Network
protocols are a headache
Question: Your recent column on how to speed up
a connection to the Internet was a real time saver.
It was the article on connecting to an ISP using Dial-up
Networking. For
so long I have waited and waited and waited for the
modem to connect (seems like an eternity when you're
in a hurry). I made the changes you suggested and it
worked well. It only takes seconds to connect now. I
have a question, though.Why
is NetBEUI and IPX/SPX set as default? Are they needed
for anything important?
--Tony
Answer:
Networking has to be one of the more difficult topics
in the personal computing world, so I'm glad my tips helped.
(For those who missed it, the column is at http://www.cyberwalker.com/columns/jun98/0604.html)
In that article, I recommended that users disable the
NetBEUI and IPX/SPX protocols under Dial Up Networking
in Windows 95/98. This allows a faster connection to a
user's Internet Service Provider.
But what the heck are they and why would they be there
in the first place?
A network protocol is a set of rules that defines how
information travels across a network (between a group
of electronically linked computers).
You could think of them as rules of the road. The difference
between two network protocols is like comparing driving
in North America where we drive on the right side of the
road to Great Britain where they drive on the left hand
side. They're two complete different ways of defining
the same process.
Both guide cars from A to B without them crashing into
each other.
Now consider TCP/IP.
That's the protocol behind the Internet and the one that
concerns Internet surfers.
Note to Acronym junkies: TCP/IP means "Transmission Control
Protocol over Internet Protocol."
NetBEUI is the network protocol used by Microsoft network
systems and IBM's LAN Server systems.
It's a small, lean network protocol that's very fast.
IPX/SPX refers to a network protocol used by Novell products,
but initially developed by XEROX Corp.
IPX means Internetwork Packet eXchange. SPX means Sequenced
Packet Exchange.
The bottom line is that if you're just connecting to the
Internet, you don't need to bother with NetBEUI or IPX/SPX.
They're installed as default networks with Windows 95
because "anytime a network adapter is installed, Windows
95 installs Client for Netware Networks which needs IPX/SPX
and Client for Microsoft Networks which will load NetBEUI,"
explained Mathew Fiszer, a CyberWalker adviser,
who works at Logicorp in Edmonton.
Basically, the install of the two extra protocols prepares
you to do corporate networking. They'd be useful if you
wanted to dial up your company computer and talk to its
network.
If your computer doesn't need to talk to a corporate network
and the protocols are installed, then they'll be a delay
when you go to connect to the Internet.
Why? Because when you make a call with your modem, the
computer first checks to see if either NetBEUI or IPX/SPX
network connections can be made. This takes time. When
it can't make these connections it then tries TCP/IP and
finally -- after all that waiting -- a connection to the
Internet is made.
If
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