CLAUSS1@applelink.apple.com (Clauss, Chris) (08/12/90)
Hi folks,
Last week I expressed my desire to see KIP/CAP move from AppleTalk Phase 1
to Phase 2. I have seen quite a few responses (including one brave soul who
said he would look into it this Fall). I would like to explain who I am and
why these matters are of interest to me.
WHO AM I?
I am an Apple Systems Engineer who supports Higher Education customers out
of Apple's of the Rochester, NY office. In my spare time I play around with
KIP/CAP on an A/UX Macintosh which is not connected to the Internet. I am NOT
a member of the AppleTalk group within Apple and I do NOT speak for Apple in
this posting. If I was smart enough to understand all of KIP/CAP, I would
endeavor to make the Phase 2 changes discussed here myself.
WHY DO THESE MATTERS INTEREST ME?
One of the schools which I support, the University of Rochester, is a
member of the Wide Area AppleTalk Network (WAAN) along with U. Penn, Rutgers,
etc. The WAAN allows these schools to use existing Internet connections to see
each other's AppleTalk zones, networks, nodes, and services.
I have seen the power of "IP tunnelling" (similar to DECnet tunnelling
provided by AppleTalk for VMS) for inter-campus communications and
collaboration. A Macintosh user on the U of R campus can mount an AppleShare
volume on the U. Penn campus as easily as mounting a local AppleShare volume.
I would like to see more campuses join the WAAN because each school gains a
great deal by being able to cooperate with other institutions easily. This
connectivity is very powerful and very inexpensive.
WHY SHOULD NETWORKS MOVE TO APPLETALK PHASE 2?
1) Phase 2 supports larger internetworks (16 million devices per
internetwork).
2) AppleTalk Phase 2 nodes can determine the router that provides the most
direct route for a transmission. This is often called "Best Router".
3) Network broadcasts are sent to AppleTalk nodes only thus non-AppleTalk
nodes are not interrupted by these broadcasts.
4) Network broadcasts can be sent to AppleTalk nodes in a specific zone,
thus reducing interruption to other AppleTalk nodes.
5) Routing traffic is significantly reduced on backbone networks that have
a large number of routers. A technique called "Split Horizon" is used
to eliminate redundant entries from routing tables.
I know of institutions that refused to allow AppleTalk Phase 1 traffic onto
their backbones but their objections have now disappeared with Phase 2. Apple
created Phase 2 enhancements in response to customer demands for more scaleable
networking.
WHY SHOULD KIP/CAP BE CONVERTED TO APPLETALK PHASE 2?
1) The WAAN concept is VERY powerful and will dramatically increase the
power of each Macintosh which is connected to the Internet.
2) The existing WAAN can not be expanded much because it has already begun
to bump into the limitations of AppleTalk Phase 1.
3) If an institution wishes to run AppleTalk Phase 2 products (like DEC
LANworks) and KIP/CAP, some router must act as a "transition router".
This translation of Phase 1 packets to/from Phase 2 packets will
significantly impact that router's performance.
4) KIP/CAP is so inexpensive yet powerful. It would be sad to see it
become obsolete as users move to AppleTalk Phase 2.
SUMMARY
I am a believer in KIP/CAP and I want to see it continue to be a success.
I am a believer in the WAAN concept and I want its power and scope to grow.
I am a believer in AppleTalk Phase 2 because it provides significant
improvements over Phase 1.
KIP/CAP should become AppleTalk Phase 2 compatible!!!
Chris Clauss
Clauss1@AppleLink.Apple.Com
<<< STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I speak for Chris Clauss, NOT for Apple Computer >>>