Overview; Centrecom Mac Layer Bridge - Allied Telesis CentreCOM AT-6870 User Manual

Chapter 1

Overview

CentreCOM MAC
Layer Bridge
AT-6870
AT-6875
The CentreCOM Bridges allow two IEEE 802.3 sub-networks to be
connected into a single network. Each sub-network may be IEEE 802.3
Ethernet or thin Ethernet. The CentreCOM Bridges transparently
forward packets between both networks. Since these bridges operate at
the MAC level, all higher level protocols, such as TCP/ TP, DECnet™, and
Netware™, are passed unaffected.
Many common Local Area Network (LAN) problems are solved by the
CentreCOM Bridges. For example, the effective length of a network can be
increased by adding CentreCOM Bridges. Moreover, placing the bridges at
natural boundaries of the workgroups increases the network performance
in each segment. The reliability of a large network can be enhanced
through subnetting with CentreCOM Bridge, which allows heterogeneous
sub-networks to be interconnected.
The CentreCOM Bridges support high performance requirements
including packet filtering at 25,000 packets per second and sustained
forwarding at 12,500 packets per second.
The CentreCOM Bridges' address filter table supports 2048 station
addresses. With this high performance, the AT-6870 and the AT-6875 do
not lose data during peak network traffic periods.
Multiple CentreCOM Bridges can be used as backups in case of network
failure. The AT-6870 and AT-6875 support the IEEE 802.1 STP, which
provides redundancy link management and network loop checking. STP
allows backup bridges to provide fault tolerant networks by placing the
bridges that form loops into a standby state until an active bridge fails.
When failure occurs, the network is reconfigured and any loops are
eliminated. This network reconfiguration occurs without impacting the
network users or the applications.
Learning Bridge
SNMP Manageable Learning Bridge
IEEE 8023 Compliant Ethernet Compatible
1