Netopia Router PN Series - Manual (Page 129)

AppleTalk Setup 6-5
When two networks using AppleTalk communicate with each other
through a network based on the Internet Protocol, they are said to
be tunneling through the IP network. The Netopia Router uses AURP
to allow your AppleTalk network to tunnel to designated AppleTalk
partner networks, as well as to accept connections from remote
AppleTalk networks tunneling to your AppleTalk LAN.
Routers and seeding
To configure AppleTalk networks, you must understand the concept
of seeding. Seeding is the process by which routers (or more
specifically, router ports) agree on what routing information is valid.
AppleTalk routers that have been reset, for example, must decide
what zones and network numbers are valid before they begin
routing. In this case, a router may use the information it has stored,
or use information it receives from another router, depending on
how it has been configured.
To help ensure agreement between routers on a network, a seed
router is configured with the correct information, and other routers
obtain their information from that router when they are turned on or
reset.
Routers commonly use one of three types of seeding procedures:
hard seeding, soft seeding, and non-seeding.
Hard seeding: When a router that uses hard seeding is turned on or
reset, it requests network number and zone name information from
any existing routers on the networks it will serve. If no other routers
reply, the router uses the network numbers and zone names
specified in its own configuration. If other routers reply, and their
information matches the router’s own configuration information, the
result is the same—the router uses the values in its own
configuration. However, if other routers provide network numbers or
zone names that conflict with those in the router’s configuration, the
router disables any of its own ports for which there are conflicts.