Definition of NetWare protocols in the Network Encyclopedia.
What are the NetWare protocols?
NetWare protocols are the group of protocols developed for and specific to the Novell NetWare network operating system (NOS); popularized in NetWare versions 2 and 3. Some of the networking architecture of NetWare protocols evolved from the Xerox Network Systems (XNS) created in the late 1970s. It provides comprehensive support for every major desktop operating system, including DOS, Windows, Macintosh, OS/2, and UNIX. In addition, Novell provides extensive support for local area networks and asynchronous wide area communications.
The more important NetWare protocols that figure prominently in NetWare version 3 include the following:
- Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX): A network layer (layer 3) protocol that identifies stations and the networks they reside on and can be used to route packets from one network to another on an IPX internetwork.
- Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX): A transport layer (layer 4) protocol that provides reliable, connection-oriented communication sessions between hosts on a network.
- NetWare Core Protocol (NCP): An upper-layer (layers 5 and 6) protocol that services requests from applications such as the NetWare shell. NCP supports file and print services, management of network and host names, and accounting and security functions.
- NetBIOS: An upper-layer protocol that provides session-layer interoperability with other NetBIOS-enabled operating systems such as LAN Manager and Microsoft Windows NT.
- Service Advertising Protocol (SAP): Enables NetWare servers to advertise themselves as present on the network and allows clients to find and access resources.
NetWare version 4 protocols
In addition to these original NetWare protocols, NetWare version 4 also supports Internet Protocol (IP) encapsulation of IPX/SPX packets, which means that IPX datagrams can be encapsulated within User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packets for transmission over TCP/IP internetworks. NetWare 5 has native support for TCP/IP.
