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Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol suite. IPX is derived from Xerox Network Systems' IDP. It may act as a transport layer protocol as well. The IPX/SPX protocol suite was very popular through the late 1980s into the mid-1990s because it was used by the Novell NetWare network operating system. Because of Novell Netware popularity the IPX became a prominent internetworking protocol. A big advantage of IPX was a small memory footprint of the IPX driver, which was vital for MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows up to the version Windows 95 because of limited size of the conventional memory. Another IPX advantage is an easy configuration of the client computers. However, IPX does not scale well for large networks such as the Internet, and as such, IPX usage decreased as the boom of the Internet made TCP/IP nearly universal. Computers and networks can run multiple network protocols, so almost all IPX sites will be running TCP/IP as well to allow for Internet connectivity.〔(TechRepublic - Do you still support IPX/SPX on your Windows servers? )〕 It has also been possible to run Novell products without IPX for some time, as they have supported both IPX and TCP/IP since NetWare reached version 5〔(Maintaining IPX Compatibility During a Migration to TCP/IP on a NetWare Network )〕 in late 1998. == Description == A big advantage of IPX protocol is its little or no need for configuration. In the time when protocols for dynamic host configuration did not exist and the BOOTP protocol for centralized assigning addresses was not common, the IPX network could be configured almost automatically. A client computer uses the MAC address of its network card as the node address, and learns the network number from the server or router. Network number is derived from MAC address of the server. A small IPX network administrator had to care only * to assign all servers in the same network the same network number * to assign different network numbers to different frame formats in the same network * to assign different network numbers to different interfaces of servers with multiple network cards (Novell Netware server with multiple network cards worked automatically as a router) * to assign different network numbers to servers in different interconnected networks * to start router process on nodes with multiple network cards in more complex networks 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Internetwork Packet Exchange」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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