A | BRIDGING AND ROUTING |
Introduction
During the initial configuration of the AccessBuilder 500 you must decide whether to configure the unit as a bridge or as a router although we may help you with this choice with our Quick Configuration options. If you are unsure which option you should choose, read this appendix to help you decide.
Bridges and routers are used to connect networks together. The cost of connecting networks together is generally proportional to the distance over which the network extends and the amount of bandwidth required. Large amounts of bandwidth can be provided easily within a LAN by connecting different segments together with a local bridge. However, it becomes impractical and expensive to extend this bandwidth over larger distances, and it is, therefore, usual to interconnect local high speed networks using bridges or routers connecting over slower speed terrestrial and satellite links.
In the following sections we describe the concepts behind bridging and routing, and discuss the different ways in which LANs can be configured and operated to optimize performance and minimize disruption of traffic on each individual LAN.
