Data-Link Switching - DLSw
DLSw provides means of transporting IBM SNA and NetBIOS traffic over an IP network
Alternative to source-route bridging (SRB), which allows to transport SNA and NetBIOS traffic in Token Ring environment
IBM solution in 1992 (RFC 1434, 1795)
The principal difference between SRB and DLSw is in support of local termination
- DLSw node or router terminates data-link control (DLC)
- In SRB, data-link control is handled on an end-to-end basis
- Switch-to-Switch Protocol (SSP) is used between DLSw nodes (routers) to establish connection, forward data and handle flow control