ABSTRACT
In the middle of this “complexity spectrum” are bridges and routers. At the risk of oversimplification, one could say that traditional bridges implement basic data-level links between LANs that use identical protocols; traditional routers can be programmed for multiple network protocols, thereby supporting diverse types of LANs and host systems over the same wide area network (WAN) facility. However, in many situations the use of routers is overkill and needlessly expensive; routers cost as much as $75,000 for a full-featured, multiport unit, compared with $6,000 to $30,000 for most bridges.
