Compatible Systems 5.4 AppleTalk Routing & Bridging AppleTalk On/Bridging/Off, Numbered Interface

Chapter 4 - AppleTalk Routing & Bridging 77

>AppleTalk On/Bridging/Off

This set of radio buttons controls how AppleTalk packets are handled for this interface.

•If set to AppleTalk On, then AppleTalk packets received on this inter- face are routed to the correct interface on the router.

•If set to AppleTalk Bridging, then any AppleTalk packets received on this interface are forwarded to the router’s internal bridge. This setting makes this Ethernet interface a member of the “AppleTalk Phase 2 Bridge Group” for this router.

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

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

>Numbered Interface

This check box determines whether the Wide Area Network connected to this interface will have an AppleTalk 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 routers 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 AppleTalk Network Number and Zone (as described below) for this WAN interface. The default is unchecked.

Network Number

If you have set this interface to be a numbered interface, you must provide a network number to identify the WAN link. This number creates a “non-extended” AppleTalk network on the WAN link. Acceptable values vary from 1 to 65,279.

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