Fri Mar 25, 2005 9:57 pm
I do not know, what other vendors say, I will just tell, what can be done theoretically on the Ethernet network, and what can not. Ethernet is a big mess when it comes to traffic control. Using regular equipment there is no way you can separate those users, as most hubs/switches are designed to connect networks, not just two preconfigured hosts (i think most of us would not like to have a switch which is only letting traffic to pass between two hardwired ports). Usually it is solved using one of the following paths (and both are supported by RouterOS):
1. Make individual virtual connections (tunnels) for every user to connect to the router. That way, no IP traffic is broadcasting to the network, and usually this means that users are considered separate. An example of this is PPPoE, which is supported by Routeros
2. If there is any unit of equipment which has the users physically separated (for example, a switch has each of the users connected with a separate wire), it may have an option to preserve this separation further, This is usually called VLAN technology, and although it was supposed to be used to separate networks, it can also be used to form an individual tunnel for each of the users. VLAN support is also present in RouterOS