Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!brutus.cs.uiuc.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!AHWAHNEE.STANFORD.EDU!dcrocker From: dcrocker@AHWAHNEE.STANFORD.EDU (Dave Crocker) Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip Subject: Re: Novell and TCP/IP Message-ID: <8908160352.AA00430@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> Date: 15 Aug 89 14:37:38 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 31 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: 1. Proprietary Network The entire (sub-)network operates with the proprietary protocol, but you would like to connect it to a TCP/IP network. This requires that the various hosts on the proprietary network communicate over their sub-network through some sort of relay device (router/gateway) which connects the proprietary protocol into the TCP/IP protocols. There are different technical solutions to this. 2. Shared Network You wish to run the proprietary protocols AND TCP/IP over the SAME wire and want you host (pc) to be able to use BOTH sets of protocols. If done efficiently, this requires having the protocol stacks share the network device driver for the host. (An alternative is to make this case look like #1, above, and have the relay device connected twice to the network, so that the proprietary network looks as if it is on a separate wire.) It is my understanding that the Excelan product, which was suggested in a previous note, solves only case #2, for shared networks. (Note that if {you already have another network interface card, you get to buy the Excelan card anyhow. There are alternate products whi allow you to share various other cards. Dave