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Home Network with WindowsXP |
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1/28/2000
part 4
Media Bridge
The media bridging or “mixed
media” bridging in Windows XP is an implementation of a software
based network bridge. In short, media bridging takes two networks, probably
dissimilar networks, and allows computers on each network to talk to each other.
If you have a couple of
computers on an Ethernet network and a couple of computers on a phone line
network (HPNA), media bridging would allow computers on both networks to
talk to each other. There are media bridges on the market already, but
these are expensive dedicated hardware solutions. I have been looking for
a good software based bridge for my home network for a while
but have been unable to find one. Similar functionality could be
configured with Windows 2000, but it is far beyond most home network users.
To utilize media bridging with
Windows XP, first install network cards/adapters for both types of networks in your Windows XP computer. Right click on
network properties, right click on one of the network connections and
select the new option, BRIDGE! It is just about as simple as that.
In Beta
1, there are issues surrounding the bridging of Firewire and Wireless
Ethernet (802.11b) networks, but these are bound to be cleared up very soon.
Industry Repercussions: The
industry is exploding with hardware ‘base stations’ for the now popular
wireless Ethernet cards. These base stations usually route traffic from
your wireless network to your wired network. Starting at around $300,
these base stations are not trivial purchases. With an Ethernet card and
Wireless Ethernet card installed in a Windows XP based computer, Media Bridging
will give you more functionality than most of these hardware bases solutions offer.
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Media Bridge
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