local LAN because it does not recognize the destination station as local. However, if the destination device is on the local LAN, once it replies to the original source station, its own source address is part of the data frame and it is learned by the bridge and added to the address table.
By operating in this way, the amount of data forwarded by the bridge is kept to a minimum. Traffic that is for devices on the attached LAN is rarely forwarded over the bridge.
A bridge can be configured to forget or age a station’s address after a period of inactivity, a facility which is used to ensure that stations which are no longer attached to the LAN, do not remain in the bridge’s address table, using up space that may be required for other stations’ addresses.
Some bridges allow address information to be manually configured into the bridge, provided the automatic learning facility is turned off, although this will not normally prove necessary unless specific traffic filtering is required.
Bridging and Routing Concepts |
You can also configure a number of other features to improve the performance and operation of the OfficeConnect Remote. These include sophisticated frame filtering techniques so that only certain types of frame, or those associated with particular work groups, are passed between specific segments.
Bridging Between Remote Sites
The OfficeConnect Remote is able to send frames between LANs that may be separated by considerable physical distances. It achieves this by making use of Wide Area Network (WAN) links. WANs can be established by using either digital leased lines or ISDN and are usually operated by telephone companies (PTTs) or other service providers.
