WAN link using ethernet?

Tricon7

I swear that I once saw a diagram (don't remember where now) where one router was connecting to another with no LANs between them, and the interfaces were fast ethernet. Is this done? I thought router-to-router connections were only serial interfaces if there were no LANs on the segment?

Bill Kaster

AFAIK you can only connect routers via serial links, be they DB60, smart serial, etc. Actually, a better question for us nobs would be, do serial and ethernet links on a router all each have their own broadcast domain? All ports no matter what kind should all have their own broadcast domains on a router, right?

rossonieri#1

hi tricon7,

ya sure, why not? i mean why cant we use ethernet as WAN connection?
same as we use a cable modem right? that was ethernet too.
but nowadays - thereis a new name called metro-ethernet, faster line using fiber optic connectivity, and terminated in T1 or E1 speed.

so - basically, about WAN and LAN it is only how we see our network from user perspective. about its physical device connector - true that most of them using serial interface, but not today - you can use many kinds of interface like wireless and ethernet.

HTH.

r_durant

Bill Kaster wrote:

Actually, a better question for us nobs would be, do serial and ethernet links on a router all each have their own broadcast domain? All ports no matter what kind should all have their own broadcast domains on a router, right?

I would think the answer to this is yes, remember routers break up broadcast domains...so each ethernet (or virtual ethernet) port would create/separate broadcast domains...

However, I don't think serial point-to-point connections create a broadcast domain, but may be point-to-multipoint connections, someone can verify this...

APA

Serial will be Point-to-Point but you can multiplex the connection (split into various channels depending on the bandwitdh)

This then theoretically should be called a Point-to-Multipoint connection.