NWLink is

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

's implementation of Novell's

IPX/SPX IPX/SPX stands for Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange. IPX and SPX are networking protocol, networking protocols used initially on networks using the (since discontinued) Novell NetWare operating systems. They also became wid ...

protocols Protocol may refer to: Sociology and politics * Protocol (politics), a formal agreement between nation states * Protocol (diplomacy), the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state * Etiquette, a code of personal behavior Science and technology ...

. NWLink includes an implementation of

NetBIOS NetBIOS () is an acronym for Network Basic Input/Output System. It provides services related to the session layer of the OSI model allowing applications on separate computers to communicate over a local area network. As strictly an API, Ne ...

atop IPX/SPX. NWLink packages data to be compatible with client/server services on NetWare Networks. However, NWLink does not provide access to NetWare File and Print Services. To access the File and Print Services the Client Service for NetWare needs to be installed. NWLink connects NetWare servers through the Gateway Service for NetWare or Client Service for NetWare and provides the transport protocol that connects Windows operating systems to IPX/SPX NetWare networks and compatible operating systems. NWLink supports NetBIOS and Windows Sockets application programming interfaces (API). NWLink protocols are as follows: * SPX/SPXII *

IPX Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol suite. IPX is derived from Xerox Network Systems' IDP. It also has the ability to act as a transport layer protocol. The IPX/SPX protocol suite was very p ...

Service Advertising Protocol The Service Advertising Protocol (SAP) is included in the Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) protocol. SAP makes the process of adding and removing services on an IPX internetwork dynamic. SAP was maintained by Novell Novell, Inc. was an Amer ...

(SAP) *

Routing Information Protocol The Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is one of the oldest distance-vector routing protocols which employs the hop count as a routing metric. RIP prevents routing loops by implementing a limit on the number of hops allowed in a path from sour ...

(RIP) *

Forwarder A forwarder is a forestry vehicle that carries big felled logs from the stump to a roadside landing. Unlike a skidder, a forwarder carries logs clear of the ground, which can reduce soil impacts but tends to limit the size of the logs it c ...

NWLink also provides the following functionalities: * Runs other communication protocol stacks, such as Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (

TCP/IP The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the set of communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suit ...

) * Uses multiple frame types for

network adapter A network interface controller (NIC, also known as a network interface card, network adapter, LAN adapter or physical network interface, and by similar terms) is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network. Ear ...

binding

Using NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS

NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport is Microsoft's implementation of the Novell IPX/SPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange) protocol stack. The

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

implementation of the IPX/SPX protocol stack adds NetBIOS support. The main function of NWLink is to act as a transport protocol to route packets through internetworks. By itself, the NWLink protocol does not allow you to access the data across the network. If you want to access NetWare File and Print Services, you must install NWLink and Client Services for NetWare (software that works at the upper layers of the

OSI model The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI model) is a conceptual model that 'provides a common basis for the coordination of SOstandards development for the purpose of systems interconnection'. In the OSI reference model, the communications ...

to allow access to file and print services). One advantage of using NWLink is that is easy to install and configure.

Configuring NWLink IPX/SPX

The only options that are configured for NWLink are the ''internal network number'' and the ''frame type''. Normally, you leave both settings at their default values. The internal network number is commonly used to identify NetWare file servers. It is also used when you are running File and Print Services for NetWare or using IPX routing. The frame type specifies how the data is packaged for transmission over the network. If the computers that are using NWLink use different frame types, they are not able to communicate with each other. The default setting for frame type is Auto Detect, which will attempt to automatically choose a compatible frame type for your network. If you need to connect to servers that use various frame types, you should configure Manual Frame Type Detection, which will allow you to use a different frame type for each network.

References

Network protocols Windows communication and services Wikipedia articles that are too technical from May 2020 {{compu-network-stub