Network nodes must support a common protocol in order to exchange packets. Transport protocols establish point-to-point connections so that nodes can send messages to each other and have the packets arrive intact and in the correct order. The transport protocol also specifies how nodes are identified with unique network addresses and how packets are routed to the intended receiver.
Open Enterprise Server 2 includes the Novell® TCP/IP stack on NetWare® and standard Linux TCP/IP support on SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server 10. Both comply with the latest RFCs.
Internetwork Packet Exchange™ (IPX™) was the foundational protocol for NetWare from the 1980s until the release of NetWare 5.0, when support for pure TCP/IP became standard.
Coexistence between IPX and TCP/IP networks is still supported on NetWare, but IPX is not supported on Linux.
Data migration from TCP/IP to IPX is possible. IPX compatibility must be maintained on both the source and destination servers. Applications and services that run only on IPX must be either rewritten or replaced. After all IPX dependencies are resolved, you can safely remove IPX support from your NetWare servers.
For more information on deploying TCP/IP in a NetWare environment, see the NW 6.5 SP8: TCP/ IP Administration Guide.