RFC 1088 (rfc1088) - Page 2 of 3

Standard for the transmission of IP datagrams over NetBIOS networks

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RFC 1088                IP over NetBIOS networks           February 1989


   For these internet protocol applications, IP.XX.XX.XX.XX is the
   NetBIOS name for any IP over NetBIOS host where XX represents the
   ascii hexadecimal representation of that byte of the internet
   address.

   This addressing scheme allows for the multiplexing of standard
   datagram protocols over NetBIOS as well as easy visual confirmation
   of the correctness of a given packet's address.

Broadcast and Multicast Addresses

   Broadcast Internet addresses are represented by the NetBIOS group
   name IP.FF.FF.FF.FF.  Currently, no attempt is made to provide
   support of IP multicast addresses using NetBIOS group names.

Maximum Transmission Unit

   The maximum data size of a NetBIOS datagram, and therefore the
   Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) for IP over NetBIOS networks, is 512
   bytes.  Therefore, any hosts communicating with a host on a NetBIOS
   network may be required to reassemble fragmented datagrams.

Implementation

   To support IP on a NetBIOS host for any given IP address the
   initialization code must:

       1) Add IP.XX.XX.XX.XX to the host's NetBIOS name table.

       2) Add IP.FF.FF.FF.FF to the host's NetBIOS group name table.

       3) Submit a receive datagram request for the reception of NetBIOS
          datagrams destined for IP.XX.XX.XX.XX.

       4) Submit a receive datagram request for the reception of NetBIOS
          datagrams destined for IP.FF.FF.FF.FF.

   When a NetBIOS datagram to either address is received, it is
   processed by the protocol stack and another receive datagram request
   is submitted.

   When an IP datagram is sent, it is considered to be NetBIOS datagram
   data and sent by a send datagram request to either IP.XX.XX.XX.XX or
   IP.FF.FF.FF.FF.

   Optionally, the IP software may desire to make adapter status queries
   of the NetBIOS network.  As support for SNMP becomes a requirement
   for IP hosts, these adapter status queries may become mandatory.



McLaughlin
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