A CCESS G ATEWAY222 System AdministrationEnabling the Bridge Mode Option {Bridge Mode}Bridge Mode allows complete and unconditional access to devices on the subscriber side of theAccess Gateway. When the Bridge Mode option is enabled, the Access Gateway is effectivelytransparent to the network in which it is located, allowing clusters of switches (especially CiscoSystems switch clusters) to be managed using the STP (Spanning Tree Protocol), or any otheralgorithm/protocol. The Access Gateway forwards any and all packets (except those addressedto the Access Gateway network interface). The packets are unmodified and can be forwardedin both directions. This is a very useful feature when troubleshooting your entire network as itallows administrators to effectively “remove” the Access Gateway from the network withoutphysically disconnecting the unit.You can still manage the Access Gateway when Bridge Mode is enabled, but you have no otherfunctionality. If you enable the Bridge Mode option and then plug the Access Gateway into anetwork, all you need to do is assign it routable IP addresses. You can then set up all otherfeatures and disable the Bridge Mode option whenever you want to start using the AccessGateway in that network.This procedure shows you how to enable the Bridge Mode option.
