Orbitor 3000 Reference Manual— 1-1
Section 1 — Introduction
The Orbitor Ethernet Remote Bridge/Router
The Orbitor Ethernet remote bridge/router provides IP and IPX routing combined with a protocol transparent bridge.
This bridge/router combination is often the best solution to linking remotely located LANs where most of the traffic is IP
or IPX with smaller amounts of traffic from other protocols such as NetBIOS or DEC LAT.
The Orbitor Ethernet bridge/router supports the widely implemented Routing Information Protocol, otherwise known as
RIP. RIP support allows the Orbitor Ethernet to interoperate with other vendors’ routers.
The Orbitor Ethernet remote bridge/router will operate as delivered, providing increased LAN performance directly out of
the box without the need for complex pre-configuration. However, in those situations where specific customization is
required, an easy-to-use “hotkey” menuing Bridge/Router Manager console provides access to LAN and Link statistical
information, and control of the network configuration.
With increased LAN and Link management capability, you will be able to detect LAN and Link problems, determine
utilization patterns, and plan for future expansion that will optimize your existing data-communication resources.
The Orbitor Ethernet bridge/router can be thought of as a group of discrete functions combined in a single box. The first
functional module is the LAN interface, which receives all LAN traffic and then decides where individual frames should
be sent: to the IP router, to the IPX router, to the bridge, to the management system, or discarded altogether. After the
LAN interface there are several functional units including the IP router, the IPX router, the bridge, and the management
system. Any traffic that these modules need sent across a link is then sent to the link modules, which control data
coming and going on the WAN ports. The following figure illustrates the relationships between the various component
modules in a Orbitor Ethernet bridge/router.
Figure 1—1 Orbitor Ethernet Bridge/Router Block Diagram
The Orbitor Ethernet menu system provides a method to control whether IP & IPX traffic is routed through the router
modules, or bridged through the bridge module along with all other bridged data.
IP Routing and the Orbitor Ethernet Remote Bridge/Router
The Orbitor Ethernet bridge/router may be used to route only between subnets within the same network, or between
different networks.
Network broadcasts sent within a subnet-routed environment will not be forwarded to the other subnets in the network.
The procedure for establishing an IP connection through an IP router is explained on the next few pages.
