Cabletron Systems DMS-100 - Manual (Page 171)

DMS-100 Family EIU User Guide TELECOM12
171
Appendix G: IP network number
requests
This appendix provides information on obtaining an Internet Protocol (IP)
address from the Network Information Center (NIC), including information on
the type of addresses available and the form required to obtain the address.
Overview
NIC is the formal organization that regulates and assigns all IP addresses
recognized on the Internet. NIC ensures that the network portion of an IP
address is unique. NIC assigns the network portion of the IP address to the
requesting organization, and delegates responsibility for assigning host
addresses to that organization.
While NIC assigns IP addresses for networks that are attached to the connected
Internet, it is not concerned with isolated networks that do not access the
Internet. As a result, an organization with an isolated network may choose to
assign arbitrary addresses to the nodes within that network, without regulation
through NIC. However, experience across the Internetworking industry shows
that the unregulated address structures result in the following limitations:
• prevent future interoperability of the corporate network with the Internet
• may cause significant problems and downtime when converting the
corporate network to assigned addresses in the future
It is strongly recommended that an organization obtain official Internet
addresses from the NIC.
Considerations for obtaining IP addresses
Consider the following characteristics of the network when assigning IP
addresses to hosts within the network:
• SuperNode network topology
• the dynamic routing strategy (only routing information protocol [RIP] is
supported on the Ethernet interface unit [EIU])
• network security