Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!att!pacbell!ames!bionet!csd4.milw.wisc.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!ukc!axion!galadriel!pcf
From: pcf@galadriel.bt.co.uk (Pete French)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: BRIDGE's (ROUTER's) (GATEWAY's)
Message-ID: <309@galadriel.bt.co.uk>
Date: 7 Aug 89 07:50:51 GMT
References: <335@tci.UUCP>
Organization: RT6115, BTRL, Martlesham Heath, England
Lines: 28

From article <335@tci.UUCP>, by darcy@tci.UUCP (Jeff d'Arcy):
> bobkil@ibmpcug.UUCP (Bob Kilgore) writes:
>>The discussion has raised an interesting point that I have
>>been considering for some time.  What exactly is a 'BRIDGE',
>>a 'ROUTER', and a 'GATEWAY'.  It seems to me that there were
> 
...
> 
> A router is an network level device that provides communication between nodes
> that are not directly connected but use the same network-level protocol (IP,
> DECnet, etc).
> 

The devices that I am currently working on at BTRL are called BROUTERS (short
for Bridge-Routers). These provide transparent connection between networks
at the MAC level with networks that are physically remote from each other -
they act in a similar manner to half-bridges except that the link between the
bridges is done over a WAN of some kind. This means that instead of having just
a pair of Brouters for every two networks you can have as many as you like and
they will route packets to each other over the WAN (hence the routing part of
the name).

The discussion of Bridges/Routers over the past week has much depressed me.
Theres nothing like being told how good al the opposition are to make you
feel like giving up and going home :-)

-Pete French. British Telecom Research Labs.
(These opinions are not those of BT or its catering staff)