Applications
Orbitor 6000 Installation & Applications Guide —
2.3
The note icon is used to provide miscellaneous information on the configuration and
set up of the Orbitor.
Configuration:
The Configuration Note is used to indicate that there may be a difference in
Note
configuration between the various operational modes of the Orbitor. This
may mean for example that the IP subnet mask size is configured differently
for an ISDN Orbitor than it is for a leased line Orbitor.
The information icon is used to indicate that more information is available on this
subject. The information is usually located within another document as specified.
The caution icon indicates that caution should be taken when performing this task.
Should You Bridge or Route?
When connecting two Local Area Networks together, the first question to ask is should I
bridge or route? The decision to bridge or to route may be decided by how the existing
networks have been already set up.
Bridging should be used when the network consists of non-routable protocols or routable
protocols using the same network numbers. Some protocols can only be bridged; some of
the more well known are NetBEUI (used by Microsoft Windows 3.11, Windows ’95 and
Windows NT), and LAT (used by Digital Equipment Corp.).
If your IPX or IP network address is the same at both locations bridging is simpler and
requires less configuration. If the locations are to be routed together, the network numbers
will have to be different in both cases, this could require extensive reconfiguration.
IPX routing should be used if the two locations are already set up with different IPX
network numbers. Routing IPX will minimize the number of SAP and RIP messages being
sent across the WAN.
IP routing should be used if the two locations are already set up with different IP network
numbers or if you wish to divide your one IP network number into two sub-networks.
In some cases both bridging and routing may be required. Routing may be required for IP
information and bridging may be required for NetBEUI.
