Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrstp!npdiss1!pasek
From: pasek@npdiss1.StPaul.NCR.COM (Michael A. Pasek)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans
Subject: Re: IPX packets going through one server to get to another
Summary: Yep, I've seen it...
Keywords: IPX server gateway
Message-ID: <665@npdiss1.StPaul.NCR.COM>
Date: 24 Oct 90 14:10:39 GMT
Expires: 2 Nov 90 00:00:00 GMT
References: <2868.271e3313@zeus.unomaha.edu>
Reply-To: pasek@c10sd3.StPaul.NCR.COM (M. A. Pasek)
Followup-To: comp.dcom.lans
Distribution: na
Organization: NCR Comten, Inc.
Lines: 34

In article <2868.271e3313@zeus.unomaha.edu> network@zeus.unomaha.edu writes:
>[configuration info deleted]
>   I did some packet tracing with our network analyzer and found that when
>a station on one bridged network logged in to a server on another bridged
>Novell network, that they would pass ALL of their IPX traffic via a third
>file server which is also bridged from the backbone.  It would be a different
>'third' file server at different times.
>   The packets had their final destination within the packet, but their
>destination address in the packet header was allways the 'third' file server.
>   Of course this is bad.  Traffic goes all over the place to get to
>it's destination.  Other traffic is bridging fine.  We use Cabletron
>bridges.  Is there something with Netware IPX that causes this?
>Has anyone else seen this problem?  Don't you wish Novell had
>decent support ;-)

I am not sure if it's something with Netware IPX that causes this, but I
would guess so.  It appears that the following occurs (in the trace I have):
   1) Client sends out "Nearest Service" query
   2) Gets response from server or "bridge" (in the Novell sense of the word)
   3) Sends XNS RIP request to determine the route to get to the network
      that the server is on.
   4) Whichever node responds FIRST to the XNS RIP request will be the node
      that the client sends ALL its traffic to that is intended for the
      server.  This is true in my trace EVEN THOUGH the first responder
      had a hop count of 2 to get to the server, and the second responder
      had a hop count of 1.

As the "Summary" line says -- yes, I've seen this.

I can't comment on Novell support, I'm only an observer of Netware traffic.

M. A. Pasek               Software Development              NCR Comten, Inc.
(612) 638-7668              MNI Development               2700 N. Snelling Ave.
pasek@c10sd3.StPaul.NCR.COM                               Roseville, MN  55113