Chapter 7 Bridging Setup; Bridging In General; Bridge Ethernet Setup; Figure 7-1 Menu 3.4 - Bridge Ethernet Setup - ZyXEL Communications Prestige 645R User Manual

This chapter shows you how to configure the bridging parameters of your Prestige.
7.1

Bridging in General

Bridging bases the forwarding decision on the MAC (Media Access Control), or hardware address, while
routing does it on the network layer (IP or IPX) address. Bridging allows the Prestige 645R to transport
packets of network layer protocols that the Prestige 645R does not route, e.g., SNA, from one network to
another. The caveat is that, compared to routing, bridging generates more traffic for the same network layer
protocol and it also demands more CPU cycles and memory.
For efficiency reasons, do not turn on bridging unless you need to support protocols other than IP and IPX on
your network. For IP and IPX, enable the respective routing if you need it; do not bridge what the Prestige
645R can route.
7.2

Bridge Ethernet Setup

Basically, all non-local packets are bridged to the WAN; however, your Prestige 645R applies special
handling for certain IPX packets to reduce the number of calls, depending on the setting of the Handle IPX
field.
From Menu 3 - Ethernet Setup, enter 4 to bring up Menu 3.4 - Bridge Ethernet Setup as shown next.
Press Space Bar to Toggle.
Bridging Setup
Menu 3.4 - Bridge Ethernet Setup
Handle IPX= None
Press ENTER to CONFIRM or ESC to CANCEL:

Figure 7-1 Menu 3.4 - Bridge Ethernet Setup

Prestige P645 ADSL Internet Access Router
Bridging Setup
Chapter 7
7-1