11-2 CHAPTER 11: ADMINISTERING IPX ROUTING

Administering

An IPX interface defines the relationship between an IPX Virtual LAN

Interfaces

(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 subnet directly connected to it. You must first define a

 

VLAN, as described in Chapter 8: Administering VLANs, before you

 

define an associated interface.

 

An IPX interface has the following information associated with it:

 

IPX network address — The network administrator sets this 4-byte

 

address. Each address within the network should be unique.

 

Cost — This number, between 1 and 15, is used when calculating route

 

metrics. Unless your network has special requirements, such as the

 

need for redundant paths, you should assign a cost of 1 to each

 

interface.

 

Encapsulation format — IPX routing uses four Ethernet encapsulation

 

formats and two FDDI encapsulation formats. The Ethernet

 

encapsulation formats are Ethernet Type II, Novell 802.3 raw, 802.2 LLC,

 

and 802.3 SNAP. The FDDI encapsulation formats are FDDI 802.2 and

 

FDDI SNAP.

 

The two FDDI encapsulation formats correspond to the Ethernet 802.2

 

LLC and 802.3 SNAP encapsulation formats. If you select either of these

 

Ethernet encapsulation formats, the corresponding FDDI encapsulation

 

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 which bridge ports are

 

associated with the IPX interface. When the interface prompts you for

 

this option, it displays a list of available VLAN indexes and the ports

 

associated with them.

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3Com 2500 Define an associated interface, Address. Each address within the network should be unique, Associated with them