AppleTalk Networking and Routing

Before setting up Services for Macintosh on a computer that is running Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server, consult this section for information about planning your network.

Important

File Services for Macintosh can run over a TCP/IP network, so you can run a network without using the AppleTalk protocol and with Windows 2000 Server instead. TCP/IP is the standard data transmission protocol, and it provides excellent performance. For information about setting up a TCP/IP network, see the TCP/IP Core Networking Guide .

Windows 2000 supports an AppleTalk protocol stack and AppleTalk routing software so that the Windows 2000–based server can connect to and provide routing for AppleTalk-based Macintosh networks.

Most large AppleTalk networks are not single physical networks in which all computers are attached to the same network cabling system. Instead, they are AppleTalk internets, which are smaller, physical networks connected by routers.

A Windows 2000–based server can provide routing and seed routing support. You can install an unlimited number of network adapters on a computer that is running Windows 2000 Server to add an AppleTalk network, which consists of multiple smaller physical networks connected by routers. Routers are necessary for communication between computers on different physical networks. They also reduce traffic on the network by isolating the physical networks.

Some routers on the network are seed routers. A seed router initializes and broadcasts routing information about one or more directly connected physical networks. This information tells routers where to send each packet of data. Each physical network must have one or more seed routers that broadcast the routing information for that network.

Not all routers must be seed routers. Routers that are not seed routers maintain a map of the physical networks on the network, forward information such as network addresses to the correct physical network, and keep track of and direct data packets on AppleTalk networks. Seed routers perform these functions as well, but they also initialize the routing information (such as network numbers and zone lists) for one or more physical networks.

The network number or network range is the address or range of addresses assigned to the network. A network number is unique and identifies a particular AppleTalk physical network. By keeping track of network numbers and network ranges, routers can send incoming data to the correct physical network. A network number can be any number between 1 and 65,279.

LocalTalk networks can only have a single network number; EtherTalk, TokenTalk, and Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) networks can have network ranges. For more information about routing, see "Routing and Remote Access Service" in this book.