X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.2 PL15]
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.novell
Date:         Tue, 7 Apr 1992 12:27:26 PDT
Reply-To:     Novell LAN Interest Group <NOVELL@SUVM.BITNET>
From:         Brian Meek <brian@NOVELL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Why don't replace IPX with TCP/IP ?
X-To:         NOVELL%SUVM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu
              at Apr 3, 92 5:40 pm

> Sender: NOVELERR@SUVM.ACS.SYR.EDU
> From: Jiang-Cherng Jean <jean@OAX2.CCL.ITRI.ORG.TW>
> Subject:      Why don't replace IPX with TCP/IP ?
> To: Multiple recipients of list NOVELL <NOVELL%SUVM.BITNET@uga.cc.uga.edu>
[...]
>     Can anyone tell me the differences between IPX(SPX) and TCP(UDP)/IP?
> The "LAN Workplace for DOS" and "NetWare NFS" want to integrate NetWare
> and TCP/IP base machine. But I wonder why Novell don't replace IPX with
> TCP/IP?
>
>     I use "NetWare NFS" in our Lab. It work very well. And I use NCSA
> with packet driver for our PCs. Recently I try to use ODI driver and "LAN
> Workplace for DOS". Both "NetWare NFS" and "LAN Workplace for DOS" are
> good products. But I cannot understand why Novell don't use TCP/IP as their
> major network protocol? Are there any good reasons for Novell to insist
> on using IPX(SPX)?

Insist?  "Freedom of Choice" as been one of our mottos for some time now.
In fact, a rather kludgy means to this end has been provided for free in
the IPX-over-IP Tunneling drivers bundled with NetWare v3.11 and LAN
WorkPlace.

I suppose that the reasons for the NetWare Core Protocol's current
dependence upon the IPX/SPX transport is more historical than anything
else.  On an almost daily basis, I field this question from customers with
inquiring minds.  My initial response is "Why?".  The best answers to that
question have been:

	*  We have an existing wide area internet based upon IP, and we
	   don't wish to introduce IPX traffic on the WAN (for various
	   reasons).

	*  We have Internet access, and wish to be able to attach to
	   (NetWare) servers ala:
		       map g:=sjf-lwp.novell.com/sys:

	*  We need to load TCP/IP on each node anyway (for various reasons),
	   and therefore IPX merely adds overhead.

Less compelling arguments are usually based upon religious beliefs:  "We
only allow TCP/IP on the backbone -- period!".

Looking at the proper objectives for running NCP directly over TCP/IP, we
still can't ignore the benefits of IPX:  IPX is small, fast, easy to
configure (no need to assign logical addresses to each node, no subnetting
issues, etc), and perhaps most important -- there are literally thousands
of networking applications that depend upon the APIs provided by Novell's
IPX stack.  So the old adage "Be careful what you ask for... you might
get it!" may apply here.

Nonetheless, we've heard this request for building a version of NetWare
and the NetWare shell that can use TCP/IP as an option to IPX/SPX so
often that we are in fact working at it.  But the issues are somewhat
involved...

One needed piece would be to have a module that allows existing programs
written for IPX/SPX to run over UDP/IP.  Here we will run into the same
type of issues that NetBIOS users run into when trying to use TCP/IP as
an underlying transport:  broadcast-based LAN protocols don't map well
to internet protocols.  So some means of translating global broadcasts to
carefully directed multicasts, or a series of unicast packets (such as the
IP Tunnel "Peer list") will be needed.

Also, the idea of building a version of NetWare that uses IP as an
option to IPX raises some significant management and transitional issues.
How many of you are willing to convert every server and client to TCP/IP
overnight?  No takers?  So I assume that we must find a way for all of
these newfangled TCP/IP-based NetWare servers to provide interoperability
with that huge installed base of IPX/SPX-based NetWare servers.  This gets
into the complex issues of integrating NetWare Directory Service (planned
for v3.2) or the existing NetWare bindery database with DNS and/or NIS.
Once this is accomplished, wouldn't you prefer that the servers running
TCP/IP could provide the IP internet connections to remote NetWare nodes,
even though the client machines are running only IPX/SPX?

For those that want only TCP/IP-based NetWare from client to server,
another management issue arises that we will be addressing in any case.
That is simply this: configuring TCP/IP networks is too difficult!
Even the TCP/IP service provided in LAN WorkPlace and NetWare v3.11 is
not simple enough for most folks.  When a node is added to a LAN segment,
the NetWare server needs to be able to automatically assign a valid IP
address and inform the node about subnet masks, domain name service
particulars and internetwork routing information.  In short, IP network
administration needs to be made as simple as possible.

This is certainly an interesting topic for discussion.  As I said, we're
working on these issues now, and are open to suggestions about how all of
you would like to see things implemented.

Thanks,
-- brian
____________________________________________________________________________
         Brian Meek       Novell, Inc. - 2180 Fortune Dr. San Jose, CA 95131
Internet Mail: brian@novell.COM                        Phone: (408) 473-8375
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.novell