Appendices | 285 |
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Backbone
Workstation
Local Net
Net:1001
Router
Workstation
AppleTalk Routing Example
Each AppleTalk physical network segment is assigned a network number/range by the routers on the segment. The network number (or range of numbers) can be between 1 and 65,279. In the diagram above,
Non-extended and Extended AppleTalk Networks
The original AppleTalk specification, which is now referred to as AppleTalk Phase 1, used only a network number, not a network range. A network number was a sixteen bit value, which allowed numbers between 1 and 65,534 to be used. The address of an individual device on the segment consisted of the network number, along with an 8 bit node address value. This scheme meant there could be a maximum of 254 devices per network segment. While this was more than adequate for LocalTalk networks, it was a major constraint on Ethernet networks.
AppleTalk Phase 2 introduced the concept of extended networks. While the node address remained an 8 bit number, network segments could now be identified by a range of network numbers between 1 and 65,279. Each number in the range allows 253 node addresses. These Phase 2 extended ranges should be used for all new AppleTalk installations.
“Seeding” a Network Segment
Establishing the network number/range for an AppleTalk network segment is referred to as “seeding” the network. You should generally only have one
