IBM BC-203 manual BC-210, LLC2 Session Without Local Acknowledgment

Overview of IBM Networking

DLSw+

Figure 86 illustrates an LLC2 session in which a 37x5 on a LAN segment communicates with a 3x74 on a different LAN segment separated via a wide-area backbone network. Frames are transported between Router A and Router B by means of DLSw+. However, the LLC2 session between the 37x5 and the 3x74 is still end-to-end; that is, every frame generated by the 37x5 traverses the backbone network to the 3x74, and the 3x74, on receipt of the frame, acknowledges it.

Figure 86 LLC2 Session Without Local Acknowledgment

Router A Router B

Token	WAN	Token
Ring		Ring
37x5		3x74

LLC2 session

SNA session

S1106a

On backbone networks consisting of slow serial links, the T1 timer on end hosts could expire before the frames reach the remote hosts, causing the end host to retransmit. Retransmission results in duplicate frames reaching the remote host at the same time as the first frame reaches the remote host. Such frame duplication breaks the LLC2 protocol, resulting in the loss of sessions between the two IBM machines.

One way to solve this time delay is to increase the timeout value on the end nodes to account for the maximum transit time between the two end machines. However, in networks consisting of hundreds or even thousands of nodes, every machine would need to be reconfigured with new values. With local acknowledgment for LLC2 enabled, the LLC2 session between the two end nodes would not be not end-to-end, but instead, would terminate at two local routers. Figure 87 shows the LLC2 session with the 37x5 ending at Router A and the LLC2 session with the 3x74 ending at Router B. Both Router A and Router B execute the full LLC2 protocol as part of local acknowledgment for LLC2.

Figure 87 LLC2 Session with Local Acknowledgment

TCP session

Token WAN

37x5Ring

Router A

LLC2 session

SNA session

Token

Ring

Router B

3x74

LLC2 session S1107a

With local acknowledgment for LLC2 enabled in both routers, Router A acknowledges frames received from the 37x5. The 37x5 still operates as if the acknowledgments it receives are from the 3x74. Router A looks like the 3x74 to the 37x5. Similarly, Router B acknowledges frames received from the 3x74. The

Cisco IOS Bridging and IBM Networking Configuration Guide

BC-210