ljm@TWG.COM (Leo J McLaughlin) (08/23/89)
>The question of "coordinating" use of TCP/IP with a proprietary protocol, >such as Novell's Netware, surfaces on one of the lists periodically. In >looking for solutions, it is important to be clear about the problem, since >there are two, VERY different operational styles and they need two, VERY >different kinds of solutions: Actually, Dave doesn't go far enough. There are at least six different proprietary network to TCP/IP network interoperabilty solutions currently used today. 1. The dual stack shared network where each host runs both TCP/IP and the proprietary stack. 2. The network tunneled network where every host runs TCP/IP (and hopefully SNMP or CMOT), some using a proprietary software interface as the data-link medium. 3. The front-end interface network where only one workstation on the proprietary network is a TCP/IP host and functions as an ARPA application server or proxy for the other workstations on the proprietary network. 4. The application gateway network where one host translates mail and perhaps file sharing applications between the two networks. 5. The NetBIOS bridged network where one host bridges NetBIOS applications between a proprietary NetBIOS and NetBIOS over TCP/IP. 6. The NetBIOS over TCP/IP network where the old network's proprietary applications and hardware remain but the proprietary protocol stack has been replaced with TCP/IP. These last two use the NetBIOS over TCP/IP specification (RFC 1001-1002) which Dave helped write and only work on NetBIOS-based proprietary networks. enjoy, leo j mclaughlin iii The Wollongong Group ljm@twg.com