Hi,

If you have still unanswered questions after reading the HOWTO and the
FAQ, you have found a bug. Please report bugs to bridge@math.leidenuniv.nl


greetings,
Lennert Buytenhek



Questions that were Asked Frequently enough to get listed here
==============================================================



What does a bridge do?
----------------------
  A bridge transparently relays traffic between multiple network
  interfaces. In plain English this means that a bridge connects two
  or more physical ethernets together to form one bigger (logical)
  ethernet.


Is it protocol independent?
---------------------------
  Yes. The bridge knows nothing about protocols, it only sees ethernet
  frames. As such, the bridging functionality is protocol independent,
  and there should be no trouble relaying IPX, NetBEUI, IP, IPv6, etc.


How is this bridging stuff different from a so-called 'switch'?
---------------------------------------------------------------
  It isn't.


Why is your code better than a switch?
--------------------------------------
  First of all, my code wasn't written with the intent of having linux
  boxen take over from dedicated networking hardware. Don't see the
  linux bridging code as a replacement for switches, but rather as an
  extension of the linux networking capabilities. Just like there are
  situations where a linux router/dedicated brand router is better
  than the other, there are situations where a linux bridge/dedicated
  brand bridge is better than the other.

  Most of the power of the linux bridging code lies in its
  flexibility. There is a whole lot of bizarre stuff you can do with
  linux already (read the 2.4 Advanced Routing document at
  http://ds9a.nl if you're interested), and the bridging code merely
  adds some more possibilities for obfuscation into the mix.

  The most important uses for the linux bridge code I see as follows:
  - Small bridges (up to 8 ports).
  - Load sharing a server's traffic over multiple interfaces by
    connecting sets of clients to different physical network
    interfaces.
  - A transparent firewall solution (using the ipchains/iptables
    firewalling patch).


My bridge does not show up in traceroute!
-----------------------------------------
  It is supposed not to. The operation of a bridge is (supposed to be)
  fully transparent to the network, the networks that a bridge
  connects together are actually to be viewed as one big
  network. That's why the bridge does not show up in traceroute; the
  packets do not feel like they are crossing a subnet boundary.

  For more information on this, read a book about TCP/IP networking.


Are there plans for MAC address filtering?
------------------------------------------
  You should be able to firewall on MAC addresses with the 2.4
  firewalling patch. iptables has the ability to filter on MAC
  addresses, and the firewalling patch should add that capability to
  the bridging code. I only released the first incarnation of the 2.4
  firewalling patch yesterday though, so don't expect this to be
  stable yet.
