NonStop Networking Overview

Routers
A router is a device that has multiple network interfaces and transfers Internet Protocol (IP) packets
from one network or subnet to another within an internetwork. (In many IP-related documents, this
device is also referred to as a “gateway.”)
Routing protocols find a path between network nodes. If multiple paths exist for a given protocol,
the shorter paths are usually chosen. Each protocol has a cost or a metric that it applies to each
path. In most cases, the lower the cost or metric for a given path, the more likely a protocol will
choose it. In large local networks, there are often multiple paths to other parts of the local network.
Routing daemons can be used to maintain near optimal routing to the other parts of the local
network, and to recover from link failures in paths.
Switches
A switch receives messages from various devices on the network and routes the messages over the
network to their appropriate destinations. The public telephone network provides the most obvious
example of the use of switching, but switches are widely used in private networks as well.
Gateways
Networks that use different types of hardware and different protocols, such as TCP/IP and OSI,
can communicate with each other through a gateway. Unlike a router, a gateway can translate
the protocol of one network to a different protocol used by another network. When it is not being
used to translate protocols, “gateway” is used interchangeably with “router”.
Network Interface Name
A network interface is a communication device through which messages can be sent and received.
Interface names on a G4SA are the logical interfaces (LIFs). On the CLIM, interface names are
assigned by the operating system to the Ethernet interfaces. The names are eth1 through eth5. For
diagrams showing the layout of the Ethernet interfaces on the CLIM, see the planning guide for
your system. To determine the interface names when using NonStop TCP/IPv6 or NonStop TCP/IP,
issue the SCF INFO LIF $ZZLAN.* command to the ServerNet LAN Systems Access (SLSA) subsystem
and look at the “Name” column in the resulting display. For example:
1-> INFO LIF $ZZLAN.*
SLSA Info LIF
Associated
Name Object MAC Address Type
$ZZLAN.CC10A CC1.0.A 00:00:00:00:00:00 WAN
$ZZLAN.LANY M0IE1.0.A 08:00:8E:00:7A:D9 Ethernet
$ZZLAN.LANX M0IE1.0.A 08:00:8E:00:7B:BA Ethernet
$ZZLAN.L018 E0153.0.A 08:00:8E:00:78:3A Ethernet
$ZZLAN.L019 E0153.0.B 08:00:8E:00:78:2D Ethernet
$ZZLAN.L01A E0153.1.A 08:00:8E:00:78:2C Ethernet
$ZZLAN.L01B E0153.1.B 08:00:8E:00:78:1C Ethernet
$ZZLAN.L112I G1123.0.A 08:00:8E:00:97:B0 Ethernet
$ZZLAN.L01C T0154.0.A 08:00:8E:80:12:CE Token Ring
$ZZLAN.L01A E0152.0.A 08:00:8E:AB:CD:EF Ethernet
To determine the interface names when using CIP, issue the SCF STATUS CLIM DETAIL command.
For example:
->STATUS CLIM $ZZCIP.* , DETAIL
.
.
.
Data Interface Status & IP Addresses:
Flg Name Status LkP Master / IP Family & Address
eth5 UP UP
IPv6: 3ffe:1200:190:1:21f:29ff:fe57:182e
26 Networking Concepts