ZyXEL Communications Prestige 782R, User Manual, Page: 85 / 166

Prestige 782R G.SHDSL Router
Bridging Setup 7-1
Chapter 7
Bridging Setup
This chapter shows you how to configure the bridging parameters of your Prestige.
7.1 Bridging in General
Bridging bases the forwarding decision on the MAC (Media Access Control), or hardware address, while
routing does it on the network layer (IP or IPX) address. Bridging allows the Prestige to transport packets of
network layer protocols that it 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 can route.
7.2 Bridge Ethernet Setup
Basically, all non-local packets are bridged to the WAN, however, your Prestige applies special handling
for certain IPX packets to reduce the number of calls, depending on the setting of the
Handle IPX field.
From Menu 3 – Ethernet Setup , type 4 to enter Bridge Setup as shown next.
Figure 7-1 Menu 3.4 – Bridge Ethernet Setup
The following table describes how to configure the Handle IPX field in Menu 3.4.
Menu 3.4 - Bridge Ethernet Setup
Handle IPX= None
Press ENTER to Confirm or ESC to Cancel:
Press Space Bar to Toggle.