bridge

networking

A device that joins two network segments at layer 2, forwarding only the frames that need to cross.

The bridge is the switch's ancestor and the word survives where the switch's does not: spanning tree still elects a root bridge, and virtualisation still calls a software switch a bridge. The original purpose was to cut a collision domain in half while keeping one broadcast domain, which is exactly what a modern switch port does per port - the idea did not go away, it multiplied.

Also known as: bridging

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