Bridge under Windows XP

Bridge under Windows XP

Bridge, the term sounds familiar and unfamiliar. What exactly is it? In fact, a bridge is an inexpensive and convenient way to connect to a local area network (LAN) segment. To understand how a bridge works, you need to first understand the LAN segment. A LAN segment is a single part of the network media that is connected to a computer. For example, suppose you have three computers: Computer A, Computer B, and Computer C. Computer A has two Ethernet cards, and computers B and C each have an Ethernet card. An Ethernet cable connecting A and B will create a LAN segment. Another Ethernet cable connecting A and C will create another LAN segment.

Traditionally, if you need a network with multiple segments, you have two choices: routing and bridging. IP routing is a common solution for connecting network segments. However, to install IP routing, you need to purchase a hardware router or install a computer at the junction between the segments to use as a router. For each computer on each network segment, IP routing requires complex configuration of IP addressing, and each network segment needs to be configured as a separate subnet. IP routing is a solution for large networks where scalability is important and requires experienced personnel to configure and maintain the network. Hardware bridging solutions do not necessarily have complex configurations like IP routing, but they require the purchase of additional hardware bridges. If it's a home or small office network, these two options are not ideal. You are not willing to buy expensive bridge hardware, nor are you willing to ask experienced people to manage the IP routing network.

Instead, the bridge allows you to connect to the LAN segment by selecting the appropriate network connection icon and clicking \\"Bridge\\". A similar button allows you to enable the bridge and add a connection to the bridge. The bridge manages the LAN segments of the entire network and creates a single subnet. No configuration is required and no additional hardware (such as routers or bridges) is required. IP addressing, address allocation, and name resolution are highly simplified in a single subnet IP network.

Bridges can create connections between different types of network media. In traditional networks, if you use a mixed media type, each media requires a separate subnet and packet forwarding between multiple network subnets is required. Because different media types use different protocols, packet forwarding is required. \\"bridge\\" automates the required configuration to forward information from one media type to another.

There can only be one bridge on a Windows XP computer, but you can use it to bridge the network connections that are actually allowed on all computers. \\"Bridge\\" Establishes a loop-free forwarding topology using the IEEE Spanning Tree Algorithm (STA). When there are multiple paths in the bridged network, the loop can be formed, and the simple forwarding rule of the bridge will cause a forwarding storm, that is, the same frame will be relayed from one bridge to the other. The STA provides an automatic mechanism to selectively disable bridge forwarding on a single port when necessary to ensure that the forwarding topology is acyclic. For spanning tree algorithms, it is not necessary to configure a bridge.

Having said that, then how do ordinary users install and set up and use the bridge? Please listen to me in detail:

First, create a bridge:

1. Open \\"Network Connection\\" (To open \\"Network Connection\\", click \\"Start\\", point to \\"Settings\\", and then double-click \\"Control Panel\\" ;, click \\"Network and Internet Connections\\", and then click \\"Network Connections\\"). 2. Under \\"LAN or High Speed ​​Internet\\", select each private network connection that you want to use as part of the bridge. 3. Right-click one of the highlighted private network connections and click \\"Bridge\\".

Second, add the connection to the bridge

1. Open \\" Network Connections\\". 2. Under \\"Bridge\\", right-click \\"bridge\\" and click \\"Properties\\". 3. Under the \\"General\\" tab's \\"Adapter\\", select the checkboxes for each adapter you want to add to the bridge, then click \\"OK\\".

Third, enable or disable the bridge

1. Open a network connection. 2. Under \\"Bridge\\", right-click \\"bridge\\" and select one of the following: 3. To enable \\"bridge\\", click \\"Enable\\". 4. To disable \\"bridge\\", click \\"Disable\\".

Fourth, delete the connection from the bridge

1. Open a network connection. 2. Under \\"Bridge\\", right-click \\"bridge\\" and click \\"Properties\\". 3. Under \\"General\\" tab's \\"Adapter\\", select the checkbox next to the adapter you want to remove, and then click \\"OK\\".

However, here are a few things to keep in mind: You must be logged in as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete the process. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings can also prevent you from completing this step; you must select at least two qualifying network connections to use \\"Bridge\\"Create a bridge; Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) or Internet connection is enabled The firewall (ICF) adapter cannot be part of the bridge and will not appear in the bridge list. Similarly, the \\"Add to Bridge\\" menu command applies only to adapters that can be added as a connection to a bridge; only Ethernet, IEEE-1394 adapters or Ethernet compatible adapters such as wireless, and home phone line adapters ( HPNA) can be part of a bridge; if ICF or Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is not enabled, do not create a bridge between a public Internet connection and a private network connection, or add a public Internet connection to an existing bridge. Doing so creates an unprotected link between your network and the Internet, so your network is vulnerable; you can only create one bridge on a single computer, but the bridge can accommodate countless network connections; you can't run Windows Bridges are created on computers with Windows 2000 or earlier; if the adapter is removed from the bridge and there are fewer than two reserved adapters, the bridge will not perform the intended function, but will continue to use system resources; when previously displayed in \\ When the network adapter under "LAN or High Speed ​​Internet\\" is added as a connection, it will appear under \\"bridge\\". Network adapters that provide Internet connectivity (such as DSL and cable modems) cannot be bridged and will always appear under \\"LAN or High Speed ​​Internet\\" Before you enable the bridge, you must use \\"Bridge\\" Bridge; if the bridge is disabled, computers on the network will not be able to communicate with computers on other network segments. Some computers on the network may also interrupt the Internet connection; if the adapter is removed from the bridge and there are fewer than two reserved adapters, the bridge will not perform the intended function, but will continue to use system resources; at least two The adapter is connected to the bridge to guarantee its function; if the \\"network connection\\" folder is opened, the network connection can also be deleted from the bridge. Under \\"bridge\\", right click on the adapter to be deleted And then click \\" Remove from the bridge\\"; If the adapter is removed from the bridge and there are fewer than two reserved adapters, the bridge will not perform the intended function, but will continue to use system resources. Bridges that use wireless or IEEE-1394 connections only support Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) communication; Internet connection sharing, Internet connection firewall, discovery and control, and bridges are available in Windows XP 64-Bit Edition .

What effect and what is the application value of the bridge? In fact, the bridging group policy can be performed through the bridge. The general idea is that \\"bridge\\" enables the computer administrator to create a bridge across two or more network connections, so that network communication can pass through all the networks included in the bridge. Connect as if all of these connections are part of the same network subnet. The \\"Group Policy\\" setting defines the various components of the user desktop environment that the system administrator needs to manage. Do not install and configure on your DNS domain network, use bridges to determine if computer users with administrative privileges can enable \\"bridge\\" on the DNS domain network.

The \\"bridge\\"menu command\\"Bridge\\" is available only if there are two or more network adapters. By default, \\"bridge\\" is disabled, but administrators can enable it using the menu on the network connection icon. If you are banned from installing, configuring, and using the bridge\\" setting to disable \\"bridge\\" on the domain network, then the \\"Bridge\\" command It has been removed from the menu of the network connection icon, so \\"bridge\\" cannot be created. Computer users with limited permissions are not allowed to configure \\"bridge\\" regardless of the setting.

If \\"bridge\\" already exists on the computer on the network before the policy is enabled, the bridge will continue to exist because the setting knows the location. This setting applies only when the computer is connected to the same DNS domain network to which it was connected when the setting was last refreshed. If a computer (such as a laptop) is connected to your DNS domain network, but this setting on your computer was last refreshed on another network, this setting on your network will not be applied to that computer.