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Chapter 9
Troubleshooting Novell Connectivity
Debugging Scalable NetWare Protocols
Although NetWare's RIP and SAP are fine for smaller networks, they do
not scale well. As networks increase in size, the broadcast traffic generated
by these processes can quickly overwhelm the network. In addition, RIP is
slow to converge and is limited regarding redundant network paths. Because
convergence and redundancy are important considerations as the network
expands, it becomes important to consider the scalable IPX protocols: IPX
EIGRP and NLSP. Note that Cisco routers automatically redistribute
IPX EIGRP and NLSP to IPX RIP. The redistribution of NLSP routing infor-
mation into IPX EIGRP requires manual configuration.
IPX EIGRP
Cisco's EIGRP is a good choice for building scalability into IPX networks.
The protocol is proprietary, however, and administrators need to commit to
an all-Cisco environment when choosing this solution. Table 9.3 contrasts
IPX RIP with IPX EIGRP.
The Cisco IOS provides information regarding EIGRP with the show ipx
eigrp
commands, identified with the following output:
Router_A#show ipx eigrp ?
interfaces IPX EIGRP Interfaces
neighbors IPX EIGRP Neighbors
topology IPX EIGRP Topology Table
traffic IPX EIGRP Traffic Statistics
T A B L E 9 . 3
IPX RIP and IPX EIGRP Compared
IPX RIP
IPX EIGRP
Network diameter
15
224
Convergence
Slow
Fast
Bandwidth
High
Low
Updates
60 seconds
As needed
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