Applications/use-cases:
Pre-requisites:
Network Bridging allows you to share your PDU's internet connection to a networked device. This is useful in situations where you have limited Ethernet Ports and you have no room for another switch/router. It can also be used for network redundancy where you need to re-direct data packets through another network path.
On a typical setup, the PDU's primary network interface is connected to a larger network (i.e. the internet). Meanwhile, a networked device (i.e. a desktop computer) is connected to the PDU's secondary network interface. After setting up bridged mode, the PDU will forward network packets from one interface to the other, effectively sharing PDUs internet connection.
This feature is sometimes referred to as Ethernet Passthrough because the PDU can be seen as passing through the Ethernet connection to another device.
When used with SynLink's Automation features, you can automatically enable and disable bridge mode based on a variety of Event Triggers such Network-Loss, Power-Loss, Circuit Breaker trip, etc.
The example below shows how you can enable Bridged mode when it detects network loss. Network loss is detected using AutoPing.
1. Create "Turn On Bridge" Action
2. Create Autoping Event
In this setup, the PDU will continually ping an IP address. After a certain number of failed pings (in this example, 10 times), the PDU will turn on a bridge mode.
For other Automation options, check out our other guide on AutoPing and Network Monitor.