what are "Bridge" and "Switch"?

thanks!

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 15:56:40 +0200, nick <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

http://www.google.com/search?q=bridge+switch

> thanks!
please!

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:56:40 +0800, nick wrote:

> thanks!

I believe a 'bridge' is what you use to 'bridge' between two networks. A
'switch' basically allows you to use one port to host more than one
computer - it 'switches' among them.

ray wrote:

> On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 21:56:40 +0800, nick wrote:
>
>> thanks!
>
> I believe a 'bridge' is what you use to 'bridge' between two networks. A
> 'switch' basically allows you to use one port to host more than one
> computer - it 'switches' among them.

Actually, the only difference between a bridge and switch, is the number of
ports. The logical function is exactly the same.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

nick wrote:
> thanks!

A "bridge" seamlessly connects two disparate network segments
A "switch" connects disparate nodes on one network segment.

For example, I have an existing 10base2 (coax) network 10.0.0.0/24
network, and I want to add six new nodes to it. But I can't get any more
10base2 ethernet cards, and the best I can get is three 10BaseT and
three 100BaseTx cards.

I would use a "bridge" to connect my 10base2 network segment to the
10xbaseT network segment, and a "switch" to connect my 10baseT nodes to
my 100baseTx nodes.

It would look like....

Node Node
Node Node Node \ Node /
| | | \ | /
*===================[bridge]-------[switch]
/ | \
/ Node \
Node Node




- --

Lew Pitcher, IT Specialist, Enterprise Data Systems
Enterprise Technology Solutions, TD Bank Financial Group

(Opinions expressed here are my own, not my employer's)
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (MingW32)

iD8DBQFDXmCDagVFX4UWr64RAmiFAJ9a3+KV4pwyZccWzXns97 i4cgmOawCg42vc
KcHsICBZezq0dTr+8yAWxQQ=
=28dV
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:19:15 +0200, James Knott <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> Actually, the only difference between a bridge and switch, is the number
> of
> ports. The logical function is exactly the same.
>


wtf?!?!

nick wrote:
> thanks!

Basically, bridge and 2nd layer swtich do the same job.
But 3rd layer swithers, which have some similarity with router, are
also used widely in most big network building.

Michael Wilke wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:19:15 +0200, James Knott
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> Actually, the only difference between a bridge and switch, is the
>> number of
>> ports. The logical function is exactly the same.
>
> wtf?!?!

Both things copy link layer packets between ports.

Often a two-port device is called a bridge and
a multi-port device a switch.

The devices keep a table of MAC (Media Access
Control) addresses seen on both sides, so that
only the necessary packets are moved to a port.

There are also routers (network layer) devices
that are, IMHO, mis-called switches.

--

Tauno Voipio
tauno voipio (at) iki fi

Michael Wilke wrote:

> On Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:19:15 +0200, James Knott <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
>> Actually, the only difference between a bridge and switch, is the number
>> of
>> ports. The logical function is exactly the same.
>>
>
>
> wtf?!?!

Both a bridge and a switch examine the MAC address, to determine if it will
pass a packet. A bridge is generally considered to have two ports and a
switch is usually more than two. If you were to place a switch between two
lan segments, you couldn't tell the difference between it and a bridge.
They would function identically.

Lew Pitcher wrote:

> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> nick wrote:
>> thanks!
>
> A "bridge" seamlessly connects two disparate network segments
> A "switch" connects disparate nodes on one network segment.
>
> For example, I have an existing 10base2 (coax) network 10.0.0.0/24
> network, and I want to add six new nodes to it. But I can't get any more
> 10base2 ethernet cards, and the best I can get is three 10BaseT and
> three 100BaseTx cards.
>
> I would use a "bridge" to connect my 10base2 network segment to the
> 10xbaseT network segment, and a "switch" to connect my 10baseT nodes to
> my 100baseTx nodes.

Bridges have other uses than connecting physically dissimilar networks. You
might use one to separate portions of a network, to reduce collisions or
isolate departments, while still permitting access to the entire network.

In fact, if connecting different types of ethernet, you need nothing more
than a media converter (assuming everything runs at 10 Mb).