Netopia R5000 User Reference Manual

Contents

Netopia R5000 User Reference Manual Manual pdf 139 page image

AppleTalk Setup 11-3MMMMaaaaccccIIIIPPPPWhen Macintosh computers encapsulate TCP/IP packets in AppleTalk, because they are either on LocalTalk orEtherTalk, they must use the services of a MacIP gateway. This gateway converts network traffic into the correctformat for AppleTalk or IP, depending on the traffic’s destination. Setting up MacIP involves enabling the featureand optionally setting up a range of addresses to be static.See “IP address serving” on page 9-22 for more information on how to set up MacIP and other IP addressingschemes.AAAAUUUURRRRPPPPAppleTalk Update-Based Routing Protocol (AURP) allows AppleTalk networks to communicate across an IPnetwork. Your local AppleTalk networks (connected to the Netopia R5000 Series Router) can exchange data withremote AppleTalk networks that are also connected to an AURP-capable router.When two networks using AppleTalk communicate with each other through a network based on the InternetProtocol, they are said to be “tunneling” through the IP network. The Netopia R5000 Series Router uses AURPto allow your AppleTalk network to tunnel to designated AppleTalk partner networks, as well as to acceptconnections from remote AppleTalk networks tunneling to your AppleTalk LAN.RRRRoooouuuutttteeeerrrrssss aaaannnndddd sssseeeeeeeeddddiiiinnnnggggTo configure AppleTalk networks, you must understand the concept of seeding. Seeding is the process by whichrouters (or more specifically, router ports) agree on which routing information is valid. AppleTalk routers thathave been reset, for example, must decide which zones and network numbers are valid before they beginrouting. In this case, a router may use the information it has stored or information it receives from anotherrouter, depending on how it has been configured.To help ensure agreement between routers on a network, a seed router is configured with the correctinformation, and other routers obtain their information from that router when they are turned on or reset.Routers commonly use one of three types of seeding procedures: hard seeding, soft seeding, and non-seeding.Hard seeding: When a router that uses hard seeding is turned on or reset, it requests network number andzone name information from any existing routers on the networks it will serve. If no other routers reply, therouter uses the network numbers and zone names specified in its own configuration. If other routers reply, andtheir information matches the router’s own configuration information, the result is the same—the router usesthe values in its own configuration. However, if other routers provide network numbers or zone names thatconflict with those in the router’s configuration, the router disables any of its own ports for which there areconflicts.Soft seeding: When a router that uses soft seeding is turned on or reset, it requests network number and zonename information from any existing routers on the networks it will serve. If no other routers reply, the routeruses the network numbers and zone names specified in its own configuration. If other routers reply, the routeruses the information they provide, regardless of whether or not there are conflicts between the informationreceived and its configured information. Once a soft- or hard-seeding router begins to route, it can serve as aseed router, providing network number and zone name information to other routers upon request. The defaultstate of the Netopia R5000 Series Router’s AppleTalk ports is soft seeding.Non-seeding: When a router using non-seeding is turned on or reset, it requests network number and zonename information from any existing routers on the networks it will serve. For any network where no otherrouters reply, the non-seeding router will not have any active ports until the next reset.