On 2011-07-17 16.55, Bob Armstrong wrote: Paul Koning wrote: It is legal to have multiple areas on a single Ethernet; the routing spec covers that case explicitly. If that is done, end nodes will communicate directly to a destination on the Ethernet even if off-area ... Given that Johnny's bridge program effectively creates a big Ethernet, does that imply that HECnet end nodes in different areas can communicate without an area router? Yes, at least partially. They can comminucate directly with machines sitting on the same ethernet segment, even if those machines are in another area. However, I think that an endnode will not pick any router in another area as its designated router. Johnny