What is one major benefit of segmenting traffic into smaller broadcast domains with VLANs?

Segmenting traffic into smaller broadcast domains using VLANs indeed increases bandwidth efficiency. By dividing a single broadcast domain into multiple smaller ones, VLANs limit the size of broadcast traffic. This means that broadcast messages are only sent to devices within that specific VLAN, rather than to all devices on the entire network. As a result, the overall unnecessary broadcast traffic is significantly reduced, thus making the network more efficient with its use of bandwidth.

In addition to enhancing efficiency, this segmentation can improve network performance, as devices can communicate more readily within their VLAN without the overhead of unnecessary broadcasts impacting their connection speed. This is particularly beneficial in large networks where broadcast traffic can quickly saturate the available bandwidth if not properly controlled.

While reducing physical cabling needs, enhancing the speed of data transmission, and minimizing the number of devices can all have their own advantages, they do not directly address the core benefit of VLANs related to managing broadcast traffic and therefore improving bandwidth efficiency.