System information

Troubleshooting AppleTalk 9-185
AppleTalk Configuration and Troubleshooting Tips
Using the test appletalk and ping appletalk Commands
In Cisco IOS Release 11.1 and later, use the test appletalk privileged exec command to help identify
problem nodes. Use the nbp (Name Binding Protocol) options of the command to perform
informational lookups of NBP-registered entities. The information returned when using the nbp
options is useful when AppleTalk zones are listed in the Chooser but services in those zones are
unavailable.
When running the test appletalk facility, use the confirm option to check that a name of a specified
type is registered on a device. For example, nbp confirm 24279.173
my-mac:AFPServer@engineering confirms that the name my-mac is registered on the device
24279.173 in the engineering zone. The object type is AFPServer. The syntax for the nbp confirm
command is as follows:
nbp confirm appletalk-address [:skt] object:type@zone
The syntax description is as follows:
• appletalk-address—AppleTalk network address in the form network.node. The argument
network is the 16-bit network number in the range 1 to 65279. The argument node is the 8-bit
node number in the range 0 to 254. Both numbers are decimal.
• :skt—(Optional) Name of socket.
• object:type—Name of device and the type of service. The colon (:) between object and type is
required.
• @zone—Name of the AppleTalk zone where the entity object:type resides.
When you change a router
or interface configuration,
enable the
debug apple error
privileged exec command to
log errors
The debug apple error privileged exec command tracks the progress and status of
changes in the internetwork and alerts you to any errors. You can also run this
command periodically when you suspect network problems. In a stable network, this
command returns no output.
You can establish a syslog server at your site and add the configuration command
appletalk event-logging to the router. This keeps a running log, with timestamps, of
significant events on your network.
Disable this command with the no debug apple error command when you have
completed diagnostic activities.
Design your network
with attention to the
direction in which traffic
will flow and minimize the
number of different zones in
the internetwork
Careful zone mapping can minimize unnecessary NBP
1
traffic. Planning is particularly
important in WANs where traffic traversing WAN links (such as X.25) can be quite
expensive.
In System 6, if a user opens the Chooser, the Macintosh continually sends NBP BrReq
packets. In System 7, a logarithmic backoff minimizes the amount of traffic generated.
Give all the backbone/WAN connections the same zone name rather than put them in a
zone with a LAN.
In most internetworks, it is not desirable to have the zone names for all backbone or
WAN connections appear in the Chooser list. If you make the zone name of all the
WAN links the same (for example, ZZSerial), only that entry appears in the Chooser
menu.
Set AppleTalk timers to
the default values
throughout the
internetwork
A stable network almost never has nondefault timer values configured. Timers should
be consistently set to the same value throughout the internetwork, or at a minimum,
throughout the backbone of the internetwork. Check with a qualified technical support
representative before changing AppleTalk default timer values.
1 NBP = Name Binding Protocol
Preventive Action Description