IPXWAN negotiates the WAN routing type, which determines which IPX routing protocol---if any---runs over the connection. NetWare routing supports the following routing types for IPX exchanges over a WAN connection:
NOTE: The first four routing types operate only between routers; the fifth, WAN Workstation , operates between a router and a NetWare workstation.
WAN NLSP ---Uses NLSP to exchange routing and service information over the connection. This is the most efficient---and preferred---routing type for WAN connections requiring an active routing protocol. A WAN NLSP connection does not require an IPX network number.
Unnumbered RIP ---Uses RIP and SAP to exchange routing and service information over the connection but requires no IPX network number.
Numbered RIP ---Also uses RIP and SAP to exchange routing and service information over the connection but does require an IPX network number.
On-Demand ---Uses no active routing or service advertising protocol, but rather a set of static routes and services on each router.
WAN Workstation ---Enables a NetWare workstation to connect to an IPX internetwork through a remote router. No routing protocol runs over the connection, except when the workstation sends a route or service request to the router.
To choose the most suitable routing type, IPXWAN considers the following criteria during its negotiation process:
Earlier versions of the routing software, such as NetWare Multiprocessor Router PlusTM 2.1x software and NetWare WAN LinksTM 2.0 software, support only Numbered RIP connections.
For example, two routers running NLSP at their respective WAN interfaces automatically use the WAN NLSP routing type over the connection.
Some third-party routers might support only Numbered RIP connections for IPX routing over WANs.
WAN NLSP, Unnumbered RIP, and Numbered RIP operate only over permanent calls; the On-Demand routing type operates only over on-demand calls.