Bridges and repeaters perform very different roles in a network, although both are used to extend network coverage. Repeaters simply relay a Wi-Fi signal, helping to extend the range of a given wireless network. Bridges, on the other hand, use wireless signals to join two existing networks together into one larger network.
Function of Repeaters
Wireless repeaters are designed to rebroadcast wireless signals. When a repeater receives a wireless signal, it re-transmits the data it has been sent without changing that data in any way. This re-transmission helps users to avoid the effects of attenuation, a process by which wireless signals become degraded as they travel through the air. Using a web of repeaters means that signals only ever have to travel over short hops, even when they are intended for clients a long way away from the original access point.
Function of Bridges
Unlike repeaters, wireless bridges are network clients in their own right. Pairs of bridges are used to create a wireless link between two networks, allowing the devices on one network to see the devices on the other as if they were part of the same local network. For example, if a school has separate networks in two adjacent buildings, by adding a bridge to each of the networks and configuring the bridges to communicate, the school can unify the networks into one large setup.
When to Use Repeaters
You should use repeaters if you want to add a couple of extra long-range clients to a network, or to improve the performance obtained by the clients at the very edge of your existing wireless network. Repeaters are not usually a practical way of extending network coverage to many devices, as the transmission quality of a wireless signal decreases slightly every time the signal is repeated. As such, repeated signals may not have the bandwidth to provide an acceptable service to large numbers of clients.
When to Use Bridges
Bridges are best if you need to significantly extend the range and scope of a wireless network. By dividing your machines into two networks and linking them by a bridge, you may get better overall performance than you would from a web of repeaters. You can also use most bridges to connect a wired device to a wireless network, as bridges can usually connect to both wired and wireless clients. In this instance, the bridge effectively acts as a wireless adapter.
Question No.1
Here we have two options through
which all the segments can be connected to each other i.e. Repeater and Bridge.
Based on the performance, what will be your choice for connecting all the
segments in LAN? Support your answer with reasons.
Ans
A Bridge is a hardware device used to connect LAN segments
to extend a LAN.
According to my point of view Bridge is best for the
assignment scenario, reasons are given below:
Uses two NICs, to connect two segments.
Listens to the all traffic
recognize frames format
Forward only correct complete frames
if we considered performance Bridge works best so i prefer
bridge on repeater
Question No. 2
Let say that two new offices have
been established on first and second floor of the same building. Can we extend
this LAN by adding more repeaters? Justify your answer with solid reasons.
Ans
No, repeater is not
Good for extending LAN. When we add more and more repeaters for extending LAN,
it produce delays and access mechanism like as CSMA/CD etc not work with long
delays. Repeater is not a intelligent devices its cannot detect errors while
transforming data from one segment to another.