Bridges and Switches 1

[ElijahBaley]

Whats the difference between a Bridge and a Switch?

Thanks
"r tape loading error"

 

[jimbopalmer]

a switch is a multiport bridge, just as a hub is a multiport repeater.

A bridge with more than two ports would be advertized as a switch, the only reason one ever sees 2 port switches is to advertize the multispeed ability. I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[ElijahBaley]

Thanks Jimbo

Straight answer to a straight question - I had been getting a little confused over that one for quite some time, so where on a modern CAT5 cabled Ethernet network would you find a single port bridge?

Cheers

Graham
"r tape loading error"

 

[ElijahBaley]

Thanks Jimbo

Straight answer to a straight question - I had been getting a little confused over that one for quite some time, so where on a modern CAT5 cabled Ethernet network would you find a single port bridge?

Cheers

Graham
"r tape loading error"

 

[jimbopalmer]

I use Wireless Bridges a lot to link two parts of my network that have no more robust connection. I use two port switches (as I say, they are really bridges) to cope with older switches which do not auto-negotiate duplex correctly, and as repeaters where some helpful person has blessed me with a 850 foot Cat5 run.

Back when I was hub based, I inherited a (broken) VAX that had a collision retry interval that was 10,000 times longer than the retry interval of my Suns, I used a bridge to minimize collisions it saw, as it took over a second for the VAX to try again, During tape backups at night the VAX would starve for packets. I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.

 

[ElijahBaley]

Did the bridge effectivly sheild the VAX from the collisions - sounds like the VAX could not get a word in edgeways!

Graham
"r tape loading error"

 

[jimbopalmer]

Yes isolating the VAX and its clients from the Suns doing backup via a bridge worked until I got modern VLANs and could subnet my network more finely than I had. I tried to remain child-like, all I acheived was childish.