Jim Phillips wrote: [about frame relay and protocols]
> Jeff Kell writes:
> >For network-based connections, yes.  If you're running Netware/ix,
> >add IPX.  If you have DTC connections, you may have a problem; that
> >requires bridging.

> We're going to be running NetBase/SharePlex to shadow data over the
> frame relay to the remote computer.  Is that a "network-based
> connection"?  What about Reflection-using PC's?

Plain TCP, except for Probe protocol (not required provided you are
making connections using DNS-style names not Probe-style names).

> We don't have Netware/iX, so no IPX.  But, the remote location does
> have a Novell network.  Maybe I should look into Netware/iX?

If PCs on one side connect to Novell on the other (or vice versa) you
will need IPX protocol (but not necessarily Netware/iX).

> But, we do have DTC's.  What's required to access the remote system
> from a local DTC?  We are planning on getting OpenView System Manager
> and DTC Manager.  My intent is to be able to switch the local DTC's
> to the remote system (access over the frame relay) and use the remote
> system as a backup to the local system.  Is this feasible?

Yes, but now you need to bridge, and this is a horse of a different
color to a router.  It certainly can be done, and likely why your
vendor wants to know what protocols you need.  Ideally you would
selectively bridge only the DTC protocols (as discussed on here a few
days ago).  If you're on different networks on either end, that's an
issue as well (with regard to bridging/routing).

Most all of this applies if you're using serial point-to-point,
ethernet, frame-relay, token-ring, ATM, FDDI, pick-your-poison; it's
all a matter of "what" information gets encapsulated into the native
frames of the media and "how" it gets encapsulated.  For bridging, you
have to pass source/destination MAC addresses, for example; not true
of TCP.

Jeff Kell <[log in to unmask]>
> Jim Phillips                            Manager of Information Systems
> E-Mail: [log in to unmask]      Therm-O-Link, Inc.
> Phone: (330) 527-2124                   P. O. Box 285
>   Fax: (330) 527-2123                   Garrettsville, Ohio  44231