Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the OSI-model Network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol stack.
The IPX/SPXM protocol stack is supported by Novell's NetWare network operating system. Because of Netware's popularity through the late 1980s into the mid 1990s, IPX became a popular internetworking protocol. Novell derived IPX from Xerox Network Systems' IDP.
IPX did not scale enough for large networks such as the internet and as such, IPX usage decreased as the boom of the Internet made TCP/IP nearly universal. Computers and networks can run multiple network protocols, so almost all IPX sites will be running TCP/IP as well to allow for Internet connectivity. It has also been possible to run Novell products without IPX for some time, as they have supported both IPX and TCP/IP since NetWare reached version 5 in late 1998.
Read more about Internetwork Packet Exchange: IPX Addressing
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