3Com 2500 manual 1 AppleTalk Networks and AppleTalk Zones

AppleTalk® Network Elements 7-3

AppleTalk® Zones An AppleTalk zone is a logical collection of nodes on an AppleTalk internet. A zone can include all nodes in a single network or a collection of nodes in different networks. You assign a unique name to each zone to identify it in the internet. Figure 7-1 illustrates the relationship between physical AppleTalk networks and logical AppleTalk zones.

Network 8-8

Router

Network 47-47

Router

Network 20-40

Router

Zone: Administration

Zone: Accounting

Zone: Marketing

Figure 7-1 AppleTalk Networks and AppleTalk Zones

Figure 7-1 shows an AppleTalk internet with three networks: 47-47, 20-40, and 8-8. Three AppleTalk zones span the networks in this internet: Administration, Accounting, and Marketing. Network 20-40 includes two nodes in the Administration zone and five nodes in the Accounting zone. Network 47-47 includes a node from the Accounting zone as well as the Marketing nodes. Network 8-8 consists of nodes in the Administration zone only.

Creating zones within a network reduces the amount of searching a router has to do to find a resource on the network. For example, you may want to gain access to a printer on the network. Instead of searching the whole network when you want to print a file to a certain printer, the router searches for it within a particular zone. You gain access to the printer more