Thank you for that Jim, well explained. I think I understand better now :-) Thanks to others who contributed too, Mike, Helmut. =)
I somehow overlooked that DSL definitely != ethernet. doh *whacks forehead* One more question, if I may - I thought bridges were switched (at the ethernet layer). You imply that a bridge is simply a 2 port hub (and can be switched or unswitched/broadcast, depending on complexity). I got the idea somewhere that a bridge's intended function was different from a hub... ie. hub -> join end terminals together bridge -> join networks together Now I think about it for a couple of seconds, the actual functionality is pretty much identical, no? So... is then "hub" just another word for "bridge" (ie. they are essentially the same device) ? Cheers, Gareth ps. still not sure I "get" NAT (isn't it supposed to save address space? how's that, if it's 1-to-1 direct mapped..?) ... but I'll google for that one :-)
