The definition of protocols is of agreements and rules that identify how components in a network create or terminate communication data exchange. Most modern network use the OSI model.
The OSI models brings together network development, but because some network model were already in use before the OSI model became the standard, some vendors redesigned there protocols inline with OSI model, although not all network protocols conform to the OSI model. Internet-work Packet Exchange, or IPX was first developed by Novell.
It was primarily used for NetWare 3 and NetWare 4 operating systems. In 1998 when Netware 5 was released Novell implemented IP making it the native Netware protocol for Netware 5. The result of the change made it possible to utilize a Windows NT Operating or a Netware Operating system using IP or IPX. Early in the 1970's Xerox developed the protocol XNS which stands for Xerox Network System, in which IPX is based off of.
The popularity of IPX was not limited to Novell, several network operating systems and some desk operating systems support IPX. Datagram services are units of data within the network layers that are used for carrying data across a packet switch network.
Much like TCP IPX has a transport layer protocol called SPX which stands for Sequence Packet Exchange, which is basically a connection less oriented datagram, SPX and UDP are very similar in the sense that neither require a hand shack, thus they are considered connectionless.
Once long ago ( I'm being funny) there was a network structure called token ring, that network had a default packet size of 4,202 bytes, the IPX packet size can range form 30 to 65,535 bytes and the Ethernet packet size which is MTU is 1500.
The MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) is the size of the largest datagram that can be sent over a network, bet you always wanted to no that. In the datagram structure of IPX there is a node address and a network address.
If there is just one Netware server installed that server will be assigned the network address on a segment. There four frames types for Ethernet. Ethernet originally developed by Xerox is the most commonly used type of LAN (Local Area Network) technology that is installed on most major networks for large, medium, and sometimes small business.
1. Ethernet_802.2 the controlling data link protocol between two nodes.
2. Ethernet 802.3 Raw primarily used by the Novell frame type, for IPX and SPX data transmission.
3.Ethernet_ii this is what a Netware server uses to bind TCP/IP.
4.Ethernet_SNAP is the frame type of AppleTalk environments, but can used for IPX/SPX and TCP/IP.
On one NIC (Network Interface Card) each of these frame types stated above can be installed/bound on the same server, resulting in the establishment of a different network address for each of the frame types, however there is a catch, each of the frame types that were assigned by the original or first server must have a corresponding networks address for any proceeding Netware server installation on that particular network.
In other words all subsequent server NetWare server installations on that network must correspond to the network address of each frame type assigned by the first server. This also holds true for a router that routes IPX traffic.
