art@ACC.ARPA (12/19/87)
>Actually, it's pretty easy to tell whether a box is a gateway (router) >or just a bridge. If it has a network address, it's a gateway. If it >doesn't, it's a bridge. Actually, there is no reason why a bridge cannot have both a MAC address and even a network level address. With the introduction of "brouters" (such as Wellfleet's) the distinction is getting very blurred. Having a network level address for a bridge will be desireable as standard network management protocols emerge. I believe that the real distinction has to made on the basis of what level of protocol address that packet forwarding is decided. Art Berggreen art@acc.arpa ------