How does an Ethernet extender differ from a hub, switch or bridge. --Kvng (talk) 18:22, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

It was sometimes called a "half bridge" since two of them back-to-back essentially performed as a bridge. Generally used in pairs of course. This was back in the 1980s when routers cost tens of thousands of dollars. Even earlier in the coax days analog repeaters were used, but the link in between is point-to-point, so technologies like symmetric DSL, fiber optics, point-to-point wireless, etc. were used for better range. Other early-day protocols were RS-422 with synchronous signalling, or even ISDN, DS1 lines (known as T1) etc. LAN Extender was essentially the same thing, just that the PC Novell NetWare people often used that, since some early PC nets used Ethernet-like protocols like StarLAN, token rings, etc. Now days since routers cost a few bucks, the distinction is fuzzier. Residential gateway might be the closest, or stand-alone cable modems etc. As a start we might merge with LAN Extender, or maybe merge them all with Bridging (networking)? A diagram of course might help. W Nowicki (talk) 20:09, 29 August 2011 (UTC)