IPX/SPX Programming Manual

HP NonStop IPX/SPX Programming Manual—528022-001
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Introduction to NonStop IPX/SPX
This section provides an overview of the NonStop IPX/SPX subsystem. This section
also introduces the HP NonStop socket library and the Service Advertising Protocol
(SAP), with which you can develop programs that communicate over a Novell IPX/SPX
protocol network.
The NonStop IPX/SPX subsystem allows communications to take place between
heterogeneous systems over a Novell NetWare network. NonStop IPX/SPX runs on
NonStop systems and uses the QIO subsystem to access Ethernet-based local area
networks (LANs).
This section briefly introduces the concepts and subsystem elements of program
development for these subsystems. Before using the information in this manual, you
should read the more detailed introduction and overview of NonStop IPX/SPX provided
in the IPX/SPX Configuration and Management Manual.
Supported NetWare Protocols
Novell has defined several different protocols to support NetWare functions. The
NonStop IPX/SPX subsystem supports the following subset of the Novell NetWare
protocol suite:
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Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is a connectionless internetwork packet
delivery protocol. With IPX, no connection between the sender and receiver must
be established in order to transmit data. Higher-level protocols must ensure reliable
data transmission. IPX corresponds to the OSI model Network Layer. IPX is
available for NonStop IPX/SPX application development.
•
Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX) is a connection-oriented packet delivery
protocol that defines a reliable virtual circuit connection between the sender and
the receiver. SPX performs error-checking functions and corresponds to the Open
System Interconnect (OSI) model Transport Layer. SPX is available for NonStop
IPX/SPX application development.
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An enhanced version of SPX, called SPXII, provides the functions of SPX plus two
major characteristics:
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SPXII negotiates the use of larger packet sizes.
°
SPXII employs a true windowing protocol.
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Routing Information Protocol (RIP) controls packet forwarding between networks
on the shortest route, based on distance-vector algorithms that measure the path
between two points on a network in terms of hops. RIP operates in conjunction with
IPX to transmit packets in a NetWare network for NonStop IPX/SPX application
development.