TinyBridge is a miniature stand-alone Ethernet bridge with one Ethernet port and one WAN port. It is used to connect Ethernet LANs over WAN links. The TinyBridge can operate as a layer 2 remote Ethernet bridge or as an Ethernet-to-bitstream converter.
The TinyBridge is based on the RAD ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) called ChipBridge. This allows the TinyBridge to support WAN links of up to 10 Mbps, provide throughput of 15,000 pps (the maximum theoretical Ethernet throughput) and support 10,000 entries in its internal MAC table - all inside a low cost, plug-and-play, miniature device.
The TinyBridge extends the Ethernet router port over a satellite link. At the central site, the TinyBridge is located between the central router Ethernet port and the data link port of the base station satellite modem. At the remote site, it is placed between the customer premises satellite modem and the Ethernet hub or the back of the user station (directly connected to the AUI port on the user station Ethernet card).
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Benefits |
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Supports up to 10 Mbps data streams from satellite link
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Suitable for both low and high speed data transfer over satellite links
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Supports transparent change of link speed
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No need to configure remote sites to support change in satellite link speed ”on the fly”
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Layer 2 bridging/MAC filtering at wire speed
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Can be used for any layer 3 traffic (e.g., IP, IPX, AppleTalk)
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Does not depend on user station operating system
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Automatic learning and aging of MAC addresses
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Does not create unnecessary acknowledgment requests, especially in TCP/IPAdaptive to remote satellite LAN installation
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Guaranteed not to drop frames during processing
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Does not create unnecessary acknowledgment requests, especially in TCP/IP
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No handshake or synchronization required over WAN link between two TinyBridge units
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Interfaces between Ethernet and WAN bitstream
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Decouples remote LAN and router from unstable behavior and link delays on satellite link
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Maximum theoretical throughput of 15,000 packets per second
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Does not introduce additional delay into satellite connection
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Operates in simplex, half duplex and full duplex WAN mode
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Supports all types of satellite applications (e.g., broadcast) without the need to change device or configuration
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Totally insensitive to satellite link delay
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No software configuration – plug and play
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No need to send technicians to remote sites to install or configure the device
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AUI version
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Plugs directly into Ethernet card on user station and does not require external power supply
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Built-in wire-speed CRC error detection
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Filters all bad data at up to 10 Mbps from satellite modem (e.g., due to rain, birds, etc.) without ever ”stalling” and requiring reboot
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Very small and robust
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Easily delivered to remote customer satellite sites |
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Low cost
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Suitable for deployment in multiple remote sites
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