BASIC OPERATIONS of IPXWAN and NLSP

            NLSP and IPXWAN are alternatives to EIGRP over WAN links, designed ny Novell. The Netware Link
               Services Protocol (NLSP) was introduced to address the limitations of the IPX RIP and SAP update
               processes, and is equivalent to using a link state protocol for IP routing instead of a distance vector
               protocol. IPXWAN was designed to reduce the WAN bandwidth utilization of IPX routing.

               NLSP is derived from the OSI's link state protocol, IS-IS. However, NLSP does not support the use
               of areas as do other link state protocols. Novell has stated that NLSP will be soon enhanced to support
               linking of separate NLSP areas directly together.

               NLSP routers must exchange hello packets on direct connections to determine who their neighbors are
               before exchanging route information. Once all neighbors have been identified, each router sends link
               state advertisements describing its immediate neighbors. Once this is done, NLSP routers will propagate
               network information via link state advertisements to other routers in the area. This will continue until the
               routers become adjacent. Adjacent is when two routers have the same topology database of the inter-
               network.

               IPXWAN standardizes how IPX treats WAN links. IPXWAN can be used over PPP, X.25 and frame relay.
               Before IPXWAN can initiate, these layer 2 protocols must establish WAN connectivity. Initialization of
               the layer 2 protocols starts a hello process to begin the IPXWAN process. RIP/SAP or NLSP will run
               over IPXWAN.