Netopia R2020 - Manual (Page 178)

12-2 User’s Reference Guide
If the cabling of your network were a street system, then a node address would correspond to a building’s
street address. Node addresses are not permanent. Each AppleTalk device determines its node address at
star tup. Although a Macintosh that is star ting up will tr y to use its previous address, the address will often be
different upon restar t. This dynamic node addressing scheme prevents conflicts when devices are moved
between networks and simplifies the administrative tasks of a network. If you have only one network, the node
address alone is all the information AppleTalk needs to send a packet from one computer to another.
However, networks can be connected together through routers, such as the Netopia R2020, into an
internetwork (often shor tened to internet). Because devices on different networks can have duplicate node
numbers, AppleTalk tells them apar t according to an additional par t of their addresses: the network number.
The Netopia R2020 assigns a unique network number to each member network. In terms of the city street
metaphor, the network number is similar to the name of the street. Putting a network number together with a
node number fully specifies the address of a node on an internet.
To make the ser vices on an internet manageable, groups of devices on a network can be grouped into zones.
When this is done, selecting a network ser vice (ser ver, etc.) includes choosing a zone from which the ser vice
can be selected. Like network numbers, zone names are assigned by routers.
A routing table is maintained by each AppleTalk router. The table ser ves as a map of the internet, specifying
the path and distance, in hops, between its router and other networks. The routing table is used to determine
whether a router will for ward a data packet and, if so, to which network.
You can use the information in the AppleTalk routing table to obser ve and diagnose the Netopia R2020’s
current connections to other AppleTalk routers. To go to the AT Routing Table screen from the Netopia R2020’s
console, select Statistics & Logs from the Main Menu and then select AppleTalk Routing Table.
A router has multiple communications por ts and is capable of for warding information to other routers and
devices on the internet. The router per forms packet for warding, network and device address maintenance, and
other administrative functions required by the AppleTalk protocols.
AT Routing Table
-Net---Range--Def Zone Name----------Hops-State-Next Rtr Addr.--Pkts Fwded
----------------------------------SCROLL UP--------------------------
1 -- Admin 2 Good 46.131 0
2 -- AdMan 2 Good 46.131 0
3 -- Aspirations 2 Good 46.131 0
4 -- Sales 2 Good 46.131 0
5 -- Marketing 2 Good 46.131 0
6 -- Molluscs 2 Good 46.131 1
7 -- Customer Service 2 Good 46.131 1
8 -- Telemarketing 2 Good 46.131 0
10 -- Rio 2 Good 46.131 0
11 -- Regiment 2 Good 46.131 0
12 -- Rhinos 2 Good 46.131 0
16 -- Unique Services 2 Good 46.131 0
*24 27 Aspirations 1 Good 46.131 79
28 31 Rhinos 1 Good 46.131 15
---------------------------------SCROLL DOWN-------------------------
UPDATE
'*' Entries have multiple zone names. Return/Enter on these to see zone list.