Another distinction is explicit reference. a switch/repeater/bridge is not
explicitly referenced by the sender, whereas a router is. The sender
directs a packet to a router for forwarding. A switch is transparent to
the sender and receiver.
d/
At 09:23 AM 3/17/2001, Mike O'Dell wrote:
the term "router" is *usually* applied to a device which is
examining an L3 token, specifically an IP destination address.
from that destination address it decides how to forward the
packet. (note that, for example, Novell has routers too and
they operate at the equivalent of L3 - the (Network,MAC) tuple)
a switch is usually examining a token other than an IP
destination address - often an L2 address token such as an
Ethernet MAC address, MPLS LSP Tag, Frame Relay DLCI,
or ATM VPI/VCI indicator.
----------
Dave Crocker <mailto:dcrocker(_at_)brandenburg(_dot_)com>
Brandenburg InternetWorking <http://www.brandenburg.com>
tel: +1.408.246.8253; fax: +1.408.273.6464