Understand the Difference Between Routers and Bridges

Difference Between Router & Bridges

Routers and bridges are both devices used to interconnect networks, but they work in different ways. A router is a more sophisticated device, and it can manage multiple connections at once whereas a bridge is more basic and can only manage two connections. The primary difference between a router and a bridge is that a router uses logical addressing such as IP addresses, while a bridge uses physical addressing such as MAC addresses.

A router is used to connect different networks together. It uses a combination of logical and physical addressing to determine where to route packets of data. Routers keep track of the best path to take when sending packets and use this information to ensure that the data is sent to the correct destination. They can also filter out unwanted traffic and prioritize certain types of traffic.

Bridges are much simpler devices than a router. They are used to connect two networks, typically in a LAN environment. Bridges use physical addressing to determine how to forward traffic from one network to another. Unlike a router, bridges do not have the ability to filter traffic or prioritize certain types of traffic. Instead, they simply forward all traffic that comes their way.

In short, routers and bridges are two devices used for connecting networks, however, they differ in the way that they forward traffic. Routers use logical addressing and are more sophisticated than bridges which use physical addressing and are limited in their capabilities.