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Configuring IPX Watchdog Spoofing
Page 27-28
Configuring IPX Watchdog Spoofing
The ipxspoof command is used to enable and disable IPX Watchdog Spoofing on any or all
WAN routing services. The use of this feature is explained below:
Novell’s IPX Watchdog Protocol, which is used by NetWare to maintain network node and
server connections, can consume significant network bandwidth and thereby incur costs on
expensive dial-on-demand, pay-per-packet WAN links. The Omni Switch/Router provides an
IPX Watchdog Spoofing feature to prevent Watchdog packets from initiating connections on
WAN links in situations where no other data is ready to be transferred.
The IPX Watchdog Spoofing feature enables the switch to respond to a NetWare server’s
Watchdog “Query” requests on behalf of a remote client, thus spoofing the requests. The
spoofing action occurs when the switch “sees” an incoming Watchdog packet destined for an
interface on which spoofing has been enabled. The switch responds to the server by sending
out a valid Watchdog response. Spoofing thus maintains the required Watchdog function
while avoiding the cost of making and maintaining a WAN link.
In some situations, the use of the IPX Watchdog Spoofing feature can make a NetWare server
“believe” that an inactive session is still active. This occurrence can cause connectivity prob-
lems by denying login rights to legitimate users. Therefore, if you use the spoofing feature on
networks that also limit the number of IPX or SPX sessions, you should utilize NetWare’s
“auto-logoff” function to minimize inappropriate denials of legitimate logins.
Enabling IPX Watchdog Spoofing
Follow the steps below to enable IPX Watchdog Spoofing.
1. Enter
ipxspoof.
A screen similar to the following displays:
View the current spoofing status of all WAN routing services? (y or n) (n) :
Enter y if you do want to see the current IPX spoofing status. Enter n (or just press Enter)
if you entered this command by mistake or if you don’t need to see the current status.
2. A screen similar to the following displays:
Group IPX Spoofing
---------- ----------------------------
3 Disabled
4 Disabled
Enter Group (default: all WAN) :
Enter a Group number to proceed to enable IPX spoofing for that particular Group.
Or, just press
Enter to proceed to enable IPX spoofing for all WAN routing services.
3. The following prompt displays:
Enable Spoofing? (y or n) (n) :
Enter y to proceed to enable IPX spoofing.
4. The following prompt displays:
Enable IPX Spoofing on all WAN routing services? (y or n) (n) : y
This prompt requires you to verify that you want to enable spoofing in order to avoid the
situation of accidental spoofing of IPX packets.