3com 2500 User Guide

C

HAPTER

 12: A

DMINISTERING

 IPX R

OUTING

An IPX interface defines the relationship between an IPX Virtual LAN 
(VLAN) and the IPX network. Every IPX interface has one IPX VLAN 
associated with it. Each switching module has one IPX interface defined 
for each subnetwork directly connected to it. 

An IPX interface has the following information associated with it:

■

IPX network address — You set this 4-byte address. Make each 
address unique within the network.

■

Cost — The system uses the cost, a number between 1 and 15, to 
calculate route metrics. Unless your network has special requirements, 
such as the need for redundant paths, assign a cost of 1 to each 
interface.

■

Frame format — IPX routing uses four Ethernet frame formats and 
two FDDI frame formats. The Ethernet frame formats are Ethernet 
Type II, Novell 802.3 raw, 802.2 LLC, and 802.3 SNAP. The FDDI frame 
formats are FDDI 802.2 and FDDI SNAP. 

The two FDDI frame formats correspond to the Ethernet 802.2 LLC 
and 802.3 SNAP frame formats. If you select either of these Ethernet 
frame formats, the corresponding FDDI frame format is automatically 
selected for shared Ethernet and FDDI ports.

■

State — The status of the IPX interface indicates whether the 
interface is available for communications (

Up

) or unavailable (

Down

). 

■

VLAN index — The VLAN index indicates the bridge ports that are 
associated with the IPX interface. When the interface prompts you for 
this option, a list of available VLAN indexes and the ports associated 
with them appears.