NetWare 4.1/9000 Concepts

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NetWare Glossary
P
P
Packet
A unit of information used in network communication.
Messages sent between network devices (for example, workstations and
NetWare server.) are formed into packets at the source device.
The packets are reassembled, if necessary, into complete messages when
they reach their destination.
A packet might contain a request for service, information on how to handle
the request, and the data that will be serviced.
An individual packet consists of headers and a data portion. Different
headers are appended to the data portion as the packet travels through the
communication layers.
A message that exceeds the maximum size is partitioned and carried as
several packets. When the packet arrives at its destination, the headers are
stripped off in reverse order and the request is serviced.
For example, the NetWare Core Protocol (NCP) attaches a write request
header and an IPX header to a piece of data to be written.
Then the workstation’s IPX communication protocol fills in the IPX header,
designating, among other things, the source of the request and the packet
length.
Finally, the Multiple Link Interface Driver (MLID) adds a hardware or MAC
(Media Access Control) frame header.
See also: “Communication protocol”; “Ethernet configuration”; “Large
Internet Packet (LIP)”; “NetWare daemon.”
Packet Burst protocol
A protocol built on top of IPX that speeds multiple-packet NCP (NetWare
Core Protocol) reads and writes. of files.