Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!gatech!udel!garrett@oscar.ccm.udel.edu
From: garrett@oscar.ccm.udel.edu
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: IP Encapsulation via KSTAR/KIP
Message-ID: <784@nigel.udel.EDU>
Date: 4 Oct 89 18:11:50 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Delaware, CCM
Lines: 35

We are looking at hooking up two separate localtalk networks on campus here
through the campus-wide IP backbone.  I am aware that either the KFPS-4 using
KSTAR or the earlier K-boxes with KIP are capable of encapsulating AppleTalk
packets in IP for transport across IP networks.  My main question is this:

Does the IP encapsulation of appletalk packets prevent ethernet-connected
appletalk hosts from seeing them?

For example, we have AlisaShare running on our Vax 11/785.  If we use just the
regular Kinetics combined gateway code as we are now on our existing KFPS-2s,
the server is only visible from our local ethernet on down to all its
kfps-attached localtalk networks. There is at least one IP router separating
our local localtalk net from to other site which would like to be able to
access our alisashare server.  Unless KSTAR/KIP strips the ip envelope off of
each encapsulated packet that it receives from the remote localtalk network via
the IP network and retransmit it onto the ethernet it is immediately connected
to, won't the Alisashare server be unable to recognize the packets as being
'ethertalk' packets?  Also, is the IP encapsulation going to be done as
broadcasts, which probably aren't going to make it past our local net's
IP gateway onto the university backbone to get over to the remote site?

I've tried asking Alisa Systems about this and they generally said "ask
kinetics", but I am still waiting for them to get back with me.  We haven't
bought a KSTAR-capable box from them yet, but we have need in the immediate
future to do this, and I don't want to break any of the other hardware/software
we've invested in to do so.  

As usual, thanks in advance for any advice you all can lend!

+-------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| Joel J. Garrett, Research Associate |         Phone: (302)-451-2332        |
|   Center for Composite Materials    |   inet:  garrett@oscar.ccm.udel.edu  |
|       University of Delaware        |                - or -                |
|       Newark, Delaware 19716        |          garrett@udel.edu            |
+-------------------------------------+--------------------------------------+