WHY USE BRIDGES?
In Chapter 1, several points were made about why internetworking with routers is valuable to the communications industry. These statements apply to this chapter as well. Bridges are also important because in some networks, such as LANs, they may be a requirement to restrict the number of nodes (workstations, routers, servers, etc.) that are placed on the network media. Consequently, an enterprise may be limited in its growth potential if there is no means to connect the geographically-limited LANs together. The bridge is one tool used to connect these LANs.
Second, LANs (for example, Ethernet) are limited in the distance that the media can be strung through a building or a campus. This geographical restriction can be overcome ...
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