Visara CNA-8000 Planning Guide - Manual (Page 27)

CNA-8000 Migration and Planning Guide
707156-002 3-1
Chapter 3. Integrated Data Link Switching
Data Link Switching (DLSw) is a protocol described by RFC 1795 (and enhanced
through RFC 2166) to provide a means to encapsulate SNA traffic into an IP packet.
Devices compatible to RFC 2166 are typically also backwards compatible to RFC 1795.
There are also platforms still in existence that are compatible to RFC 1434, a predecessor
to RFC 1795. The CNA-8000 is equipped with support for RFC 1795 DLSw which will
negotiate compatibility with RFC 2166 platforms (configure CNA-8000 for Version 2),
and is also directly compatible with RFC 1434 platforms (configure CNA-8000 for
Version 1).
DLSw gateway functionality is typically found in some routers. SNA traffic is received
by the router typically in the form of LLC2 packets and is encapsulated into IP packets
that can be transported over the wider IP network. A similar router platform is typically
located on the far side of the IP network to provide the de-encapsulation of the SNA
traffic from the IP packets which is then provided to the SNA platforms located at the far
end of the network. The SNA traffic may be in the form of LLC2 packets or perhaps
SDLC packets.
A typical DLSw network is shown below.
IP IP
DLSw Router
DLSw Router
DLSw Router
3745
Mainframe
PU2 PC
Server
PU2 Controller
PU2 Controller
LLC2
LLC2
SDLC