Paul M Foster said:
snip
> Bridges are specialized routers, designed to connect two or more
> networks or LANs. They use info from the MAC layer (MAC addresses?) to
> route packets.
>
> Routers are more general purpose. They make decisions or where to route
> packets based partially on info from higher up in the protocol stack (IP
> addresses?). They can be made to function as bridges, though perhaps
> less efficiently.
You have the concepts correct. Some of the terminology may not be technically
accurate. Bridges do use MAC addresses to route frames, but they don't connect two
networks. Rather, they connect segments (possibly with different physical media) of
the same network. In other words, all of the segments connected to a bridge have the
same network address, and all the hosts on the segments are in the same broadcast
domain (but seperate collision domains).
Routers do route packets based on their destination IP address. However, each
interface on a router connects to a different network (with possibly different
physical media and data link protocols), with different network addresses and
seperate broadcast domains.
These links may provide more info:
http://www.linktionary.com/b/broadcast_domain.html
http://www.linktionary.com/c/collisions.html
http://www.linktionary.com/b/bridge.html
http://www.linktionary.com/r/routers.html
None of this probably answers Franks questions though. You asked "What is the
difference between a wireless router and a wireless bridge?" A wireless router would
be used to connect one network (with wireless and wired segments) to another
network, usually the Internet. A wireless bridge would be used to connect a wired
device or segment to a wireless segment on the same network.
You also asked "can one convert a Netgear wireless router into a wireless
bridge?" To better answer this question, we need to know what exactly you are trying
to do. Do you already have a wireless network setup, and you're trying to connect a
device to it that does not have wireless capability? Or, do you have no wireless
network setup, and are trying to connect two wired devices/segments without running
cable between them? Or, am I way out in left field?
Doug
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