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Chapter 9
Troubleshooting Novell Connectivity
Connecting to a Novell Network
A
lthough a myriad of problems can confront network administrators
in NetWare environments, a significant percentage of issues includes the ini-
tial connection between the client and server. This connection, by its very
nature, may be the first indication of an erred configuration or other prob-
lem within the network.
Connecting to a NetWare server first requires an administrator to select
an encapsulation method for the network. Once connectivity is established
at this layer, service broadcasts begin. This section covers the following
issues related to IPX:
Encapsulation
Get Nearest Server
Service Advertising Protocol
Encapsulation
In NetWare,
encapsulation and framing
refer to the method used to take an
IPX datagram, a Layer 3 element, and add it to an appropriate Layer 2
frame. In this section, the framing process is outlined as it relates to Ethernet.
Framing is also relevant in Token Ring and FDDI topologies, however.
Encapsulation is one of the more common troubleshooting problems in
NetWare networks. If the frame type does not match on all network
resources, the various components cannot communicate. This is akin to
speaking a different language from everyone else in the room--communica-
tion is impossible without a translator. If client A speaks SNAP and the
server speaks 802.3, they do not understand each other. They must both
speak either 802.3 or SNAP.
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