Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!skvax1.csc.ti.com!rjberke
From: rjberke@skvax1.csc.ti.com (RICHARD BERKE -- COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: Broadcasting - possible abuse?
Message-ID: <8909072316.AA13106@ti.com>
Date: 7 Sep 89 22:06:29 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 29

I'm trying to understand the valid, per-protocol uses of broadcasting on a 
local ethernet.  I'd appreciate either specific purposes described, or 
suggestions on where I can read up on the topic.

We have a multi-campus, MAC-bridged ethernet, with a single TCP/IP network.
We have currently about 1300 TCP/IP nodes, with other (DECNET, XNS, IPX) 
system types filling the rest of 8,000 nodes.  No overt implementations of 
sub-netting are in use (at least not to my knowledge.)

I've been seeing growing bursts of ethernet broadcasts, with the type of 
ARP, sent out to our network broadcast address: 128.247.255.255.  This is 
other than the expected ARP traffic of stations looking for ethernet 
resolution of their intended individual target nodes.


I suspect that our well intentioned community have products performing tasks 
which they aren't directly aware of, and there may be non-optimal answers used 
for system installation parameters.

Can anyone out there shed some light on this?


Thanks,

Richard Berke  
Texas Instruments
Plano, TX

rjberke@skvax1.csc.ti.com