Which device is a half-duplex device that only provides Layer 2 connectivity?

Which device is a half-duplex device that only provides Layer 2 connectivity?

• A. Access Point
• B. Router
• C. Switch
• D. Wireless bridge

Answer: (D)

Understand how Layer 2 bridging works over a wireless link and why the wireless bridge fits this description. A device that operates at Layer 2 simply forwards frames between two network segments based on MAC addresses; it doesn’t route IP packets between networks. A wireless bridge is specifically used to connect two LAN segments over a wireless link, forwarding frames at Layer 2 from one side to the other.

The wireless medium itself is shared and typically operates in half-duplex mode, meaning a radio cannot transmit and receive at the same time on the same channel. So a wireless bridge, which relies on that medium to connect two networks, inherently works in a half‑duplex fashion.

In contrast, a router functions at Layer 3 and routes between networks; a switch operates at Layer 2 but its ports are typically full duplex, allowing simultaneous send and receive. An access point does provide Layer 2 connectivity for wireless clients into a wired network, but its primary role isn’t to bridge two separate LANs over a single wireless link; it’s to extend the network to wireless clients. Given these distinctions, the device that is both half‑duplex and provides only Layer 2 connectivity between two LANs is the wireless bridge.