Reposting article removed by rogue canceller.
> Right now we have three Novell 3.12 networks in three sperate
> buildings. We are tryyting to put them together using a couple T-1s.[snip]
> We've been told that IP and IPX do not get along too well and that IPX
> will steal all the bandwidth from IP. To solve the problem we were
> going to use Linux gateways to convert all IPX to IP so that our
> backbone was only passing IP. Does this sound like a feasible
> solution or are we making it more complicated? Do we really need the
> Linux gateways?
> Thanks for your help,
> Chris Moffitt
Chris,
IPX packets can't just be "converted" into IP packets, but if you're
thinking of using IP tunnelling, you are only adding traffic, as you'll
just be wrapping your IPX packets in IP headers to get them to their
destination, thus making them slightly bigger.
In any case, you shouldn't worry about IPX and IP co-existing on a WAN.
They are completely independent of one another, and so "get along" just
fine. To ensure your most efficient use of bandwith, however, make sure
your routers are capable of using NLSP. Cisco as of IOS 11.1 and
Novell's MPR support NLSP, I don't know about any others. A link state
routing protocol like OSPF would be a good idea for your IP traffic, as
well. Most good routers support OSPF.
Your routers are definitely the most important factor, here. And
there's no reason at all to use linux to tunnel your IPX into IP unless
your routers don't support IPX at all (in which case you need to look
for different routers, not an IP kludge.)
What brand of routers are you using (or considering?)
- Pete
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pete Wutzke Powerscourt Professional Technology Services -
- Senior Network Engineer Novell Platinum Partner -
- www.powerscourt.com -
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