Date: Sat, 20 Jul 1996 10:29:00 +0200 (SAT) From: John Hay <jhay@mikom.csir.co.za> To: jonny@gaia.coppe.ufrj.br (Joao Carlos Mendes Luis) Cc: dwhite@resnet.uoregon.edu, joe@ns.via.net, questions@FreeBSD.ORG, freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: IPX? Message-ID: <199607200829.KAA12368@zibbi.mikom.csir.co.za> In-Reply-To: <199607200717.EAA21236@mailhost.coppe.ufrj.br> from Joao Carlos Mendes Luis at "Jul 20, 96 04:17:16 am"
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> #define quoting(Doug White) > // On Fri, 19 Jul 1996, Joe McGuckin wrote: > // > // > Does FreeBSD support IPX? Is there any work going in in that area? > // > // I *think* it can route it. But IPX isn't a very routable protocol, so ? > IPX is as routeable as IP. With 2 differences: it can't fragment a packet, so the sender must use a packet size small enough so that it can be delivered AND it has a 32 bit network address space, so you can have a much more networks than with IP v4. > Well, the most used IPX routing protocol is RIP. The *same* RIP as > implemented by routed. Of course, since IPX has been used only for > local nets, there aren't as many wide area routing protocols as IP. > Maybe NLSP is useful for metropolitan area. > > // > I'd really like to be able to gateway TCP/IP to IPX/SPX... > // > // Ouch. IPX is such a mess I don't think I'd want to touch it, much less > // try to gateway a superior protocol (TCP) to it. > > Humm, > > Do you mean that FreeBSD's IPX implementation is a mess or that IPX > protocol stack is a mess ? > > Hope you mean the first (I feel this too), because IPX is a datagram > protocol just as bad as IP in definition. What except for the one host address don't you like? I would really like to know. I plan to do some more work on IPX as soon as I can get the SDL RISCom device drivers finished. > > I'd love to make some changes to IPX kernel in FreeBSD, but I don't > have enough time. One thing I want to change is @#@#%@^! I can't use > different host (ethernet) adresses if I have more than one NIC. Even > if I have just one NIC I can't assign a internal IPX number in a similar > way as in NetWare servers. For example: > > ed0: 0x92A43F00.02:00:26:07:19:70 > lo0: 0x92A43F04.00:00:00:00:00:01 > > A fast look in the kernel sources and I found a (ugh) global variable > used for host addresses. This was in 2.2-960501-SNAP, if that matters. > Yes I know about this and have my own source that don't do it this way. I have talked to Mike Mitchell (who did the kernel side) long ago, but he did not want to change it then. Actually we (me and him) developed our own IPX (from the FreeBSD XNS code) at the same time. We decided to use his kernel code at the end. Sometime when I have time, I will merge my changes so that you can have different addresses for each interface. John -- John Hay -- John.Hay@mikom.csir.co.za
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