Bridges

A bridge is a variation of a switch. A bridge provides two functions to a local area network. It filters and forwards messages. In short the bridge provides traffic isolation on a network. Often a network is broken up into multiple segments that often don't communicate. For example, there are probably many more messages sent to computers on the same floor than messages sent to different floors. If a bridge is used, the messages can be filtered. The messages will be kept on the same floor. Messages can also be forwarded to a different floor. The bridge is used mainly to help conserve bandwidth on a network. Today, many bridges are being replaced with switches.