A network directory is used by the node for internetwork routing.
Each entry in a network directory consists of a node name associated
with an IP address, the network type, and an additional address,
if necessary. The network directory uses the internet protocol (IP)
address to transfer data between networks.
When a Network Directory is Required |
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A network directory must be configured on nodes with X.25
links. Point-to-Point nodes that do not use domain name services
require network directory configuration. You must also configure
a network directory when non-HP nodes are part of an HP LAN or token
ring and you are not using domain name services. At least one node
on LAN and token ring networks must have a network directory if
any of the nodes on that network are to communicate with the internet
and you are not using domain name services.
The network directory of a node in a point-to-point network
must contain the IP address of all other nodes that you want the
node to be able to reach. When configuring the network directory
for a point-to-point network, make sure that the IP address you
enter in the network directory matches the data in the mapping screens
(path name NETXPORT.NI.NIname.MAPPING.mapentry).
For nodes on an X.25 network, the network directory maps the
X.25 address key to an IP address to allow a node to communicate
within the X.25 network. You must configure a network directory
for nodes using X.25.
Probe and Proxy Servers |
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Because
HP 3000s on an IEEE 802.3/Ethernet LAN use a proprietary
HP protocol called probe,
they are able to communicate on a LAN without a network directory.
A node on an HP LAN can determine connection information about a
node on the same LAN by sending a multicast probe request out on
the LAN. The target node recognizes its address in the probe request
and sends an individually addressed probe reply with the necessary
connection information to the requesting node. The probe request/reply
mechanism is sufficient to obtain connection requirements in an
HP LAN environment.
However, at least one node on an HP LAN must have a network
directory if the nodes on that LAN are to communicate with other
networks and you are not using domain name services. The node with
the network directory on a LAN is called a proxy server.
By using the probe protocol, a LAN node without a network directory
can multicast a request for an internet address from the proxy server.
For backup purposes, you should designate at least two nodes on
a LAN to be proxy servers.
A node is configured as a proxy server in the Probe Protocol
Configuration screen, (path name NETXPORT.NI.NIname.PROTOCOL.PROBE).
Path Report Lists |
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A path report is an internal structure containing all configured
paths to a given IP address in the internet. The path
report list is a list of all path reports in a network
directory. Each path report contains the protocol stacks that the
data must pass through to get to a given IP address. An example
of a path report where the protocol stack contains TCP with checksum
error checking (level 4) over IP (level 3i) over IEEE 802.3
(level 2), is indicated in the following format:
TCP.IP.IEEE802.3
In the network directory, IP addresses must be unique so that
a single path report can be identified.
