APPLICATIONS
Page B-3
B.3 TOKEN RING NETWORKS BRIDGED TOGETHER
Figure B-3 illustrates the bridging of two token ring networks
together using a token ring to token ring network bridge. Bridging
ring networks is necessary when: the networks are of different ring
speeds (one at 4 Mbit/sec and the other at 16 Mbit/sec), or when there
is a need for networks to be connected and one or both of the rings is
at maximum capacity. In Figure B-3, one network is running at
4 Mbit/sec and the other is running at 16 Mbit/sec. The 16 Mbit/sec
ring network with 130 stations is close to its maximum capacity of
136 stations. When the two networks are connected, the bridge is
counted as a station in both rings.
Figure B-3. Using a Bridge to Connect Ring Networks
Token Ring Network
running at 16 Mbit/s
135 stations maximum
plus the bridging device
Token Ring Network
running at 4 Mbit/s
249 stations maximum
plus the bridging device
TOKEN RING
TO
TOKEN RING
BRIDGE