Importance

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Abstract

Method and apparatus by which an interactive network board can determine which of plural frame packet types is currently being used for LAN communication on a local area network. A prescanning software module simultaneously binds itself through a link support layer to each of the plural frame packet types and then deactivates itself. The LAN communication network is then monitored for broadcast traffic so as to capture a LAN frame packet, whereupon the link support layer provides data groups for the captured frame packet, each of the data groups corresponding to a different one of the plural frame packet types. The prescanner is reactivated so as to prescan each data group for a predetermined IPX header, and determines the frame packet type in correspondence to the data group having the predetermined IPX header. The prescanner is operative in a multiprotocol network environment in which two different LAN operating systems having respectively different operating protocols, such as Novell-compatible and UNIX-compatible operating systems, both carry on LAN communication on a single network bus. In this case, the prescanner repeats operations for each of the different operating protocols.

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First Claim