireless, IoT, DMZ, Internal LAN). I would want my internal LAN to have a dedicated switch port on the router. For the others, I could either trunk the remaining VLANs into a single port on the router or define multiple physical ports with untagged VLANs and let the switch manage the VLANs fully. For a 1 time setup, this is not great but it is workable. If I have to reset the firmware settings, doing this manually will be a pain to remember how to do it each time. And then setting up the firewall manually to allow internet access but not inter-vlan access. Yeah, I could write it all down so I remember it, but I would probably forget where I saved the instructions lol.

In my case, adding a VLAN box to the Network Port Management page, similar to what is available on WAN 1, would be great. Even better if you could add tagged vlans right on that page.

If I am being honest, the real feature would be not to need to reset firmware settings on upgrades but I understand the need if some settings conflict with newer builds. It is just inconvenient and since my current router (some other brand) upgrades without messing up firmware, I have been hesitant to switch.

@mark3

I believe it would be much more convenient to manage VLANs (for LAN, IoT, etc.) directly from the stock GUI instead of relying on LuCI.

Currently, my Flint is connected to a modem that provides the WAN connection, while the Flint itself manages the local network. While it is possible to configure VLANs through LuCI, having the option to do so from the stock GUI would make the process more user-friendly and accessible.

One of the key advantages of managing VLANs via the stock GUI would be the ability to see devices connected to other SSIDs (and thus in other VLANs) listed among the connected Clients. At present, these devices do not appear in the client list.

Keeping LuCI accessible is, of course, essential. However, since VLAN management is already supported by Flint (albeit through LuCI), it feels like a "ghost feature"—present, functional, but not fully integrated into the user experience. Enabling VLAN management in the stock GUI would provide a more complete experience, especially since VLANs work perfectly fine when configured through LuCI.

The main benefit of using VLANs is to separate networks and their connected devices. This separation is useful for cases like segmenting "normal" devices (phones, laptops, etc.) from IoT devices.

At present, the stock GUI allows some degree of separation through predefined networks like "LAN" and "Guest," but this approach is limited. It doesn't offer much in terms of customization—either in the number of VLANs or the options for controlling them.

Suggested Improvements

To make VLAN management more accessible, you could start by:

1. Allowing users to create VLANs directly from the stock GUI.
2. Providing a brief explanation of what VLANs are and why they might be useful.
3. Enabling users to associate an IPv4 address and a zone with each VLAN.
4. Offering basic configuration options, such as:

• “Isolate the VLAN” — prevent communication with other VLANs.
• “Allow communication with other VLANs” — allow users to select which VLANs can communicate with one another.
• “Allow communication between specific devices in different VLANs” — a more granular option to allow communication between specific devices on different VLANs.

5. Displaying also all devices connected to VLANs in the Clients section, along with an indication of which VLAN each device is connected to.

This approach could serve as a foundation for more advanced customization in future updates.

I believe this functionality would be helpful not only for me but for many other users as well. It would also reduce the number of forum searches like “Does Flint 2 support VLANs?” or “How to use VLANs on Flint 2”.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I hope this feedback helps in your evaluation of future updates

The post I've added separately adds a bit of thrust behind things in making the decision to call the current UI a bug, for reasons I allude to above and expound on in my separate post. I would propose that should be fixed as a first step. But then @mark3 provides a nice potential roadmap for future improvement in VLAN handling.

Thanks for everything you and others at GL.iNet do!