Compatible Systems 5.4 manual Numbered Interface, Network Number

Chapter 3 - IPX Routing & Bridging 61

•If set to IPX Routing, then IPX packets received on this interface are routed to the correct interface on the device.

•If set to IPX Bridging, then any IPX packets received on this interface are forwarded to the device’s internal bridge. This setting makes this interface a member of the “IPX Bridge Group” for this device.

ϖNote: The IPX Bridging radio button will be grayed out unless bridging has been turned on globally for the device using the Main Bridging Configu- ration Dialog Box (under Global/Bridging) and locally on this interface using the WAN-Bridging Dialog Box (under WAN/Bridging).

•If it is set to IPX Off, then any IPX packets received on this interface are discarded.

>Numbered Interface

This checkbox determines whether the Wide Area Network connected to this interface will have an IPX network number associated with it.

Many WAN connections are simple point-to-point links. These links do not generally require a network number because there are only two devices on the link. All traffic sent from one end is, by definition, destined for the other end. You generally do not need a numbered WAN interface if you are using the PPP transport protocol.

In contrast, Frame Relay networks may have a number of participating devices connected through a single physical interface. Because of this, use of the Frame Relay transport protocol requires a numbered WAN interface.

•If checked, then you must set an IPX Network Number (as described below) for this WAN interface. The default is unchecked.

Network Number

This is an eight-digit hexadecimal number that uniquely identifies the network segment connected to this interface. Values range from 1 to

FFFFFFFE.

ϖ Note: Accidental selection of an IPX network number which is already in use on another network segment may cause hard-to-diagnose problems. You should carefully track which IPX network numbers are in use, and where they are used.

>Update Method

WAN interfaces which are configured to provide “dial-on-demand” service will bring a connection up (i.e. dial the other end) when there are network packets which must be transferred over the link. Once a dial-on-demand