Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!ames!excelan!keith From: keith@ca.excelan.com (Keith Brown) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans Subject: Re: Novell: fear and loathing... Message-ID: <2369@excelan.COM> Date: 8 Nov 90 22:06:48 GMT References: <16197@netcom.UUCP> <3396@uakari.primate.wisc.edu> Sender: news@excelan.COM Reply-To: keith@ca.excelan.com (Keith Brown) Organization: Novell, Inc., San Jose, Califonia Lines: 63 In article hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu (Charles Hedrick) writes: >The only problem I've heard is that the default setup uses a packet >format that looks like it is IEEE 802.2 (i.e. a length code instead of >a packet type), but isn't. This is true of NetWare 286. I think the original reason we "forgot" to slap an 802.2 header into our 802.3 format IPX ethernet packets was that folks on the IEEE 802.2 committee were still bickering when we first started shipping network operating systems. Still, I should point out that as of NetWare 386 and the availability of our ODI based workstation software it is now possible to run your IPX communications using: 1) 802.3 packet format with no 802.2 sublayer (ala traditional NetWare 286) 2) Ethernet packet format (ECONFIG'd) 3) 802.2 over 802.3 packet format 4) Ethernet "SNAP" packet format (extended 802.2..... well, sort of!) The choice is yours. On the server, you make your choice by specifying the frame format you wish to use when you load the LAN adaptor driver. For example, you may "load ne2000 frame=ETHERNET_802.2" to use 802.2 over 802.3 packet format, and then bind IPX to this interface. At the client you specify the frame format in your NET.CFG file. Mine looks like this (a '#' indicates the line is commented out. To adjust my configuration I simply adjust the comment outs and reboot. Currently I'm set up to use Ethernet/Econfig'd encapsulation..... Link Support Buffers 16 1586 MemPool 4096 Link Driver EXOS205 Frame Ethernet_II # Frame Ethernet_802.2 # Frame Ethernet_802.3 # Frame Ethernet_SNAP Protocol IPX 8137 Ethernet_II # Protocol IPX E0 Ethernet_802.2 # Protocol IPX 0 Ethernet_802.3 # Protocol IPX 8137 Ethernet_SNAP INT #1 2 MEM #1 D0000 PORT 310 Protocol IPX Bind EXOS205 Both the DOS ODI drivers and the NetWare 386 server ODI drivers support multiple encapsulations through the same physical interface concurrently. This allows different protocols to use different encapsulation methodologies while sharing the same physical LAN adaptor. If you own a NetWare 386 server you should now be happy no matter how religous you are about protocol formats on the wire. That is unless you own a piece of hardware that we haven't quite got round to doing an ODI driver for yet. Don't panic, there coming...... Keith ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keith Brown Phone: (408) 473 8308 Novell San Jose Development Centre Fax: (408) 433 0775 San Jose, California 95131 Net: keith@novell.COM ----------------------------------------------------------------------------