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From: jas@MONK.PROTEON.COM ("John A. Shriver")
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip.ibmpc
Subject: server message protocol (SMB) and novells NCP
Message-ID: <8712021554.AA28277@monk.proteon.com>
Date: Wed, 2-Dec-87 10:54:20 EST
Article-I.D.: monk.8712021554.AA28277
Posted: Wed Dec  2 10:54:20 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Dec-87 06:50:45 EST
References: <8712021452.AA10318@watale.uucp>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
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The SMB (Server Message Block) protocol is described in "IBM Personal
Computer Seminar Proceedings", Volume 2, Number 8-1, May 1985, Form
G320-9319.  This describes the protocol as implemented in the IBM PC
Network Program.  There have been some extensions made since that
time, as part of some of the performance improvements in PC LAN
Program V1.2.

The Novell NCP protocol has historically been proprietary.  It looks a
lot like DOS function calls.  However, they must be less secretive
about it now, since the Network General Sniffer includes a
dissasembler for it.  Novell has published their underlying IPX
Network level protocol, which they continue to claim is XNS IDP, but
their documentation says the checksum only covers the header, where
the IDP checksum covers the entire packet.  (That may be a moot point,
since they always stuff FFFF in the checksum anyways!)  However, they
don't use XNS RIP, they have an unpublished routing protocol.  (Some
of Novell's proprietary-ness may just be a matter of not being able to
justify the time it takes to write a correct document and approve it.)