Network hub with integrated bridge

• US 5,432,907 A
• Filed: 05/12/1992
• Issued: 07/11/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/1992
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Network Resources Corp. (Humble Energy, Inc.)
• Inventors: Steels, William E., Picazo, Jose J. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shin, Christopher B.
• Application Number:
  US07/881,931
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 370/85.12, 370/85.13, 370/85.14, 395/200
• US Class Current: 709/249
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/44 Star or tree networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4616 LAN interconnection over a LAN backbone
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/462 LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4625 Single bridge functionality, e.g. connection of two networks over a single bridge
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/26 using dedicated tools for LAN [Local Area Network] management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/25 Routing or path finding in a switch fabric
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/254 Centralised controller, i.e. arbitration or scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/351 for local area network [LAN], e.g. Ethernet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/357 Fibre channel switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/557 Error correction, e.g. fault recovery or fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/90 Buffering arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/901 using storage descriptor, e.g. read or write pointers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A hub circuit with an integrated bridge circuit carried out in software including a switch for bypassing the bridge process such that the two bridged networks effectively become one network. An in-band management process in software is disclosed which receives and executes network management commands received as data packets from the LANs coupled to the integrated hub/bridge. Also disclosed is hardware and software to implement an isolate mode where data packets which would ordinarily be transferred by the bridge process are not transferred except in-band management packets are transferred to the in-band management process regardless of which network from which they arrived. An out-of-band to in-band management process receives network management commands and executes them or forwards them in-band to whatever device to which they are addressed.

Claims

1. An apparatus for connection to first and second networks of computing machines, each said network having different network addresses for computer software processes in execution on machines coupled said first and second networks, comprising:

a support structure;

memory means mechanically coupled to said support structure for storing data and a computer program, said data comprising data packets to be transmitted on said first network stored in a first transmit buffer, and data packets to be transmitted on said second network stored in a second transmit buffer, and data packets received from said first network stored in a first receive buffer, and data packets received from said second network stored in a second receive buffer;

a plurality of hub port means affixed to said support structure, for coupling to said first network external to said support structure via a plurality of corresponding transceiver cables which are coupled to and carry data packets to and from a plurality of machines each of which has computer software processes in execution thereon, each said computer software process having a network address, and wherein when each said computer software process is a source of a data packet, said data packet transmitted by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the source network address, and wherein when each said computer software process is a destination of a data packet, said data packet received by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the destination network address, each said hub port means for sending data packets out on said first network via a corresponding transceiver cable and for receiving data packets from said first network via a corresponding transceiver cable;

hub means for receiving a data packet from any of said hub port means and for retransmitting each said data packet out on said first network through every other said hub port means coupled to said first network other than said hub port means from which said data packet was received, and for sending all said retransmitted data packets out on a data path affixed to said support structure and which carries data which came from or which is bound for said first network segment, each said data packet having a source network address identifying the network address of the machine from which the data originated and a destination network address identifying the network address of the machine for which the data is bound;

first network controller means affixed to said support structure for retrieving data packets from said first transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets out on said first network by sending said data packets to said hub means via said data path, and for receiving data packets from said hub means via said data path and storing said data packets in said first receive buffer in said memory means;

second network transceiver means affixed to said support structure for receiving data packets and for transmitting data packets on said second network;

second network controller means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said second network transceiver means and coupled to said memory means, for retrieving data packets from said second transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets to said second network transceiver means for transmission on said second network, and for receiving data packets from said second network transceiver means and for storing said data packets in said second receive buffer;

computer means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said memory means, said hub means and said first and second network controllers by an address and control bus and by a data bus, said computer means for executing said computer program stored in said memory means, said computer program including bridge means for selectively coupling data packets from said first network to said second network and vice versa, said selective coupling performed by reading at least the destination network address of each received data packet in said first and second receive buffers in said memory means and, for each data packet, comparing the destination network address to which the data packet is to be sent to data indicating whether said destination network address is located on said first network or on said second network, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said first receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said second network, for forwarding said data packet to said second network controller via said data bus, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said second receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said first network, for forwarding said data packet to said first network controller via said data bus for transmission on said first network and for discarding any data packet retrieved from either the first or second receive buffer if the destination network address of the data packet is on the same network as the source network address from which said data packet originated.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said computer program includes one or more routines to manage said first and second transmit buffers and said first and second receive buffers in said memory means as linked lists which record the sequence in which each data packet was received in the case of the first and second receive buffers and record the sequences in which the data packets are to be transmitted in the case of the transmit buffers, and wherein each linked list is comprised of individual data packets stored in different addresses in one of said buffers, and each data packet is stored with an associated pointer which contains data indicating the address of the next data packet in the sequence recorded in said linked list.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said computer program includes a routine for discarding data packets by rearranging said pointers of said first or second receive buffer linked list so as to omit reference to the data packet to be discarded.

4. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said hub means includes an attachment unit interface port at which data packets received from said first network are repeated for transmission, and wherein said second network controller means and said attachment unit interface port are selectively, alternatively coupled to said second network transceiver means by a switch, said switch being coupled to and controlled by said computer means which is controlled by said computer program, and further comprising a routine in said computer program to selectively implement a bypass mode wherein said switch is set to a position to cut off said second network controller means from said second network transceiver means and said attachment unit interface port is coupled directly to said second network transceiver means such that said second network controller is bypassed thereby disabling said bridge means such that data packets received from either said first network segment or said second network segment are automatically transmitted on the other network segment regardless of the location of the destination address of any particular data packet.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said computer program includes means for and using forwarding vectors to speed up processing of data packets in said receive buffers of said first and second networks, each said forwarding vector comprising a designated memory location for a corresponding one of said first or second networks which stores a pointer address pointing to the starting address in said memory means of a bypass mode routine forming part of said computer program controlling operations of said computer means if bypass mode is active, and storing the address of a bridge mode routine if bypass mode is not active, and storing the address of an isolate mode routine if isolate mode is active, said bypass mode for discarding each data packet that came from said first network by rearranging said pointers on said linked list in said first receive buffer so as to skip over said data packet to be discarded, and, if said data packet came from said second network, for placing said data packet in the linked list stored in said first transmit buffer by rearranging the pointers of said linked list to point to said data packet to be forwarded so that said data packet will be transmitted on said first network in the sequence defined by the pointers of the linked list associated with said first transmit buffer, said isolate mode routine also controlling said computer means to discard each data packet that came from either said first or second network by rearranging said pointers on said linked list in said first receive buffer if said data packet came from said first network or by rearranging said pointers on said linked list in said second receive buffer if said data packet came from said second network, said rearranging of pointers being carried out so as to skip over said data packet to be discarded, said bridge mode routine for controlling said computer means so as to place each said data packet to be forwarded from one network to the other network into the linked list of the transmit buffer of the network containing the destination network address of data packet to be forwarded by rearranging said pointers of the linked list of the transmit buffer for the network to which the data packet to be forwarded so as to point to said data packet.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising means in said computer program to implement an isolate mode of operation wherein said bridge means is disabled and no data packet is transferred from said first network to said second network, or vice versa, and wherein said switch is set to a position to connect said second network transceiver means to said second network controller.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said computer program includes in-band management means for receiving and processing in-band management data packets received from either of said first or second networks and for performing any desired management function, command or status inquiry by interacting with said hub means, said first or second network controller means and/or said bridge means, and further comprising isolate mode means in said computer program for setting the position of said switch to a position to connect said second network transceiver means to said second network controller but for rearranging said pointers on the linked lists of the first and/or second transmit buffers so as to skip over any data packets that said bridge means would otherwise transfer from one network to the other such that no data packet is transferred from said first network to said second network by said bridge means while isolate mode is active, but for detecting and directing any in-band management packet which arrives from either said first or said second network to said in-band management means for processing thereby.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said bridge means includes means for storing in said memory means a forwarding table listing source and/or destination network addresses associated with said first and second networks, and further comprises means for making an entry in said forwarding table containing the source network address or the destination address or both of a data packet which has been received from either said first network or said second network which is found to have no errors, each said entry associating at least the source network address of said data packet with the network identification of the network from which the data packet originated.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a serial communication interface means coupled to said computer means for receiving management commands directly from a terminal or modem, and wherein said computer program means includes console command process means for receiving said management commands from said serial communication interface means and for performing the desired management command, function or status inquiry by interacting with said hub means, said bridge means, and/or said first or second network controller means, or, if the management command so received is addressed to some other device or devices connected to either said first network or said second network, for converting said management command into a data packet by appending at least appropriate header and network address information to said management command, said header including at least source and destination network addresses sufficient to direct said data packet containing said management command to the computing machine to be managed and placing the resulting data packet in said transmit buffer of the network containing the destination network address of the computing machine to which said data packet is addressed.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means in said computer program to implement an isolate mode of operation wherein no data packet is transferred from said first network to said second network or vice versa.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 6 wherein said computer program includes means for receiving and processing SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) in-band management data packets received from either of said first or second networks and for performing any desired management function, command or status inquiry encoded in said SNMP data packet by appropriately interacting with said hub means, said first or second network controller means, said hub port means and/or said bridge means.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 8 or 9 or 10 or 6 wherein said computer program implementing said bridge function includes means for filtering by network communication protocol such that data packets from said first network but having destination addresses on said second network and having communication protocols which are incompatible with the communication protocol in use on said second network and which said means for filtering is programmed to filter out will not be forwarded to said second network, and such that data packets received from said second network but having destination addresses on said first network but having communication protocols which are incompatible with the communication protocol in use on said first network and which said means for filtering is programmed to filter out will not be forwarded to said second network.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 8 or 9 wherein said support structure further comprises a single enclosure which houses all of said memory means, said hub means, said hub port means, said first network controller means, said second network transceiver means and said second network controller means, said computer means and said computer program.

14. An apparatus for coupling to first and second networks upon which data packets are being transmitted on one or more physical data transmission media, comprising:

a physical support for supporting electronic circuitry;

a memory for storing data packets to be transmitted on either said first or second network and for storing data packets received from either said first or second network;

a bridge circuit mounted on said physical support and comprising at least first and second network interface circuits coupled to said first and second networks, respectively, each said network having physical data transmission media, said first and second network interfaces for converting data packets to be transmitted on said first and/or second networks which have been retrieved from said memory into electrical signals to propagate on said physical data transmission media of said first and/or second networks, said first and second networks each coupling a plurality of computing machines together for data exchange, each said computing machine having a network address which is a source network address when said computing machine is transmitting data as electrical signals on either said first or second network and is a destination network address when said computing machine is receiving data as electrical signals from either said first or second network, said first and second network interfaces also for receiving electrical signals transmitted by one or more of said computing machines via said physical data transmission media of said first or second networks and converting said electrical signals into data packet in said memory, each said data packet having a source network address which is the network address of the computing machine which transmitted said data packet and a destination network address which is the network address of the computing machine which said data packet is bound, said bridge circuit for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said first network to a computing machine coupled to said second network via said first network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said first network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said second network or if said destination address of the received data packet is not known to be the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks, and for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said second network to a computing machine coupled to said first network via said first network interface if the destination address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said second network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said first network or if said destination network address of the received data packet is not the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks;

and wherein at least one of said network interface circuits includes a repeater mounted on said physical support and which has at least two ports each of which is coupled to one of said data transmission media forming part of the network coupled to said network interface circuit which includes said repeater, said repeater for receiving data packets at one or more of said pods and automatically retransmitting said data packets out all ports of said repeater regardless of the destination network address of any particular data packet being retransmitted;

and further comprising management means mounted on said support structure and coupled to said bridge circuit and to said first and second network interface means, for receiving Simple Network Management Protocol commands and carrying out said commands,

and wherein said repeater is part of said first network interface circuit and includes an Attachment Unit Interface port from which are transmitted said data packets being transmitted from the other of said ports of said repeater and which can receive data packets, and further comprising switch means for selectively coupling said Attachment Unit Interface port to said second network interface circuit, and wherein said bridge circuit includes bypass means for setting said switch means such that said Attachment Unit Interface port is coupled to said second network in a bypass mode such that any data packet arriving at said Attachment Unit Interface from either of said first or second networks is automatically repeated on the other network, and wherein said management means includes means for receiving in-band management data packets from computing machines coupled to either said first network or second network and carrying out said commands.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 further comprising isolate means for preventing any transfer of data packets from said first network to said second network or vice versa and wherein said isolate means includes means for directing any in-band management data packets that arrive from either said first or second network to said management means for execution thereby even when said isolate means is active in preventing any data packet transfer between said networks.

16. An apparatus for coupling to first and second networks upon which data packets are being transmitted on one or more physical data transmission media, comprising:

a physical support for supporting electronic circuitry;

a memory for storing data packets to be transmitted on either said first or second network and for storing data packets received from either said first or second network;

a bridge circuit mounted on said physical support and comprising at least first and second network interface circuits coupled to said first and second networks, respectively, each said network having physical data transmission media, said first and second network interfaces for converting data packets to be transmitted on said first and/or second networks which have been retrieved from said memory into electrical signals to propagate on said physical data transmission media of said first and/or second networks, said first and second networks each coupling a plurality of computing machines together for data exchange, each said computing machine having a network address which is a source network address when said computing machine is transmitting data as electrical signals on either said first or second network and is a destination network address when said computing machine is receiving data as electrical signals from either said first or second network, said first and second network interfaces also for receiving electrical signals transmitted by one or more of said computing machines via said physical data transmission media of said first or second networks and converting said electrical signals into data packets for storage in said memory, each said data packet having a source network address which is the network address of the computing machine which transmitted said data packet and a destination network address which is the network address of the computing machine for which said data packet is bound, said bridge circuit for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said first network to a computing machine coupled to said second network via said second network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said first network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said second network or if said destination address of the received data packet is not known to be the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks, and for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said second network to a computing machine coupled to said first network via said first network interface if the destination address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said second network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said first network or if said destination network address of the received data packet is not the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks;

and wherein at least one of said network interface circuits includes a repeater mounted on said physical support and which has at least two ports each of which is coupled to one of said data transmission media forming part of the network coupled to said network interface circuit which includes said repeater, said repeater for receiving data packets at one or more of said ports and automatically retransmitting said data packets out all ports of said repeater regardless of the destination network address of any particular data packet being retransmitted;

and further comprising management means mounted on said support structure and coupled to said bridge circuit and to said first and second network interface means, for receiving Simple Network Management Protocol commands and carrying out said commands, and

wherein said bridge circuit includes means for selective deactivation of bridging activity in a bypass mode which, when active, causes all data packets received from said first network to be retransmitted on said second network and which causes all data packets received from said second network to be retransmitted on said first network, and further comprising isolate means for selectively preventing any transfer of data packets from said first network to said second network and which prevents any transfer of data packets from said second network to said first network.

17. An apparatus for connection to first and second local area networks, each said network coupled to a plurality of machines by a plurality of transceiver cables, each said network having different network addresses for computer software processes in execution on said machines coupled thereto, comprising:

a support structure including a housing;

memory means mechanically coupled to said support structure for storing data and a computer program, said data comprising data packets to be transmitted on said first network stored in a first transmit buffer, and data packets to be transmitted on said second network stored in a second transmit buffer, and data packets received from said first network stored in a first receive buffer, and data packets received from said second network stored in a second receive buffer;

twenty six or fewer hub port means affixed to said support structure, for coupling to a first network external to said support structure via a plurality of corresponding transceiver cables coupled to and carrying data to and from a plurality of machines each of which has computer software processes in execution thereon, each said computer software process having a network address, and wherein when each said computer software process is acting as a source of a data packet said data packet transmitted by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the source network address, and wherein when each said computer software process is a destination of a data packet, said data packet received by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the destination network address, each said hub port means for sending data packets out on said first network segment via a transceiver cable and for receiving data packets from said first network via a transceiver cable;

hub means for receiving a data packet from any of said hub port means and for retransmitting each said data packet out on said first network through every other said hub port means coupled to said first network other than said hub port means from which said data packet was received, and for sending all said retransmitted data packets out on a data path affixed to said support structure and which carries data which came from or which is bound for said first network, each said data packet having a source network address identifying the network address of the machine from which the data originated and a destination network address identifying the network address of the machine for which the data is bound;

first network controller means affixed to said support structure for retrieving data packets from said first transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets out on said first network by sending said data packets to said hub means via said data path, and for receiving data packets from said hub means via said data path and storing said data packets in said first receive buffer in said memory means;

second network transceiver means affixed to said support structure for receiving data packets and for transmitting data packets on said second network;

second network controller means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said second network transceiver means, for retrieving data packets from said second transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets to said second network transceiver means for transmission on said second network, and for receiving data packets from said second network transceiver means and for storing said data packets in said second receive buffer;

computer means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said memory means and to said first and second network controllers and said hub means by an address and control bus and by a data bus, said computer means for executing a computer program stored in said memory means, said computer program including bridge means for selectively coupling data packets from said first network to said second network and vice versa, said selective coupling performed by reading at least the destination network address of each received data packet in said first and second receive buffers in said memory means and, for each data packet, comparing the destination network address of the data packet to which the data packet is to be sent to data indicating whether said destination network address is located on said first network or on said second network, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said first receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said second network, for forwarding said data packet to said second network controller via said data bus, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said second receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said first network, for forwarding said data packet to said first network controller via said data bus for transmission on said first network and for discarding any data packet retrieved from either the first or second receive buffer if the destination network address of the data packet is on the same network as the source network address from which said data packet originated, said computer program further comprising management means for receiving, from a management process in execution on a computer external to said support structure, management commands and requests to control or gather data from said hub means, said hub port means, said first network controller means, said second network controller means, said second transceiver means or said bridge means, and for carrying out said commands or gathering the requested data and sending said data back to said management process that originated said management command or data request.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said control program further comprises means for implementing the national standard Internet Protocol defined by RFC 791, the Internet Control Message Protocol defined by RFC 792, the Address Resolution Protocol defined by RFC 826, and the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol defined by RFC 903 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

19. The apparatus of claim 18 wherein said management means implements the Simplified Network Management Protocol defined in national standard RFC 1157 and the User Datagram Protocol defined in national standard RFC 768 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

20. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said management means further comprises means to implement the Transmission Control Protocol defined in national standard RFC 793, and the Telnet Service Protocol as defined in national standard RFC 854 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

21. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said bridge means implements the spanning tree, filtering by protocol bridging process defined in I.E.E.E. standard 801.1(d) as this standard was defined at the time this application was filed.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein said bridge means implements national standard RFC 1286 published by the IETF as of the time this application was filed and wherein said hub means implements national standard RFC 1368 published by the IETF as of the time of filing of this application.

23. An apparatus for connection to first and second networks, each said network having different network addresses for computer software processes in execution on machines coupled thereto, comprising:

a support structure including a housing;

memory means mechanically coupled to said support structure for storing data and a computer program, said data comprising data packets to be transmitted on said first network stored in a first transmit buffer, and data packets to be transmitted on said second network stored in a second transmit buffer, and data packets received from said first network stored in a first receive buffer, and data packets received from said second network stored in a second receive buffer;

twenty six or fewer hub port means affixed to said support structure, for coupling to a first network external to said support structure via a plurality of corresponding transceiver lines which are coupled to and carry data to and from a plurality of machines, each of which has computer software processes in execution thereon, each said computer software process having a network address, and wherein when each said computer software process is a source of a data packet, said data packet transmitted by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the source network address, and wherein when each said computer software process is a destination of a data packet, said data packet received by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the destination network address, each said hub port means for sending data packets out on said first network via a corresponding transceiver cable and for receiving data packets from said first network via a corresponding transceiver cable;

hub means for receiving a data packet from any of said hub port means and for retransmitting each said data packet out on said first network through every other said hub port means coupled to said first network other than said hub port means from which said data packet was received, and for sending all said retransmitted data packets out on a data path affixed to said support structure and which carries data packets which came from or which are bound for said first network, each said data packet having a source network address identifying the network address of the machine from which the data packet originated and a destination network address identifying the network address of the machine for which the data packet is bound;

first network controller means affixed to said support structure for retrieving data packets from said first transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets out on said first network by sending said data packets to said hub means via said data path, and for receiving data packets from said hub means via said data path and storing said data packets in said first receive buffer in said memory means;

second network transceiver means affixed to said support structure for receiving and transmitting data packets on said second network;

second network controller means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said second network transceiver means, for retrieving data packets from said second transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets to said second network transceiver means for transmission on said second network, and for receiving data packets from said second network transceiver means and for storing said data packets in said second receive buffer;

computer means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said memory means and to said first and second network controllers and said hub means by an address and control bus and by a data bus, said computer means for executing a computer program stored in said memory means, said computer program including bridge means for selectively coupling data packets from said first network to said second network and vice versa, said selective coupling performed by reading at least the destination network address of each received data packet in said first and second receive buffers in said memory means and, for each data packet, comparing the destination network address to which the data packet is to be sent to data indicating whether said destination network address is located on said first network or on said second network, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said first receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said second network, for forwarding said data packet to said second network controller via said data bus, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said second receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said first network, for forwarding said data packet to said first network controller via said data bus for transmission on said first network and for discarding any data packet retrieved from either the first or second receive buffer if the destination network address of the data packet is on the same network as the source network address from which said data packet originated, said computer program means further comprising management means for receiving from a management process in execution external to said support structure management commands and requests to control or gather data from said hub means, said hub port means, said first network controller means, said second network controller means, said second transceiver means or said bridge means, and for carrying out said commands or gathering the requested data and sending said data back to said management process that originated said management command or data request, and wherein said computer program further comprises bridge bypass means for selectively disabling said bridge means such that every data packet retrieved from said first receive buffer is forwarded to said second network controller means via said data bus for transmission on said second network, and every data packet retrieved from said second receive buffer is forwarded to said first network controller means via said data bus for transmission on said first network.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said management means implements the SNMP management protocol.

25. The apparatus of claim 24 further comprising a modem port coupled to said management means such that said management commands and requests to gather data can be sent to said management means from a management process in execution elsewhere and coupled to said management means only by a modem and a telephone circuit.

26. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein said computer program further comprises means for implementing the national standard Internet Protocol defined by RFC 791, the Internet Control Message Protocol defined by RFC 792, the Address Resolution Protocol defined by RFC 826, and the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol defined by RFC 903 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 wherein said management means implements the Simplified Network Management Protocol defined in national standard RFC 1157 and the User Datagram Protocol defined in national standard RFC 768 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 wherein said management means further comprises means to implement the Transmission Control Protocol defined in national standard RFC 793, and the Telnet Service Protocol as defined in national standard RFC 854 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

29. The appartus of claim 28 wherein said computer program includes means to implement the national standard SNMP management protocol.

30. The apparatus of claim 29 further comprising means for receiving and carrying out management commands via modem.

31. An apparatus for connection to first and second networks, each said network characterized by different network addresses for computer software processes in execution on machines coupled thereto, comprising:

a support structure including a housing;

memory means mechanically coupled to said support structure for storing data and a computer program, said data comprising data packets to be transmitted on said first network stored in a first transmit buffer, and data packets to be transmitted on said second network stored in a second transmit buffer, and data packets received from said first network stored in a first receive buffer, and data packets received from said second network stored in a second receive buffer;

twenty six or fewer hub port means affixed to said support structure, for coupling to a first network external to said support structure via a plurality of corresponding transceiver cables which are coupled to and carry data to and from a plurality of machines each of which has computer software processes in execution thereon, each said computer software process having a network address, and wherein when said computer software process is a source of a data packet, said data packet transmitted by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the source network address, and wherein when said computer software process is a destination of a data packet, said data packet received by said computer software process will contain the network address of said computer software process as the destination network address, each said hub port means for sending data packets out on said first network segment via a corresponding transceiver cable and for receiving data packets from said first network via a corresponding transceiver cable;

hub means for receiving a data packet from any of said hub port means and for retransmitting each said data packet out on said first network through every other said hub port means coupled to said first network other than said hub port means from which said data packet was received, and for sending all said retransmitted data packets out on a data path affixed to said support structure and which carries data which came from or which is bound for said first network, each said data packet having a source network address identifying the network address of the machine from which the data originated and a destination network address identifying the network address of the machine for which the data is bound;

first network controller means affixed to said support structure for retrieving data packets from said first transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets out on said first network by sending said data packets to said hub means via said data path, and for receiving data packets from said hub means via said data path and storing said data packets in said first receive buffer in said memory means;

second network transceiver means affixed to said support structure for sending and receiving data packets on said second network via a repeater and twenty-six or fewer media access units coupling said repeater to conductors of said second network;

second network controller means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said second network transceiver means, for retrieving data packets from said second transmit buffer in said memory means and for sending said retrieved data packets to said second network transceiver means for transmission on said second network, and for receiving data packets from said second network transceiver means and for storing said data packets in said second receive buffer;

computer means affixed to said support structure and coupled to said memory means and to said first and second network controllers and said hub means by an address and control bus and by a data bus, said computer means for executing a computer program stored in said memory means, said computer program including bridge means for selectively coupling data packets from said first network to said second network and vice versa, said selective coupling performed by reading at least the destination network address of each received data packet in said first and second receive buffers in said memory means and, for each data packet, comparing the destination network address to which the data packet is to be sent to data indicating whether said destination network address is located on said first network or on said second network, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said first receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said second network, for forwarding said data packet to said second network controller via said data bus, and, if the data packet was retrieved from said second receive buffer but is addressed to a destination network address on said first network, for forwarding said data packet to said first network controller via said data bus for transmission on said first network and for discarding any data packet retrieved from either the first or second receive buffer if the destination network address of the data packet is on the same network as the source network address from which said data packet originated, and wherein said computer program further comprises bridge bypass means for selectively disabling said bridge means such that every data packet retrieved from said first receive buffer is forwarded to said second network controller means via said data bus regardless of the destination network address of said data packet for transmission on said second network, and every data packet retrieved from said second receive buffer is forwarded to said first network controller means via said data bus regardless of the destination network address of said data packet for transmission on said first network, and wherein said computer program further comprises isolate means for selectively disabling said bridge means when an isolate mode is active by preventing any transfer of data packets from said first network segment to said second network segment.

32. An apparatus for coupling to first and second networks upon which data packets are being transmitted on one or more physical media segments, comprising:

a physical support for supporting electronic circuitry;

a memory for storing data packets to be transmitted on either said first or second network and for storing data packets received from either said first or second network;

a bridge circuit mounted on said physical support and comprising at least first and second network interface circuits coupled to said first and second networks, respectively, each said network having physical data transmission media, said first and second network interfaces for converting data packets to be transmitted on said first and/or second networks and retrieved from said memory into electrical signals to propagate on said physical data transmission media of said first and/or second networks, said first and second networks each coupling a plurality of computing machines together for data exchange, each said computing machine having a network address which is a source network address in a data packet when said computing machine is transmitting said data packet as electrical signals on either said first or second network and is a destination network address in a data packet when said computing machine is receiving said data packet as electrical signals from either first or second network, said first and second network interfaces also for receiving electrical signals transmitted by one or more of said computing machines via said physical data transmission media of said first or second networks and converting said electrical signals into data packets for storage in said memory, each said data packet having a source network address indicating the computing machine which transmitted said data packet and a destination network address indicating the computing machine for which said data packet is bound, said bridge circuit for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said first network to a computing machine coupled to said second network via said second network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said first network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said second network or if said destination network address of the received data packet has not been previously recorded in said memory by said bridge means as the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks, and for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said second network to a computing machine coupled to said first network via said first network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said second network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said first network or if said destination network address of the received data packet has not been previously recorded by said bridge means in said memory as the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks;

and wherein at least one of said network interface circuits includes a repeater mounted on said physical support and which has at least two ports each of which is coupled to a physical media segment forming part of the network coupled to said network interface circuit which repeater, said repeater for receiving data packets at one or more of said ports and automatically retransmitting said data packets out on all other ports of said repeater regardless of the destination network address of any particular data packet being retransmitted; and

a management circuit coupled to said bridge circuits, said repeater(s) and said network interface circuits, for receiving and carrying out management commands,

and wherein each said repeater drives an attachment unit interface port and twenty-six or fewer media access units, and further comprising a bypass circuit for bypassing said bridge circuit such that any data packet arriving from either of said first or second networks is automatically transmitted on the other network via the network interface circuit and all media access units connected thereto in addition to being retransmitted via the network interface circuit of the network from which said data packet originated and substantially all media access units coupled thereto.

33. An apparatus for coupling to first and second networks upon which data packets are being transmitted on one or more physical media segments, comprising:

a physical support for supporting electronic circuitry;

a memory for storing data packets to be transmitted on either said first or second network and for storing data packets received from either said first or second network;

a bridge circuit mounted on said physical support and comprising at least first and second network interface circuits coupled to said first and second networks, respectively, each said network having physical data transmission media, said first and second network interfaces for converting data packets to be transmitted on said first and/or second networks and retrieved from said memory into electrical signals to propagate on said physical data transmission media of said first and/or second networks, said first and second networks each coupling a plurality of computing machines together for data exchange, each said computing machine having a network address which is a source network address in a data packet when said computing machine is transmitting said data packet as electrical signals on either said first or second network and is a destination network address in a data packet when said computing machine is receiving said data packet as electrical signals from either first or second network, said first and second network interfaces also for receiving electrical signals transmitted by one or more of said computing machines via said physical data transmission media of said first or second networks and converting said electrical signals into data packets for storage in said memory, each said data packet having a source network address indicating the computing machine which transmitted said data packet and a destination network address indicating the computing machine for which said data packet is bound, said bridge circuit for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said first network to a computing machine coupled to said second network via said second network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said first network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said second network or if said destination network address of the received data packet has not been previously recorded in said memory by said bridge means as the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks, and for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said second network to a computing machine coupled to said first network via said first network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said second network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said first network or if said destination network address of the received data packet has not been previously recorded by said bridge means in said memory as the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks;

and wherein at least one of said network interface circuits includes a repeater mounted on said physical support and which has at least two ports each of which is coupled to a physical media segment forming part of the network coupled to said network interface circuit which includes said repeater, said repeater for receiving data packets at one or more of said ports and automatically retransmitting said data packets out on all other ports of said repeater regardless of the destination network address of any particular data packet being retransmitted; and

a management circuit coupled to said bridge circuit, said repeater(s) and said network interface circuits, for receiving and carrying out management commands, and

wherein said apparatus includes means coupled to said bridge circuit, said network interface circuit and said repeater(s) for implementing the national standard Internet Protocol defined by RFC 791, the Internet Control Message Protocol defined by RFC 792, the Address Resolution Protocol defined by RFC 826, and the Reverse Address Resolution Protocol defined by RFC 903 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

34. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said bridge circuit implements the spanning tree, filtering by protocol bridging process defined in I.E.E.E. standard 801.1(d) as that protocols was defined and published at the time this application was filed.

35. The apparatus of claim 33 wherein said bridge means implements national standard RFC 1286 for bridge MIBs published by the IETF as of the time this application was filed and wherein said hub means implements national standard RFC 1368 for repeater MIBs published by the IETF as of the time of filing of this application.

36. An apparatus for coupling to first and second networks upon which data packets are being transmitted on one or more physical media segments, comprising:

a physical support for supporting electronic circuitry;

a memory for storing data packets to be transmitted on either said first or second network and for storing data packets received from either said first or second network;

a bridge circuit mounted on said physical support and comprising at least first and second network interface circuits coupled to said first and second networks, respectively, each said network having physical data transmission media, said first and second network interfaces for converting data packets to be transmitted on said first and/or second networks and retrieved from said memory into electrical signals to propagate on said physical data transmission media of said first and/or second networks, said first and second networks each coupling a plurality of computing machines together for data exchange, each said computing machine having a network address which is a source network address in a data packet when said computing machine is transmitting said data packet as electrical signals on either said first or second network and is a destination network address in a data packet when said computing machine is receiving said data packet as electrical signals from either first or second network, said first and second network interfaces also for receiving electrical signals transmitted by one or more of said computing machines via said physical data transmission media of said first or second networks and converting said electrical signals into data packets for storage in said memory, each said data packet having a source network address indicating the computing machine which transmitted said data packet and a destination network address indicating the computing machine for which said data packet is bound, said bridge circuit for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said first network to a computing machine coupled to said second network via said second network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said first network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said second network or if said destination network address of the received data packet has not been previously recorded in said memory by said bridge means as the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks, and for selectively forwarding a data packet received from a computing machine coupled to said second network to a computing machine coupled to said first network via said first network interface if the destination network address of said data packet received from said computing machine coupled to said second network is the network address of a computing machine coupled to said first network or if said destination network address of the received data packet has not been previously recorded by said bridge means in said memory as the network address of a computing machine coupled to either of said first or second networks;

and wherein at least one of said network interface circuits includes a repeater mounted on said physical support and which has at least two ports each of which is coupled to a physical media segment forming part of the network coupled to said network interface circuit which includes said repeater, said repeater for receiving data packets at one or more of said ports and automatically retransmitting said data packets out on all other ports of said repeater regardless of the destination network address of any particular data packet being retransmitted; and

a management circuit coupled to said bridge circuit, said repeater(s) and said network interface circuits, for receiving and carrying out management commands, and

wherein said management circuit implements the Simplified Network Management Protocol defined in national standard RFC 1157 and the User Datagram Protocol defined in national standard RFC 768 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.

37. The apparatus of claim 36 wherein said management circuit further comprises means to implement the Transmission Control Protocol defined in national standard RFC 793, and the Telnet Service Protocol as defined in national standard RFC 854 as these protocols were defined and published by the IETF at the time this application was filed.