Alcatel Carrier Internetworking Solutions Switch/Router ユーザーズマニュアル

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Introduction
Page 27-2
IPX Routing Overview
In IPX routing, the switch builds routing tables to keep track of optimal destinations for traf-
fic it receives that is destined for remote IPX networks. The switch sends and receives rout-
ing messages, or advertisements, to/from other routers in the network. When the switch 
receives an IPX packet, it looks up the destination network number in its routing table. If the 
network is directly connected to the switch, the switch also checks the destination node 
address. The network number consists of eight hex digits, and the node address is typically 
the 
MAC
 address of the end station or server.
Creating routing tables is performed by switch software unless a Hardware Routing Engine 
(HRE) or HRE-X is installed. The HRE or HRE-X significantly improves routing performance. 
See Chapter 1, “Omni Switch/Router Chassis and Power Supplies,” for information about the 
HRE-X respectively. 
IPX is associated with additional protocols built into the switch software. These are described 
in the next section. 
IPX Protocols
The switch supports the following IPX protocols:
SPX
 (Sequenced Packet Exchange) is a Transport-layer protocol that provides a reliable 
end-to-end communications link by managing packet sequencing and delivery. SPX does 
not play a direct role in IPX routing; it simply guarantees the delivery of routed packets.
IPX RIP
 (Routing Information Protocol) is a layer 3 protocol used by NetWare routers to 
exchange IPX routing information. IPX RIP functions similarly to IP RIP. IPX RIP uses two 
metrics to calculate the best route: hop count and ticks. An IPX router periodically trans-
mits packets containing the information currently in its own routing table to neighboring 
IPX RIP routers in order to advertise the best route to an IPX destination. 
SAP
 (Service Advertising Protocol) is a layer 3 protocol used by NetWare routers to 
exchange IPX routing information. SAP is similar in concept to IPX RIP. Just as RIP enables 
NetWare routers to exchange information about routes, SAP enables NetWare devices to 
exchange information about available network services. NetWare workstations use SAP to 
obtain the network addresses of NetWare servers. IPX routers use SAP to gather service 
information and then share it with other IPX routers.