Bridge architecture, performance, and management

A bridge allows the physical interconnection of local area networks (LANs) whilst retaining their logical independence. Such interconnection extends the physical limits of LAN technologies and provides the mechanism for filtering LAN traffic in a manner which is both independent of end-station involvement and operates at full LAN data rates. A bridge operates at the medium access control (MAC) sub-layer of the data link layer and as a result is independent of all high-level protocols. This paper identifies and discusses areas of crucial concern to the correct operation of bridges focusing particularly on the issues of functionality, architecture, performance, interworking and management