Multiple IP Address and VLAN Card

Hello there. I want to ask something about Networking. I’m so curious about the different uses of Multiple IP Address and VLAN Card.
As much as I know VLAN card can create multiple interfaces which we can add an IP address in every interfaces we’re created to be able to connect to different subnets. But if you just enter multiple subnets into a single interfaces we could connect to different subnet too. Why do we need VLAN card?
Answer #1
There is no such thing as a VLAN “card”. You should look up the definition of VLANs here since it’s kinda bothersome to type it all right now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_LAN
Answer #2
Refer to VLAN card mean that NIC which has special driver install to allow VLAN tab in NIC configuration dialog. Regular NIC doesn’t have VLAN tab in NIC configuration.
Answer #3
Almost all current NICs support VLANs just that with some adapters it’s easier to make them work with Windows. Unless you’re running a router or some complicated setup you wouldn’t need to configure VLAN settings on a desktop or server anyway since it’s almost always done on the switches themselves. Like I already said, read the Wiki article and get yourself acquainted.
Answer #4
Yes, I know about VLAN in Switch where we create separate LAN for security. But can you tell the above case which we can achieve the same thing with Multiple IP and VLAN?
Answer #5
You cannot have the security and isolation you get with VLANs with just assigning different subnets. It depends entirely on how your network is built. VLANs are an integral part of complex networking and it’s irreplaceable since simply put there is no alternative.