TOPIC ---------------------------------------------
How does Apple define the term virtual network?
I have heard virtual network defined as the entire Internet; that is,
encompassing all networks attached to the physical cable. However, I
understood the term virtual network to mean an individual network, which is, in
turn, attached to the Internet. Do you know if one definition is an industry
standard and the other an Apple definition?
DISCUSSION ---------------------------------------------
From our research, there is no industry standard definition for the term
"virtual network".
In AppleTalk Phase 2, a physical network can have a range of network
numbers associated with it. Each of these network numbers is assigned to a
virtual network. A node on this extended network would dynamically choose
its network number from the range. What this means is that users can use
the virtual network numbers to have more than 253 nodes on a large physical
network without having to break up their large physical networks into
cables with fewer nodes on them.
We are not sure about your first definition. It sounds like a definition for a
"logical network" that encompasses all entities that make up the entire
network, regardless of protocols or physical cabling.
For more information, please refer to the Technical Details of AppleTalk Phase
2 section in the LAN Minds training binders.