Editing Internetwork Packet Exchange (section)

== Description ==
A big advantage of IPX protocol is its little or no need for configuration.  In the time when protocols for [[Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol|dynamic host configuration]] did not exist and the [[Bootstrap Protocol|BOOTP]] protocol for centralized assigning of addresses was not common, the IPX network could be configured almost automatically. A client computer uses the [[MAC address]] of its network card as the node address and learns what it needs to know about the network topology from the servers or [[Router (computing)|routers]] – routes are propagated by [[Routing Information Protocol]], services by [[Service Advertising Protocol]].

A small IPX network administrator had to care only
* to assign all servers in the same network the same network number,
* to assign different network numbers to different frame formats in the same network,
* to assign different network numbers to different interfaces of servers with multiple network cards (Novell [[NetWare]] server with multiple network cards worked automatically as a router),
* to assign different network numbers to servers in different interconnected networks,
* to start router process on nodes with multiple network cards in more complex networks.