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10-5

Bridging—Transmitting Non-IP Traffic or Merging Two Networks

Configuring Bridging

You configure the ProCurve Secure Router to function as a bridge by assigning

logical interfaces to be part of a bridge group. For example, you could assign

the Ethernet interface and the Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) interface to a

bridge group, or you could assign the Ethernet interface and the Frame Relay

subinterface to a bridge group.

When the router receives a packet on a bridged interface, it floods the packet

out all interfaces in the bridge group. The router also stores the source MAC

address of the packet in a bridge table, together with the interface from which

it received the packet. When a packet arrives destined for that address, the

router then knows through which interface to forward it. In this way, the router

gradually learns how to forward traffic and contain packets.

Figure 10-2. Bridging Example

In Figure 10-2, networks at sites A, B, and C use IPX. The sites connect through

a Frame Relay network. When configuring bridging for the traffic between

these sites, you would assign the Ethernet interface and Frame Relay subinter-

faces to the same bridge group. When Router A receives a packet from a local

host on its Ethernet interface, it searches its bridge table for the entry

corresponding to its destination MAC address. It then transmits it out the

correct Frame Relay subinterface, leaving the IPX header unexamined and

intact. Router B receives the packet on its Frame Relay subinterface and

transmits it out its Ethernet interface. The network at site B can now process

the IPX packet.

IPX LAN

Router A

Frame

Relay

Router B

Router C

IPX LAN

Bridge Table

00:10:4B:A0:DF:8F FR 1.16

MAC address:

00:10:4B:A0:DF:8F

HP ProCurve 7000dl Series User Manual

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