ZyXEL Communications P-1100 - Manual (Page 69)

Prestige 1100 Internet Access Router
Bridge Setup 7-1
Chapter 7:
Bridging Setup
This chapter shows you how to configure the bridging parameters of your Prestige 1100.
7.1 Bridging in General
Bridging bases the forwarding decision on the MAC (Media Access Control), or hardware address,
while routing does on the network layer (IP or IPX) address. Bridging allows the Prestige 1100 to
transport packets of network layer protocols that the Prestige 1100 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 reason, 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 1100 can route.
7.2 Bridge Ethernet Setup
Basically, all non-local packets are bridged to the WAN, however, your Prestige 1100 applies special
handling for certain IPX packets to reduce the number of calls, depending on the setting.