A High Performance Transparent Bridge

The high performance transparent bridge (HPTB) is a multiport bridge interconnecting gigabit networks. The provision of specialized hardware support coupled with proper partitioning of bridging protocol entities makes it possible to process frames at very high rates. The HPTB architecture allows concurrent bridging of asynchronous, synchronous and isochronous traffic among heterogeneous networks. It supports both traditional networks, such as variable packet size local area networks (LAN’s), and cell-based networks, such as distributed queue dual bus (DQDB) and metropolitan area networks (MAN’S). This device is capable of interconnecting any combination of high speed LAN’s of rates up to 800 Mbps and/or MAN’s of rates up to 622 Mbps. © 1994 IEEE