System information

Troubleshooting Novell IPX 8-149
Novell NetBIOS: Applications Cannot Connect to Server over Router
Possible Problem Solution
Missing ipx
type-20-propagation
commands
Step 1 Use the debug ipx packet privileged exec command or a network
analyzer to look for Novell packets with a specification of type 20.
Caution: Exercise caution when using the debug ipx packet command.
Because debugging output is assigned high priority in the CPU process, it
can render the system unusable. For this reason, use debug commands
only to troubleshoot specific problems or during troubleshooting sessions
with Cisco technical support staff. Moreover, it is best to use debug
commands during periods of lower network traffic and fewer users.
Debugging during these periods decreases the likelihood that increased
debug command processing overhead will affect system use.
Step 2 Use the show running-config privileged exec command to check for ipx
type-20-propagation interface configuration command entries on routers
in the path from client to server.
Step 3 If the ipx type-20-propagation command is not present, add it to the
interface configuration for every router interface in the path from client to
server.
Missing ipx helper-address
command
Step 1 Use the debug ipx packet privileged exec command or a network
analyzer to look for Novell packets with a specification other than type 20
(such as type 0 or type 4). Sometimes applications do not conform to the
Novell standard and use packet types other than type 20.
Caution: Exercise caution when using the debug ipx packet command.
Because debugging output is assigned high priority in the CPU process, it
can render the system unusable. For this reason, use debug commands
only to troubleshoot specific problems or during troubleshooting sessions
with Cisco technical support staff. Moreover, it is best to use debug
commands during periods of lower network traffic and fewer users.
Debugging during these periods decreases the likelihood that increased
debug command processing overhead will affect system use.
Step 2 If you see packets other than type 20, use the show running-config
privileged exec command to view the router configuration. Check to see
whether the ipx helper-address interface configuration command is
configured on the interface to which the client is attached.
Step 3 If the ipx helper-address command is not present, configure it on the
router interfaces. Make sure the helper address is the IPX protocol
address of the NetBIOS server that the client needs to reach. The
following is the syntax for the ipx helper-address command:
ipx helper-address network.node
Syntax Description:
• network—Network on which the target IPX server resides. This is an
eight-digit hexadecimal number that uniquely identifies a network
cable segment. It can be a number in the range 1 to FFFFFFFE. A
network number of –1 indicates all-nets flooding. You do not need to
specify leading zeros in the network number. For example, for the
network number 000000AA you can enter just AA.
• node—Node number of the target Novell server. This is a 48-bit value
represented by a dotted triplet of four-digit hexadecimal numbers
(xxxx.xxxx.xxxx). A node number of FFFF.FFFF.FFFF matches all
servers.
Workstation not running
NetBIOS over IPX
Make sure your workstation is running NetBIOS over IPX and not NetBIOS over
another protocol, such as NetBEUI. For information about what protocols your
workstation is running, refer to the vendor documentation.