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What is the difference between BVI and Bridge on Cisco IOS routers?

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A BVI is a "bridge virtual interface" and should be the Layer 3 bit (the interface that has an IP address). The physical interface(s) attached to the bridge-group should be purely layer 2 interfaces.

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OK, so that kinda tells me what BVI is,, but what is bridge group? – George Bailey Jan 3 '11 at 19:35
@GeorgeBailey If you have an interface BVI17, all interfaces with "bridge-group 17" will be in the same group and BVI17 will provide the L3 connectivity. – Vatine Jan 3 '11 at 19:48
So.. they are not alternative options but rather they are on different levels of my configuration? Is it possible then to have a bridge group that does not have BVI? If so, then what would I lose? (access lists?) – George Bailey Jan 10 '11 at 15:49
@George Bailey: The ability for the router to interact with the interfaces on a Layer 3 level (or, as far as I recall at least). The "BVI interface" is, essentially, the same as the "Interface VLAN" on a switch (the SVI). – Vatine Jan 10 '11 at 17:36
+1: Thank you for bearing with me. – George Bailey Jan 10 '11 at 17:56

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