12-2 User’s Reference GuideIPX addressAn IPX address consists of a network number, a node number, and a socket number. An IPX network number iscomposed of eight hexadecimal digits. The network number must be the same for all nodes on a particularphysical network segment. The node number is composed of twelve hexadecimal digits and is usually thehardware address of the interface card. The node number must be unique inside the particular IPX network.Socket numbers correspond to the particular service being accessed.SocketA socket in IPX is the equivalent of a port in TCP/IP. Sockets route packets to different processes within asingle node. Novell has reserved several sockets for use in the NetWare environment:Routing Information Protocol (RIP)RIP, which was also derived from XNS, is a protocol that allows for the bidirectional transfer of routing tablesand provides timing information (ticks), so that the fastest route to a destination can be determined. IPXrouters use RIP to create and dynamically maintain databases of internetwork routing information. See the lastsection in this chapter for more information on routing tables.Service Advertising Protocol (SAP)SAP is a protocol that provides servers and routers with a method to exchange service information. Using SAP,servers advertise their services and addresses. Routers collect this information to dynamically update theirrouting tables and share it with other routers. These broadcasts keep all routers on the internetworksynchronized and provide real-time information on accessible servers on the internetwork.Field Value Packet Type Description00h Unknown Packet Type Used for all packets not clas-sified by any other type01h Routing Information Packet Unused for RIP packets04h Service Advertising Packet Used for SAP packets05h Sequenced Packet Used for SPX packets11h NetWare Core Protocol Packet Used for NCP packets14h Propagated Packet Used for Novell NetBIOS
