1. Manuals
  2. Brands
  3. Novell Manuals
  4. Server
  5. NETWARE 6
  6. Manual

Novell NetWare 6 Manual

Hide thumbs Also See for NetWare 6:
Table of Contents

Advertisement

Quick Links

Download this manual
Novell
NetWare
6
®
w w w . n o v e l l . c o m
I N T E R N E T W O R K PA C K E T E X C H A N G E

Advertisement

Table of Contents
loading

Related Manuals for Novell NetWare 6

Summary of Contents for Novell NetWare 6

  • Page 1 Novell NetWare ® w w w . n o v e l l . c o m I N T E R N E T W O R K PA C K E T E X C H A N G E...
  • Page 2 Further, Novell, Inc. reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of Novell software, at any time, without any obligation to notify any person or entity of such changes.
  • Page 3 Novell is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Novell Client is a trademark of Novell, Inc. Novell Directory Services and NDS are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc., in the United States and other countries.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Contents Contents About This Guide Documentation Conventions ........9 Understanding The IPX Protocol .
  • Page 6 Setting Up Turning Off IPX Packet Forwarding ....... . 51 How to Turn Off IPX Packet Forwarding .
  • Page 7 Managing Using the IPXCON Utility........111 Using the IPXPING Utility on the Server .
  • Page 8 Multiple Systems on a LAN Become Unreachable Intermittently ....138 Connectivity Across a Point-to-Point Link Has Been Lost ....139 An NLSP Server on a LAN Cannot Be Accessed .

  • Page 9: About This Guide

    IPX components of Novell Internet Access Server 4.1. Documentation Conventions In this documentation, a greater-than symbol (>) is used to separate actions within a step and items in a cross-reference path.
  • Page 10 Internetwork Packet Exchange...

  • Page 11: Understanding

    Understanding This section describes the processes and protocols that govern Internetwork ® Packet Exchange (IPX ) routing in the NetWare networking environment. In particular, it examines the mechanics of IPX packet routing and the administration of routing and service information on an IPX internetwork.

  • Page 12: The Ipx Protocol

    IPX routing. The IPX Protocol Novell adapted IPX from the Xerox* Network System (XNS*) Internet Datagram Protocol (IDP). IPX is a connectionless datagram protocol. Connectionless means that when a process running on a particular node uses IPX to communicate with a process on another node, no connection between the two nodes is established.

  • Page 13: Ipx Packet Structure

    For more information about the IPX protocol, refer to “IPX Packet Structure” on page 13 “IPX Addressing” on page 17 “How IPX Routing Works” on page 21 IPX Packet Structure The IPX packet is similar to an XNS IDP packet and comprises two parts: A 30-byte IPX header, which includes the network, node, and socket addresses for both the destination and the source A data section, which often includes the header of a higher-level...
  • Page 14 127 hops to reach its destination. You make this possible by setting the Hop Count Limit parameter from the Novell Internet Access Server Configuration utility (NIASCFG). This enables you to limit the number of routers (hops) an IPX packet traverses before it is discarded.
  • Page 15 IPX packet. When a router receives a packet that requires further routing, it increments this field by one and forwards the packet. Packet Type —Type of service offered or required by the packet. Novell currently uses the packet types listed in Table Table 1...
  • Page 16 Destination Socket —Socket address of the packet destination process. Sockets route packets to different processes within a single node. Novell reserves several sockets for use in the NetWare environment. Refer to Table 2 on page 20 for a partial list of NetWare socket numbers.

  • Page 17: Ipx Addressing

    IPX Addressing IPX defines its own internetwork and intranode addressing. For intranetwork (node) addressing, IPX uses the physical address assigned to the network interface board. The IPX network address uniquely identifies an IPX server on an IPX network and individual processes within the server. A complete IPX network address is a 12-byte hexadecimal number comprising the following components: A 4-byte network number (server) A 6-byte node number (server)
  • Page 18 IPX network. After you configure a board and select a driver during the initial router configuration, the router sends a RIP all routes request packet to the network. From the responses it receives, the router determines the network number and frame type it needs to use. Reserved Network Numbers The destination network of an IPX packet is typically an IPX network to which a unique network number has been assigned.

  • Page 19: Node Number

    Internal Network Number NetWare 3 servers and NetWare 4 servers have an additional identifier called an internal network number. This is a unique hexadecimal number between one and eight digits that is assigned to the server at installation. The internal network is a logical network that NetWare uses to advertise services and route IPX packets to the physical networks attached to the server.

  • Page 20: Socket Number

    Socket numbers between 0x8000 and 0xFFFF are well-known sockets; these are assigned by Novell to specific processes. For example, 0x9001 is the socket number that identifies NLSP. Software developers writing NetWare applications can contact Novell to reserve well-known sockets.

  • Page 21: How Ipx Routing Works

    How IPX Routing Works NetWare routers interconnect different IPX network segments and receive instructions for addressing and routing packets between these segments from the IPX protocol. IPX accomplishes these and other Network-layer tasks with the help of RIP, SAP, and NLSP. For more information about how IPX routing works, refer to: When a Workstation Sends an IPX Packet When a Router Receives an IPX Packet...

  • Page 22: When A Router Receives An Ipx Packet

    3. The sending workstation places the node address of the router that responded to the RIP request in the Destination Address field of the MAC header. 4. The sending workstation places its own node address in the Source Address field of the MAC header. 5.

  • Page 23: When A Router Forwards An Ipx Packet

    If the packet is addressed to the router, the appropriate socket process handles it internally; otherwise, the router forwards the packet. NOTE: Packets that must be handled internally are those addressed directly to the router and those broadcast (destination node = 0xFFFFFFFFFFFF) to any network segment to which the router is directly connected.

  • Page 24: Ipx Operation Over Wan Links

    IPX Operation over WAN Links For packets to travel between two IPX network segments separated by a WAN, there must be a connection between the two routers representing each segment. This connection is represented by the WAN call destination , a unique name that identifies the router on the other end of the connection.

  • Page 25: Call Types

    Call Types Associated with each WAN call destination is the call type, which characterizes the behavior of the call after it is established. Calls can be permanent or on-demand. For more information about call types, refer to: “Permanent Calls” on page 25 “On-Demand Calls”...

  • Page 26: Routed On-Demand Calls

    With an on-demand call, the link remains inactive until user data needs to cross it. Workstations needing to reach remote destinations send packets to their local IPX router advertising the routes, assuming the packets can reach their destination. The local router stores the packets and tries to establish a connection to the remote router.

  • Page 27: Routing Types

    You configure a routed on-demand call the same way you configure a standard on-demand call with one exception: you must configure a routing protocol to operate over the link. Routing Types IPXWAN negotiates the WAN routing type, which determines which IPX routing protocol—if any—runs over the connection.

  • Page 28: Static Routes And Services

    For example, two routers running NLSP at their respective WAN interfaces automatically use the WAN NLSP routing type over the connection. Whether a third-party router is running at the other end of the connection Some third-party routers might support only Numbered RIP connections for IPX routing over WANs.
  • Page 29 necessary, connections to the main office need only be low-speed, dial-up lines. For this reason, the first several minutes of the call should not be taken up by a flood of routing and service information into a branch office. Nor should there be a relatively smaller flood of (mostly irrelevant) routing and service information from a branch office into the main office.

  • Page 30: Watchdog Packet Spoofing

    To configure static routes and services for permanent and on-demand calls, you can use either of the following utilities: NIASCFG, which you also use for configuring boards and network interfaces, and for enabling protocols and bindings on the router. If you use NIASCFG, you must configure all routes and services manually.

  • Page 31: Header Compression

    Figure 4 Watchdog Spoofing Enabled over an On-Demand Call Watchdog Query: Main Office Branch Office "Are you still there?" Router Router On-Demand Call Query Response: "Yes, I am still here." Workstation Main Office Accounting Server When watchdog spoofing is enabled on an on-demand call, watchdog packets, going from a server to a client, cause the router to reply that the workstation is active without initiating the call.

  • Page 32: Compression Slots

    Compression Slots When you enable header compression, you can also specify the number of compression slots. A compression slot is a location in router memory that stores packet header information. The compression algorithm uses this information to compress outgoing—and decompress incoming—packet headers.

  • Page 33: Compression Packet Types

    Compression Packet Types Five packet types are used to exchange compression-state information about packets sent over a connection on which header compression is enabled. Three of these packet types—slot initialization, reject, and acknowledgment packets—manage the flow of compressed and uncompressed packets over the connection;...

  • Page 34: Ipx Route Aggregation

    Acknowledgment packet — A compression protocol packet that acknowledges receipt of an IPX slot initialization packet. The transmitting node continues to send slot initialization packets until it receives an acknowledgment packet. After receiving the acknowledgment packet, the transmitting node begins to send compressed packets.

  • Page 35: Introducing Aggregated Routes Into Nlsp

    For more information about IPX route aggregation, refer to “Introducing Aggregated Routes into NLSP” on page 35 “Consistent Use of Routers that Support Route Aggregation” on page 36 “Interaction with SAP” on page 36 “Metrics Used with Aggregated Routes” on page 36 Introducing Aggregated Routes into NLSP Aggregated routes are introduced into NLSP in the same way that external RIP routes are introduced.

  • Page 36: Consistent Use Of Routers That Support Route Aggregation

    Consistent Use of Routers that Support Route Aggregation Route aggregation into an NLSP area is possible only if all routers in that area support address summaries. Routers that do not support route aggregation do not recognize destination addresses for aggregated routes; they forward packets to the default route or drop packets if no default route is configured.

  • Page 37: Ipx Address Mapping Gateway

    IAMG converts the IPX node address to a unique value based on characteristics of the original node ® number. Services on the customer network, such as file servers with Novell ® ®...
  • Page 38 Figure 6 IAMG Implementation Gateway Address 01014000 Backbone Service Customer Backbone Network Network IPX Address Mapping Gateway Backbone 00001234 Services NetWare NetWare Workstation File Server The IAMG allows multiple gateways to be connected between the customer network and backbone network in parallel. All such gateways on a customer's network share a single gateway address.
  • Page 39 When the IAMG is configured, care must be taken to avoid address conflicts. We recommend using the following configuration guidelines: Conflicts might occur when token ring and Ethernet interfaces are used on the same network. For instance, when the NetWare Mobile IPX software and NetWare remote access software assign node addresses, they set the IEEE Local bit and clear the IEEE Multicast bit.
  • Page 40 Internetwork Packet Exchange...

  • Page 41: Planning

    Planning This section explains what decisions must be made before you can configure beyond its most basic configuration. IPX Configuration Decisions How you configure IPX beyond its most basic configuration depends on the following decisions: Whether to turn off IPX packet forwarding or to use the system as an IPX router The routing software enables you to turn off IPX packet forwarding on a ®...
  • Page 42 Whether to configure file server proxying on a dedicated router File server proxying is useful when you have a dedicated router—a PC running Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 over a two-user version of NetWare 4.11—and several NetWare workstations operating on the same network.
  • Page 43 Whether to use the IPX Address Mapping Gateway The IPX Address Mapping Gateway provides the following advantages: You can connect to a backbone network even when your local network numbers are not compatible with the backbone addressing scheme. If the routing protocol in the backbone does not support route aggregation, like most implementations of NLSP, the routing protocol probably cannot manage the number of network addresses from every user.
  • Page 44 Whether to change the hop count limit of outbound IPX packets This enables you to control the range of outbound IPX packets on your router. To control the range of IPX packets, refer to “Changing the Hop Count Limit for IPX Packets” on page Whether to balance traffic loads over equal-cost routes If your router has two or more network interfaces that can reach the same destination, it can distribute outbound traffic among those interfaces for...

  • Page 45: Netware Mobile Ipx Configuration Decisions

    NetWare Mobile IPX Configuration Decisions Each of the following is key to the success of NetWare Mobile IPX configuration: Mobile Client Driver Selection Planning for Efficient Use of Your Mobile Client Deciding Where to Locate a Home Router Mobile Client Driver Selection When selecting your driver for the mobile client, verify with the vendor that the driver is written specifically with mobile operations in mind and that it supports the following:...
  • Page 46 destined for the mobile client travels more hops than necessary before arriving at the destination, as shown in Figure Figure 7 Inferior Home Router Placement Home Router LAN 3 Server Router LAN 2 Access Point LAN 1 Router Request Mobile Client Response Mobile client request to server Server response to mobile client through Home Router...
  • Page 47 The request from the mobile client takes the shortest route to the server. The response from the server is first forwarded to the Home Router, because the destination address is the internal network configured for the server on which the Home Router resides. The router then patches the response with the mobile client's actual address and forwards the packet to the mobile client.
  • Page 48 The best place to install the NetWare Mobile IPX Home Router software is on the file server that the mobile clients use most, as shown in Figure 9. In this way, when mobile clients access the file server, the responses from the file server are patched with the mobile client's actual location before they ever leave the server.
  • Page 49 Figure 10 Home Router Positioning over WAN Links Server 1 Server 3 Mobile Client 2 Home Router 1 Router Access Access Point Point WAN Link Router Router Home Router 2 Mobile Client 1 Server 2 IMPORTANT: When a mobile client is transferred between the two sites over the WAN and not restarted, the client still uses the original Home Router for communications—crossing the WAN if necessary—until the mobile client is restarted.
  • Page 50 Internetwork Packet Exchange...

  • Page 51: Setting Up

    Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX ) network protocol. You configure all IPX parameters from the Novell Internet Access Server Configuration utility (NIASCFG). Turning Off IPX Packet Forwarding As a typical part of its operation, a NetWare file server forwards (routes) IPX packets between its network interfaces.

  • Page 52: How To Turn Off Ipx Packet Forwarding

    Figure 11 Turning Off IPX Packet Forwarding on a NetWare File Server NetWare Router Internetwork Internetwork Routed Traffic Internetwork NetWare Workstation NetWare NetWare Workstation File Services Workstation NetWare File Server Packet Forwarding = Disabled You should turn off IPX packet forwarding if you do not want the server to forward IPX packets between its interfaces.

  • Page 53: Configuring Static Routes And Services

    A static route is a RIP route that is added to a router's Routing Information Table by a network administrator rather than by the active routing protocol— in this case, RIP—operating over a network link. With Novell Internet Access Server 4.1, you can configure static routes and services for both permanent and on-demand calls.

  • Page 54: Configuring Static Routes And Services With Niascfg

    automatically and allows you to try the static configuration before saving it to disk. The STATICON configuration becomes active immediately; you do not need to reinitialize or restart the router. For more information about static routes and services and related topics, refer “Static Routes and Services”...
  • Page 55 Ticks to Network —Number of ticks used to allow a packet to reach the destination network. Add one tick to this value for each LAN hop. Press Esc and save your changes. Press Esc to return to the Internetworking Configuration menu. If you want these changes to take effect immediately, select Reinitialize System .

  • Page 56: Configuring Static Routes And Services With Staticon

    IMPORTANT: For STATICON to operate, the router at the other end of the connection must either be running Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 or be a third- party router that supports IPX SNMP and the IPX Management Information Base (MIB) variables.
  • Page 57 Table 3 Select Configuration Method Menu Options Menu Option Description Dynamically Configure Static Opens an on-demand call to the remote router and allows you to edit Routing Tables the local and remote configurations using dynamically obtained selection lists. Configure Services from Opens an on-demand call to obtain a list of services available from Gatekeepers a gatekeeper and allows you to select the services you want.
  • Page 58 For STATICON to configure a remote router's routing and service tables, it must support IPX SNMP and the IPX MIB variables and have SNMP-write access to the router. If the remote router is running Novell Internet Access Server 4.1, specifying a Control Community from NIASCFG enables write access.
  • Page 59 Selectively Configuring Static Routes and Services Through selective configuration, you can choose specific routes and services you want to add to a routing table. This feature lets you select from an existing routing table the routes and services that your router does not have in its table. You can copy routes to a remote router from a local router, or copy routes to a local router from a remote router.
  • Page 60 If you selected Configure Local Routing Tables , complete the following steps; otherwise, continue with Step 10 on page A progress screen appears while the local system reads the currently configured routes and services. After the Locally Configured Routes screen appears, you can remove items from the routing table by highlighting or marking the entries and pressing Del .
  • Page 61 After the Remote Router's Configured Routes and Services screen appears, you can remove items from the routing table by highlighting or marking the entries and pressing Del . Press Ins to add static routes or services to the remote routing table. A progress screen appears while the local system reads the currently configured routes and services.
  • Page 62 In this case, the configuration remains in router memory. If you decide later to save the configuration to disk, return to the Select Configuration Option For This Call screen and select Write Connection Routing Tables to Permanent Storage . The configuration is saved to disk if you did not do any of the following while testing the configuration: Restart the router Delete the WAN call destination from NIASCFG...
  • Page 63 If the Status field associated with the call reads Not Connected , press Ins to connect the call. Wait for the Status field to change to Connected . This can take several seconds if you are using a dial-up line. Press Enter .
  • Page 64 A gatekeeper is a special file server that is located in the hub of an internetwork and is able to see all public services from all connected sites. A gatekeeper stores routing and services information in its bindery, Novell's equivalent of a telephone book. Using STATICON, you can obtain a list of services available from a gatekeeper and select the required services for advertisement by your local router.

  • Page 65: Configuring Watchdog Spoofing

    Press Ins to display a list of gatekeepers. Use the arrow keys to select a gatekeeper, then press Enter . STATICON displays messages that it is attaching to the selected gatekeeper and that it is scanning the gatekeeper for services. Service names are displayed as STATICON discovers them.

  • Page 66: How To Configure Watchdog Spoofing On An Interface

    For more information about watchdog spoofing and related topics, refer to “Watchdog Packet Spoofing” on page This section contains the following topics: How to Configure Watchdog Spoofing on an Interface How to Configure Watchdog Spoofing for Call Destinations How to Configure Watchdog Spoofing on an Interface By default, watchdog spoofing is enabled for all on-demand WAN connections.

  • Page 67: Configuring Routed Or Static On-Demand Calls

    Configuring Routed or Static On-Demand Calls Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 enables you to configure a routed on- demand call or static on-demand call for each WAN call destination. Unlike the standard on-demand call, which relies on statically configured routes and services at each end of a point-to-point connection, a routed on- demand call runs a routing protocol while the link is active.

  • Page 68: How To Configure Routed Or Static On-Demand Calls

    somewhere, the link will not come up. After the link comes up, other services and routes can be accessed. For more information about routed and static on-demand calls and related topics, refer to “Call Types” on page How to Configure Routed or Static On-Demand Calls Before you begin, you must complete the following tasks: Configure at least one on-demand WAN call destination.

  • Page 69: Configuring Ipx And Ncp Header Compression

    For a routed on-demand call only, do the following: Select RIP Bind Options. Configure the routing protocol you want to run over the call. If you want to run RIP/SAP: Select RIP Options . Set RIP State Override to On . Configure the other RIP override parameters as necessary.

  • Page 70: How To Configure Ipx And Ncp Header Compression On An Interface

    When you enable header compression, you can also specify the number of compression slots . A compression slot is a location in router memory that stores packet header information. The compression algorithm uses this information to compress outgoing—and decompress incoming—packet headers.

  • Page 71: How To Configure Ipx And Ncp Header Compression Per Call Destination

    The more concurrent IPX sessions you use over the interface, the more compression slots you should allocate. IMPORTANT: Be careful not to allocate too many compression slots. Memory is required to store the headers, and the compression algorithm must scan through stored headers to find a match for each transmitted packet.

  • Page 72: Configuring Nlsp

    Configuring NLSP Novell developed NLSP to meet the demands of large IPX internetworks. As a link state routing protocol, NLSP offers better performance, reliability, and scalability than the IPX RIP routing traditionally employed by NetWare servers.
  • Page 73 Using a default cost value based on media throughput, NLSP chooses the best route by which to forward IPX packets. Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 enables you to override this value on an interface. By overriding the default cost, you can establish preferred routes, balance traffic loads among interfaces, and set up specific traffic flows between routers.

  • Page 74: How To Configure Nlsp

    IMPORTANT: Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 provides a set of convergence parameters that enable you to customize the operation of NLSP on your router. The default values for these parameters are sufficient for most IPX networks and should be changed only on the advice of your technical support representative.
  • Page 75 If the router supports two or more interfaces and you want to filter routes and services to a remote site through this interface: Select Off . Enable RIP and SAP on the interface. To enable RIP and SAP, refer to “Configuring RIP and SAP”...

  • Page 76: How To Change The Lsp Size

    default—and maximum—pace for NLSP packets is 30 pps; on a WAN, the NLSP pace is derived from the throughput of the link. The default value for this parameter is 0, which means do not override the current pace. Press Esc and save your changes. Press Esc to return to the Internetworking Configuration menu.

  • Page 77: Configuring Rip And Sap

    NetWare nodes, especially over WAN links. Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 provides a configurable parameter, Periodic Update Interval , that enables you to control how often a router broadcasts its route and service updates.

  • Page 78: How To Configure Rip

    disabling SAP and enabling NLSP. On enables the router to exchange SAP packets freely with other routers on the network. Off disables SAP advertising on the interface but does not prevent the router from responding to incoming requests for services from local NetWare workstations. Additionally, the Off state still allows the router to import locally advertised services.
  • Page 79 If non-NLSP devices, such as NetWare 2 servers, are operating on the attached network and you want the router to accept and broadcast RIP packets received from these devices, select Auto. Auto is the default state. If you want to customize RIP operation further, configure one or more of the following parameters: IMPORTANT: Because the default settings for these parameters are suitable for...

  • Page 80: How To Configure Sap

    Packet Size Override —Specifies the size, in bytes, of RIP packets sent on this interface. The default value is 0, which means do not override the current value. Each router on the network segment must use the same RIP packet size.
  • Page 81 If non-NLSP devices, such as NetWare 2 servers, are operating on the attached network and you want the router to accept and broadcast SAP packets received from these devices, select Auto. Auto is the default state. If you want to customize SAP operation further, configure one or more of the following parameters: IMPORTANT: Because the default settings for these parameters are suitable for...
  • Page 82 Accepting and Advertising Services from a Network Not Listed in the Routing Information Table Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 routing software includes a SET command that enables an IPX router to accept and advertise a service from another network, even if the network number associated with the service is not listed in the router's Routing Information Table.
  • Page 83 Figure 12 IPX Router Accepting and Advertising Services from a Network Not Listed in the Routing Information Table Backbone Network LAN Router Backbone Router NetWare NetWare File Server on Network 0x01234567 Suppose a NetWare server somewhere within the backbone network advertises its file services, which the backbone router receives as a SAP packet (Service Type=0x0004 and Network Number=0x01234567, for example).

  • Page 84: Proxying A Netware File Server

    Proxying a NetWare File Server If you have a dedicated router—a PC running Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 over a two-user version of NetWare 4.11—and several NetWare workstations operating on a network, the router can reply with a NetWare file server's name—instead of its own—when it receives a SAP Get Nearest...

  • Page 85: How To Check The Proxy Configuration

    If you want the router to ignore Get Nearest Server requests, set Get Nearest Server Requests to Ignore . Select Override Nearest Server , then select Enabled . This parameter enables the router to respond to a workstation's Get Nearest Server requests with the proxied server name instead of its own name.

  • Page 86: Configuring The Ipx Address Mapping Gateway

    Configuring the IPX Address Mapping Gateway The IPX Address Mapping Gateway allows you to connect to a backbone network even when your local network numbers are not compatible with the backbone addressing scheme. To configure the IPX Address Mapping Gateway, complete the following steps: Load NIASCFG and select the following parameter path: Select Configure NIAS >...
  • Page 87 Gateway determines the network numbers on which the services are found and applies those network numbers to the list of nonmappable networks. This option makes configuring nonmappable network numbers easier. For example, all packets originating from the Novell Directory Services (NDS ) software or NetWare Mobile IPX software should not be translated.

  • Page 88: Configuring Ipx Route Aggregation

    Configuring IPX Route Aggregation IPX Route Aggregation enables you to introduce routes learned through RIP in a summarized form. Route aggregation compactly describes many IPX network numbers simultaneously by using an address and mask pair. For example, all addresses from C9000000 to C9FFFFFF can be represented using the address C9000000 and the mask FF000000.

  • Page 89: Controlling The Propagation Of Type 20 Packets

    Press Esc to return to the Internetworking Configuration menu. Controlling the Propagation of Type 20 Packets Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 enables you to control the propagation of type 20 packets with the Advanced Packet Type 20 Flooding parameter. Type 20 is an IPX packet type that refers to any propagated packet.

  • Page 90: How To Control Propagation Of Type 20 Packets

    Changing the Hop Count Limit for IPX Packets The Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 routing software enables you to increase the range of outbound IPX packets with the Hop Count Limit parameter. The hop count limit is the maximum number of routers (hops) an IPX packet can traverse before it is discarded.

  • Page 91: How To Change The Hop Count Limit

    If the diameter of your IPX network is close to the 16-hop limit, you should run NLSP on the routers at the network boundary to ensure continued connectivity across the network as it grows. Figure 13 provides a simple, conceptual view of how this can work. Figure 13 Running NLSP at the Boundary of a Large IPX Network 5 hops...

  • Page 92: Balancing Traffic Loads Over Equal-Cost Routes

    Balancing Traffic Loads over Equal-Cost Routes If a NLSP router has two or more network interfaces with routes to the same destination, it can distribute outbound traffic among those interfaces for an effective increase in throughput. This is called load balancing or load sharing NLSP uses an assigned path cost to select the best route by which to forward outbound IPX packets.

  • Page 93: How To Balance Traffic Loads Over Equal-Cost Routes

    If you configure equal-cost routes on two or more interfaces, make sure the associated media throughputs fall within—or near—the same range, as indicated in Table 4. For example, equal-cost routes between a 10-Mbps Ethernet link and a 16-Mbps token ring link are viable; equal-cost routes between a 4-Mbps token ring link and a 16-Mbps token ring link are not.

  • Page 94: Configuring Spx Connection Parameters

    If you want to configure other parameters, do so now, then reinitialize the system when you are finished. Configuring SPX Connection Parameters Because some Novell and third-party NetWare applications place unique demands on the SPX transport protocol, NIASCFG enables you to adjust the values of the following parameters: Maximum IPX Socket Table Size —Maximum number of concurrent...

  • Page 95: How To Configure Spx Connection Parameters

    The default values for these parameters are sufficient for most NetWare applications. Any application that requires a change to one or more of these parameters typically tells you so. How to Configure SPX Connection Parameters To adjust the value of any SPX connection parameter, complete the following steps: Load NIASCFG, then select the following parameter path: Select Configure NIAS >...
  • Page 96 Some NetWare protocols, such as SPX, use the ticks value to calculate retransmit timers. If you are configuring LAN routers that must communicate over a bridge, a satellite, or both, you probably need to adjust the delay and throughput values on the routers. Setting the throughput to match the speed of the link and increasing the link delay prevent SPX retransmissions and timeouts between systems separated by a slow link.

  • Page 97: How To Set Delay And Throughput For A Slow Link

    Configuring IPX for Wireless Connectivity In addition to the standard IPX routing software for wired LANs and WANs, Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 routing software provides wireless connectivity for portable NetWare workstations through NetWare Mobile software.

  • Page 98: Configuring A Home Router

    This topic contains the following sections: “Configuring a Home Router” on page 98 “Configuring a Mobile Client” on page 99 Configuring the NetWare Mobile IPX Home Router and client software is straightforward and simple. The only decision you need to make before you get started is where to locate the Home Router on your network.

  • Page 99: Configuring A Mobile Client

    How to Configure a Mobile Client Before you begin, you must complete the following tasks: Install the standard client software. For instructions, refer to the NetWare client documentation. Install the Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 mobile IPX client. Setting Up...
  • Page 100 Configure a mobile client board that is mobile aware and supports PCMCIA card in/card out capability, in-range and out-of-range capability, and NESL. To configure a mobile client, complete the following steps: Open the client's STARTNET.BAT file using a text editor. A typical STARTNET.BAT file looks something like this: @ECHO OFF SET NWLANGUAGE=ENGLISH...
  • Page 101 A STARTNET.BAT file configured for NetWare Mobile IPX operation looks something like this: @ECHO OFF CD C:\NWCLIENT SET NWLANGUAGE=ENGLISH LH C:\NWCLIENT\LSL.COM LH C:\NWCLIENT\NESL.COM LH C:\NWCLIENT\NE2000.COM LH C:\NWCLIENT\IPXODI.COM /M C:\NWCLIENT\VLM.EXE /ps=MY_SERVER Restart the client. How to Customize Your Mobile Client This section describes the optional parameters you can add to the Mobile IPX section of a mobile client's NET.CFG file.
  • Page 102 HR Time To Live specifies the time-to-live interval, in minutes, that the IPXODI module attempts to use with the Home Router. It defines how long the Home Router serves the mobile client before the router requires an update from the mobile client. If this is not defined, IPXODI uses a default value of 30 minutes.
  • Page 103 gracefully through the address change; as a result, connections might be terminated. Specifying an Alternate Board The NET.CFG parameters described in this section enable you to specify an alternate board to be used in the portable computer. Alternate board parameters enable IPXODI to use a second board for mobile communications if the primary board loses connectivity.
  • Page 104 Alt Frame=Alternate_Frame_Type Alt Frame specifies the frame type for the alternate board (for example, ETHERNET_802.2). The driver loaded first in STARTNET.BAT becomes the primary driver. If IPXODI cannot locate the alternate driver during initialization, an error is issued and only the primary board is used. If there is no primary board either, IPXODI issues an error and fails to load.

  • Page 105: Configuring The Macipx Gateway

    PROTOCOL IPX SPX WATCHDOGS = OFF Configuring the MacIPX Gateway The Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 routing software includes MACIPXGW.LAN, a LAN driver that enables your router to operate as a gateway between Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) networks and ®...
  • Page 106 NetWare server or print documents on NetWare printers. Users and developers must rely on NetWare for Macintosh software for NetWare file and print services. This topic contains the following sections: “Configuring and Binding the Gateway Driver” on page 107 “Restricting Gateway Service to Selected Networks” on page 109 You can use the MacIPX gateway if your networks have the following characteristics: You have IPX and AppleTalk networks that you want to connect and these...

  • Page 107: Configuring And Binding The Gateway Driver

    Configuring and Binding the Gateway Driver Configuring the MacIPX gateway is similar to configuring a typical LAN board and binding a network protocol to the board. Before you begin, you must complete the following tasks: Ensure that your router has at least 65 KB of RAM available. Ensure that APPLETLK.NLM is loaded and configured.
  • Page 108 option is used, unnecessary packets are distributed to non-MacIPX clients on the network. If you want to send IPX broadcast packets to each MacIPX client, enter a number equal to or higher than the number of MacIPX clients served by the gateway. If the number of clients exceeds this threshold, the MacIPX gateway starts sending broadcast packets.

  • Page 109: Restricting Gateway Service To Selected Networks

    Restricting Gateway Service to Selected Networks The MacIPX gateway, by default, serves all AppleTalk networks that make up the AppleTalk cloud. If you want the gateway to serve only selected AppleTalk networks, you must use a configuration file called MACIPXGW.DAT, which resides in SYS:SYSTEM. You indicate the AppleTalk networks you want the gateway to serve—or not serve—by placing commands in MACIPXGW.DAT with the following syntax:...
  • Page 110 To restrict gateway service to selected AppleTalk networks, complete the following steps: Use a DOS ACSII text editor to create a file called MACIPXGW.DAT in the router's SYS:SYSTEM directory. Place commands in the file using the following syntax: [exclude | include] <net_number >[-net_number ] .

  • Page 111: Managing

    Display the status of any IPX router or network segment on your internetwork Display all paths through which IPX packets can flow Locate all active IPX routers on your internetwork Display operational circuits for IPX ® Monitor remote routers running Novell Internet Access Server router software Managing 111...

  • Page 112: Using The Ipxping Utility On The Server

    Using the IPXPING Utility on the Server The IPXPING.NLM program enables you to check connectivity to an IPX server on your internetwork. The IPXPING utility sends a packet request to the target node, an IPX server or workstation. After the target node receives the packet, it sends an IPXPING reply packet to the system that sent the request packet.

  • Page 113: Using The Ipxping Utility On The Workstation

    Using the IPXPING Utility on the Workstation The program is a DOS utility that determines the time to transport IPX packets to a specific server and back. IPXODI (or an equivalent IPX interface) must be loaded before IPXPING can be used. The time is displayed in milliseconds (although resolution is 1/18 second).

  • Page 114: Example

    Example To use IPXPING.EXE, type the following command at the DOS prompt: ipxping 2e64afe3 The following information is displayed: IPXPING: estimated time to send a 0.5K packet to 2E64AFE3 is 166 ms. IPXPING: sent ping packet number 1. IPXPING: packet 1 response received in 166 ms. IPXPING: 1 send, 1 received, low 166 ms high 166 ms, average 166 ms.

  • Page 115: Main Window

    Main Window The Main Window offers two options: Interfaces enable users to view the spoofing statistics on a per interface basis SPX spoofing enables users to view the spoofing statistics of all SPX connections Interfaces Window The Interfaces Window displays a list of WAN interfaces. At this time, only PPP interfaces will be included on this list.

  • Page 116: Viewing Netware Ipx Configuration Information

    To run the IPX Echo test, both the machine originating the echo packets and the machine responding to the echo packets must support IPXPING. To support IPXPING, both machines must have IPXRTR.NLM, which is included in NetWare 4.1 software and Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 software. 116 Internetwork Packet Exchange...

  • Page 117: Determining Which Ipx Services Are Reachable

    Determining Which IPX Services Are Reachable If you want to know whether a specific IPX service is available, you need to find out which IPX services are reachable. To determine the services available to a router, load IPXCON and follow this path: Select Services >...

  • Page 118: Checking An Ipx Network For Duplicate Network Numbers

    First hop circuit to the destination Name of the destination The Destination Information window expands on this by showing information about the Next Hop (Name, Circuit, NIC Address), and by giving access to the services on the destination router that are available to the current router. If the destination is an NLSP destination, you can determine potential paths to the destination by selecting Potential Paths.

  • Page 119: Determining Where Nlsp Is Running In Your Network

    Determining Where NLSP Is Running in Your Network If you have migrated your network to NLSP, you can identify which LANs on your IPX network are using NLSP or RIP—or both—as the routing protocol. If you partitioned your IPX network into routing areas, note the following points: The procedure in this section shows only the LANs and NLSP routers that are within the same routing area as the system you are currently...

  • Page 120: Finding The Designated Router On A Lan

    You can also select System Information and check the following information: Level 1 Overloaded—It should read No. If it reads Yes, the router does not have enough memory to process routing information. Detailed NLSP System Information—The Level 1 Database Overloads field indicates how many times the router has run out of memory.

  • Page 121: Monitoring Error Counters

    Monitoring Error Counters Error counters are monitored to make sure they are not increasing rapidly, because a rapid increase indicates a problem. For information about troubleshooting these problems, refer to Chapter 5, “Troubleshooting,” on page 125. You can monitor error counters for IPX interfaces in the following ways: By using MONITOR to view counters such as Checksum Errors, Send and Receive Packet Errors, and interface-specific errors.

  • Page 122: Viewing The Macipx Gateway Configuration

    Viewing the MacIPX Gateway Configuration ® To view information about the configuration and operation of a MacIPX gateway, enter the following command at the server prompt: LOAD MACIPXGW SHOW=YES This command does not reload the MacIPX gateway, but instead displays information about the MacIPX gateway and the AppleTalk networks that it serves, as in the following example: MACIPXGW:...
  • Page 123 Number of times the gateway refused service to MacIPX clients. Memory Allocation Failure Number of times the gateway could not allocate memory. You might need to add memory to the NetWare server or Novell router to fix this problem. Managing 123...
  • Page 124 124 Internetwork Packet Exchange...

  • Page 125: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting This section dicusses IPX troubleshooting information that is divided into four categories: Troubleshooting tools Configuration tips Troubleshooting checkpoints Common problems If a problem that is general in nature occurs, the procedure described in “Troubleshooting Checkpoints” on page 127 will help you isolate and resolve the problem.

  • Page 126: System Console Commands

    Display all paths through which IPX packets can flow Locate all active IPX routers on your internetwork Display operational circuits for IPX Monitor remote routers running the Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 routing software System Console Commands Specific commands are available from the system console prompt that prove useful in troubleshooting IPX connection problems.

  • Page 127: Configuration Tips

    Each WAN in the entire internetwork must have a unique internal internetwork number. Troubleshooting Checkpoints Observe the procedures described in the following sections when you are configuring IPX or NLSP for the Novell Internet Access Server 4.1 routing software: “IPX Checkpoints” on page 127 “NLSP Checkpoints” on page 131...
  • Page 128 Select the NLSP router that is the source of the problem. You might need to select the router several times because its connectivity is intermittent. If the router is a Novell router, then the internal network number is probably a duplicate.

  • Page 129: Ipx Connectivity Problems (Duplicate Id Or Network Number)

    To establish an IPX connection to third-party routers over a WAN, the third-party routers must support IPXWAN; otherwise, problems with initiating, maintaining, or terminating the IPX connection occur. Verify that the IPX network number is different for each WAN link unless an unnumbered RIP is used (in which case, the IPX network number is zero).
  • Page 130 This process is difficult with the current implementation of RIP and SNMP for Novell, because RIP shows only the next-hop LAN and Network Interface Card (NIC) address (over LANs) instead of the internal network number of the system. SNMP cannot receive packets that are addressed to a NIC;...

  • Page 131: Nlsp Checkpoints

    card on each router. One of the routers you should start with is the next-hop router. Repeat these steps until you find the destination network number. If you do not find a duplicate network number in either direction, check each link in the path for errors. NLSP Checkpoints To isolate and resolve problems with NLSP, complete the following steps: Determine connectivity.

  • Page 132: Login Times Out

    Other Router Names Are Not Displayed (page 135) System Frequently Appears and Disappears on the LAN (page 135) Multiple Systems on a LAN Become Unreachable Intermittently (page 138) Connectivity Across a Point-to-Point Link Has Been Lost (page 139) An NLSP Server on a LAN Cannot Be Accessed (page 140) LAN Is Partitioned (page 141) No Communication Occurs between Two Networks (page 142) Services Are Inaccessible in the Area (page 143)

  • Page 133: Load Balancing Over Ipx Is Not Working

    Load Balancing over IPX Is Not Working Add the following line to the workstation's AUTOEXEC.BAT file: Set loadbalance local lan = on Verify that the router is configured to use NLSP compatible with RIP/SAP. Set maximum path splits to 8. Only One IPX Packet Is Sent and Received If only one IPX packet is sent and received each time the routing software attempts to establish a connection, decrease the user data size value so that it...

  • Page 134: Error Messages Are Displayed (Duplicate Id Or Network Number)

    minutes of a router's operation, unless there is a duplicate NLSP system Change the internal network number of one of the conflicting systems, or remove one of the systems from the network immediately. For information about how to find the node that is causing the problem, refer “IPX Connectivity Problems (Duplicate ID or Network Number)”...

  • Page 135: Nlsp Decision Process Is Running Frequently (Duplicate System Id)

    Cause 2 —NLSP has a software error that is either corrupting the graph or causing the graph to be represented incorrectly. Contact technical support. NLSP Decision Process Is Running Frequently (Duplicate System ID) The NLSP decision process is running frequently. To observe this symptom, obtain access to a NetWare server or router running NLSP in the network and enter SET ISUL DEBUG=256 at the system console prompt.
  • Page 136 After you have determined that there is a local connectivity problem, check whether there are any systems in the Initializing state in IPXCON (parameter path: Select NLSP Information > Neighbors). You might need to exit and enter the Neighbors window several times over several minutes.
  • Page 137 Cause 3 —System misconfiguration. By default, NLSP timers are set so that a system becomes unreachable when three packets are dropped. Look at the system's configuration to ensure that this setting has been used. Cause 4 —One or both of the systems are dropping packets. Check the interface boards to determine whether packets are being dropped because of insufficient Event Control Blocks (ECBs).

  • Page 138: Multiple Systems On A Lan Become Unreachable Intermittently

    Multiple Systems on a LAN Become Unreachable Intermittently If multiple systems on a LAN become unreachable intermittently, the Designated Router might be the source of the problem. Cause 1 —Designated Router does not have enough system memory to represent the LAN. To determine whether this is the case, you can check whether the Designated Router is overloaded when the problem occurs or whether it has been overloaded in the past.

  • Page 139: Connectivity Across A Point-To-Point Link Has Been Lost

    Information). However, unless you are using ARCnet* or some other media that does not have IEEE addresses, only one system has the highest priority on the LAN (the MAC address is used as a tie breaker and IEEE addresses are unique).

  • Page 140: An Nlsp Server On A Lan Cannot Be Accessed

    If the link is corrupting data, the corrupt LSPs statistic increases. To check this, load IPXCON (parameter path: Select NLSP Information > System Information > Detailed NLSP System Information). Even a single corrupt LSP indicates a serious problem because LSPs are transmitted infrequently. Note that this counter is a global counter and it is possible that some other media is corrupting the data link.

  • Page 141: Lan Is Partitioned

    In IPXCON, look for a system that is in the Initializing state. If a system on the LAN appears in the Initializing state on all other systems but has no neighbors itself, then the system can send but not receive. Check that system, particularly if it is the Designated Router.

  • Page 142: No Communication Occurs Between Two Networks

    Cause 3 —System is declaring itself the owner of the LAN, even though it is not the owner. Reinitialize the system. Cause 4 —LAN has become partitioned temporarily during normal NLSP operation. This should occur only during an NLSP system's startup, and the error should be corrected within a few minutes.

  • Page 143: Services Are Inaccessible In The Area

    malfunctioning link between the two networks. To determine which link has the problem, refer to “Applications Perform Poorly” on page 147. Cause 3 —There is a duplicate network number. This can cause a duplicate system ID, provided that both systems are in the same area and the duplicate network numbers are two internal network numbers on two NetWare implementations of NLSP.

  • Page 144: Number Of Routes And Services On A System Shows Local Connectivity Only

    Cause 3 —Service name conflict. This occurs when you have the same service name and the same type (for example, file server). If the service is a file service, then the user logging in might not have appropriate rights and, consequently, the login is rejected.

  • Page 145: Services Or Routes Are Fluctuating Excessively

    set to Off. If this is the case, and if you want to run RIP between the servers, then set RIP State to On. Cause 2 —Two NLSP systems are configured with different area addresses. In this case, the Initialization Failures counter in IPXCON should be increasing (parameter path: Select Circuits >...

  • Page 146: Heavy Network-Layer Traffic Occurs On A Point-To-Point Link

    In NLSP, this determination is easy to make. Simply look at an affected system's neighbors to see whether they have the problem, too. Examine each system as you move outward. If just a single NLSP system is experiencing the problem, then the cause is probably a local connectivity problem.

  • Page 147: Applications Perform Poorly

    Cause 1 —Network-layer packets are being retransmitted because there is a software error or because two important timers are misconfigured in NIASCFG. The important timers are the Minimum Non-Broadcast LSP Transmission Interval timer (which indicates the amount of time before an LSP is retransmitted when there is no acknowledging Partial Sequence Number Packet [PSNP]) and the Partial SNP Interval timer (parameter path: Select Configure NIAS >...
  • Page 148 Cause 4 —Link speed is too slow. You might be choosing the optimal path, but throughput is still not adequate. If you have a Novell router and the protocol is windowed, you might want to enable the IPX Header Compression option or experiment with PPP data compression, if it is being used.

  • Page 149: Callmgr Shows An Ipx Circuit But Ipxcon Does Not

    Cause 6 —Load sharing is enabled between dissimilar paths. Verify that the two paths have comparable media and data rates. CALLMGR Shows an IPX Circuit but IPXCON Does Not CALLMGR shows an IPX circuit but IPXCON does not. IPXCON does not show a circuit until after IPXWAN has completed negotiation.

  • Page 150: Connectivity Is Lost On Only One Lan

    required by an NLSP area. We recommend that you do not exceed 400 LANs and routers (total) in any single NLSP area. It is also possible that two areas have merged when they should not have. Determine whether routers are in the area that should not be there.

  • Page 151: Netware Mobile Ipx Client Loses Connectivity To The Server

    operation to abort, retry, or fail. The method of reestablishing the connection depends on whether you lose connectivity before or after you start an operation. This method is the same for each of the following causes. Cause 1 —The NetWare Mobile IPX client was out of range of wireless coverage for too long.
  • Page 152 connection. If you want the operation to be completed, you must select the Retry option when you return to the network. In the meantime, the system is unusable. If the HR Time To Live timer has expired, selecting Retry will not reestablish the connection and you must log in again. In the DOS environment, you have three options: Abort, Retry, or Fail.

Table of Contents