LW Pro 810: Non-AppleTalk Packets in Data Stream

When I used a network diagnostic tool on my network, I noticed that a variety of non-AppleTalk packets are being sent from my LaserWriter Pro 810. How do I turn each one off or on?
If you plan on using the RCF (Remote Console Facility) extensively you should order the manual "Apple LaserWriter Pro 810 TCP/IP - LAT Protocol and Command Reference" (Apple Part Number M2187LL/A).

RCF can be accessed a couple of different ways. The easiest is by Telnet, once the printer's IP address has been set. The other way is by using the RJ-12 maintenance port. This option requires a unique RJ-12 to mini DIN-8 cable. For further information on the maintenance port and cabling, refer to Section 2.3.2 and Appendix A of Part 1 in the LaserWriter Pro 810 Network Installation and Configuration Manual. Once the connections have been made, the default passwords for RCF are as follows:

RCF:                  password = ACCESS
RCF Super User mode:  password = SYSTEM

Enable or Disable a Protocol Stack
Below is listed the RCF commands you can use to enable or disable the entire protocol stack. Use these commands to specify server options:

  SET    SERVER option(s)
  DEFINE

  CHANGE

Option: AUTHORIZED [PROTOCOL] APPLETALK [ENABLED | DISABLED]
                             LAT       [ENABLED | DISABLED]
                             NETWARE   [ENABLED | DISABLED]
                             TCPIP     [ENABLED | DISABLED]
                             ALL
                             NONE

Below is an example showing the disabling of TCP/IP:

 change server authorized tcpip disabled

Specifying a protocol with no flag, enables that protocol and disables the rest. ALL enables all protocols. NONE disables them.

SET      Modifies the current database and takes effect immediately.
        Parameters are reset to permanent (DEFINEd or CHANGEd) values
        at the next login or initialization

DEFINE   Modifies the permanent database and takes effect next login or
        initialization.

CHANGE   Modifies both databases immediately.

Enable or Disable Announcement Broadcasts
Announcement broadcasts may also populate the network such as DECnet MOP (Maintenance Operation Protocol) or bootp in TCP/IP. Use this command to specify server options.

  SET    SERVER option(s)
  DEFINE
  CHANGE

Option: ANNOUNCEMENTS [PROTOCOL] LAT   [ENABLED | DISABLED]
                                TCPIP [ENABLED | DISABLED]
                                RCF   [ENABLED | DISABLED]

Note: RCF enables or disables DECnet Mop.

Below is an example showing how to disable the DECnet MOP broadcasts:

 change server announcements rcf disabled

SET      Modifies the current database and takes effect immediately.
        Parameters are reset to permanent (DEFINEd or CHANGEd) values
        at the next login or initialization

DEFINE   Modifies the permanent database and takes effect next login or
        initialization.

CHANGE   Modifies both databases immediately.

Enable or Disable Netware Broadcasts
Netware broadcasts are different, use this command to specify the preferred Ethernet mode that IPX uses.

SET     SERVER NETWARE IPX [DEFAULT | 802.3 | [ETHERNET_II [ether_type]]]
DEFINE                     [REDISCOVER [minutes]]

CHANGE                     [FAST [PRINTSERVER] ENABLE | DISABLE]

Below is an example showing how to disable Netware broadcasts:

 change server netware ipx rediscover 0

DEFAULT      IPX will try both 802.3 and Ethernet II. The first one found
            will be selected.

802.3        IPX will only look for 802.3 Ethernet frames.

ETHERNET_II  IPX will only look for Ethernet II frames.

ether_type   If Ethernet II is selected the user can specify the Ethernet
            type in ASCII hex. For example, the Netware default is
            0x8137. The Ethernet type is not changed if this is not
            specified.

REDISCOVER   Triggers the rediscovery process. This process queries the
            network for newly configured Novell Print Servers and starts
            all remote printers found.

minutes      If specified with the REDISCOVER keyword this sets the
            automatic interval at which REDISCOVERY takes place. The
            range is from 0-14 minutes, 2 is the default and 0 disables

            periodic rediscovery.

FAST         Some versions of Netware pserver when run on original PC
            class machines (4.77mhz) require this option to be disabled.
Published Date: Feb 19, 2012