TechNote

Smart II Software: IPX parameters

1 Introduction

If you are using SMART.CFG to configure your Smart II Software, you must place all of the IPX parameters in the [IPX] section. The example below displays part of a SMART.CFG containing some of the IPX parameters.

[HOST]              ; Host parameters here.
     [CARD]         ; First card section.	
          [IPX]     ; Install the IPX interface.
          co=20     ; 20 IPX connections.
          sr=y      ; Use source routing.
     [CARD]         ; Second card section.
          io=1a20   ; I/O location is 1a20.
          [LLC]     ; Install the LLC interface.

The table below contains a list of all the IPX parameters. Section 2 describes each parameter more fully.

Parameter            Abbreviation

ABORT.TIMEOUT        AT		
CONNECTIONS          CO		
CACHE.TIMEOUT        TIME		
DEFAULT.BROADCAST    DEF		
GENERAL.BROADCAST    GBR		
INT64.OFF            I64		
INT7A.OFF            7A		
IPX.COMMANDS         IC		
LISTEN.TIMEOUT       LT		
MULTICAST.BROADCAST  MBR		
RETRY.COUNT          RC	
RETRY.TIME           RT	
SOCKETS              SO	
SOURCE.ROUTING       SR	
SOURCE.ROUTE.NODES   NODES	
THIS.RING.ALT        TRA	
THIS.RING.ONLY       TRO	
VERIFY.TIMEOUT       VT

If you are configuring your Smart II Software from the command line, you can put the IPX parameters anywhere. However, we recommend that you put them all together.

A sample command line, which enables an IPX interface with 32 sockets, and configures it to perform source routing, is as follows:

SMART IPX SOCKETS=32 SR=Y

2 IPX parameters

ABORT.TIMEOUT

Specifies the length of time that SPX (Sequence Packet eXchange) waits for a response from a remote node before it assumes that the remote node has terminated the connection. (SPX is enabled when you enable the IPX interface.) If the network is busy, or you are connecting across one or more bridges, you might need to increase this value.

ABORT.TIMEOUT is measured in units of 55 milliseconds (approximately 1/18 of a second).

Range: 0 - 65000
Default: 540 (30 seconds)
Abbreviation: AT
Example: AT=500

CONNECTIONS

Specifies the maximum number of active SPX connections that you can have at any one time. IPX uses at least one connection for diagnostic purposes.

This parameter has a minimum value of 3. If you specify 3 or less, connections is set to 3.

Range: 0 - 255
Minimum value: 3
Default: 32
Abbreviation: CO
Example: CO=20

CACHE.TIMEOUT

Specifies the length of time that a source-routing cache entry remains valid. The source-routing information used to route to a known node does not change for this length of time (in seconds). The default value of 10 gives a timeout of 10 seconds.

If you set CACHE.TIMEOUT to zero, the source-routing cache entry lasts about 8 hours.

Range: 0 - 255
Default: 10
Abbreviation: TIME
Example: TIME=20

DEFAULT.BROADCAST

Ensures that all broadcasts used to determine the route to unknown addresses (addresses that are not in the workstation's source-routing table) are sent as all-route broadcasts. If you do not specify DEFAULT.BROADCAST, broadcasts to unknown addresses are sent as single-route broadcasts.

This parameter is similar to the DEF parameter of ROUTE.COM. It only applies if you enable source routing.

Abbreviation: DEF

GENERAL.BROADCAST

Ensures that all general broadcasts are sent as all-route broadcasts. If you do not use GENERAL.BROADCAST, general broadcasts are sent as single-route broadcasts. This parameter is similar to the GBR parameter of ROUTE.COM. It only applies if you enable source routing.

Abbreviation: GBR

INT64.OFF

Prevents IPX from using the software interrupt INT64. If you are running an application that uses software interrupt INT64, use this parameter. If you are using an old IPX application that accesses IPX via INT64 do not use this parameter.

Abbreviation: I64

INT7A.OFF

Prevents IPX from using the software interrupt INT7A. If you are running an application that uses software interrupt INT7A, use this parameter. If you are using an old IPX application that accesses IPX via INT7A, do not use this parameter.

Abbreviation: I7A

IPX.COMMANDS

Specifies the maximum number of commands that are outstanding to IPX at any one time. IPX may use up to five commands internally for routing and diagnostic purposes.

This parameter has a minimum value of 12. If you specify a value of 12 or less, IPX.COMMANDS is set to 12.

Range: 0 - 255
Minimum value: 12
Default: 40
Abbreviation: IC
Example: IC=20

IPX.OPEN

Specifies whether IPX automatically opens the Ringnode when the Smart II Software loads.

You only need this parameter if you are using the IBM 3270 Emulation Program.

Range: Yes or Y, No or N
Default: Yes
Abbreviation: IPXO
Example: IPXO=N

LISTEN.TIMEOUT

Specifies the length of time that SPX waits for a frame on a connection before it demands a response from the communicating computer. LISTEN.TIMEOUT is measured in units of 55 milliseconds (approximately 1/18 of a second).

Range: 0 - 65000
Default: 108 (6 seconds)
Abbreviation: LT
Example: LT=54

MULTICAST.BROADCAST

Allows multicast broadcasts to be sent as all-route broadcasts. By default, multicast broadcasts are sent as single-route broadcasts. This parameter is similar to the MBR parameter of ROUTE.COM. It only applies if you enable source routing.

Abbreviation: MBR

RETRY.COUNT

Specifies the number of attempts that SPX makes to send a frame before it returns an error.

Range: 0 - 255
Default: 12
Abbreviation: RC
Example: RC=20

RETRY.TIME

Specifies the time, in units of 1/100 second, between successive attempts by SPX to send a frame. If you have SPX links over slow wide-area networks, then increase this value.

Range: 0 - 65000
Default: 100 (1 second)
Abbreviation: RT
Example: RT=20

SOCKETS

Specifies the maximum number of active IPX sockets that you can have at any one time. IPX uses up to three sockets for routing and diagnostic purposes. The Novell workstation shell (NETX.EXE) can use up to four sockets, and the Madge SMARTBOOT II program can use up to two. Other IPX applications typically use one or two sockets each.

This parameter has a minimum value of 16. If you specify 16 or less, SOCKETS is set to 16.

Range: 0 - 255
Minimum value: 16
Default: 32
Abbreviation: SO
Example: SO=20

SOURCE.ROUTING

Enables source routing. If you need the IPX protocols to operate across IBM-compatible source-routing bridges, set this parameter to YES. If you have no bridges on your network, or only NetWare IPX routers, set this parameter to NO (the default). Only use this parameter if you have enabled source routing for all the servers you wish to communicate with.

Range: YES, Y, NO or N
Default: NO
Abbreviation: SR
Example: SR=Y

This parameter replaces Novell's ROUTE.COM program. If you enable source routing, seven additional parameters are available:

• DEFAULT.BROADCAST
• CACHE.TIMEOUT
• GENERAL.BROADCAST
• MULTICAST.BROADCAST
• SOURCE.ROUTE.NODES
• THIS.RING.ALT
• THIS.RING.ONLY

SOURCE.ROUTE.NODES

Defines the size of the source-routing table that is maintained by the IPX interface. This parameter is similar to the NODES parameter of ROUTE.COM.

Range: 8 - 255
Default: 8 (or 0 if you do not enable source routing)
Abbreviation: NODES
Example: NODES=20

THIS.RING.ALT

This is the number of times a frame to an unknown address is sent (alternately) with and without broadcast, before broadcast alone is used to reach remote rings.

Range: 0 - 255 Default: 0 Abbreviation: TRA Example: TRA=10

THIS.RING.ONLY

This is the number of times a frame to an unknown address is sent on the local ring before a broadcast is used to reach remote rings.

Range: 0 - 255
Default: 0
Abbreviation: TRO
Example: TRO=10

VERIFY.TIMEOUT

Specifies the length of time that SPX waits before sending a frame down an idle connection to keep that connection open. This parameter is measured in units of 55 milliseconds (approximately 1/18 of a second).

Range: 0 - 65000
Default: 54 (3 seconds)
Abbreviation: VT
Example: VT=18