Editing Internetwork Packet Exchange (section)

{{Short description|Network protocol}}
{{redirect|IPX}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Technical|date=July 2019}}
{{More citations needed|date=July 2019}}
}}
'''Internetwork Packet Exchange''' ('''IPX''') is the [[network-layer protocol]] in the [[IPX/SPX]] [[protocol stack|protocol suite]]. IPX is derived from [[Xerox Network Systems]]' [[Xerox Network Systems#Basic internetwork protocol|IDP]]. It also has the ability to act as a [[transport layer]] protocol.

The IPX/SPX protocol suite was very popular through the late 1980s and mid-1990s because it was used by [[Novell, Inc.|Novell]] [[NetWare]], a [[network operating system]]. Due to Novell NetWare's popularity, IPX became a prominent protocol for [[internetworking]].

A big advantage of IPX was a small [[memory footprint]] of the IPX driver, which was vital for [[DOS]] and [[Windows]] up to [[Windows 95]] due to the limited size at that time of [[conventional memory]]. Another IPX advantage was easy configuration of its client computers. However, IPX does not scale well for large networks such as the Internet.<ref>{{cite book |quote=It does not scale well to large networks such as the Internet |author=Simson Garfinkel, Gene Spafford |publisher=O'Reilly Media |title=Practical UNIX and Internet Security |year=1996 |isbn=9781565921481 |url=https://archive.org/details/practicalunixint00garf |url-access=registration |edition=2nd}}.</ref> As such, IPX usage decreased as the boom of the [[Internet]] made [[TCP/IP]] nearly universal. 

Computers and networks can run multiple [[network protocol]]s, so almost all IPX sites also ran TCP/IP, to allow Internet connectivity.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710090324/http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5026038.html |work=TechRepublic |title=Do you still support IPX/SPX on your Windows servers? |archive-date=July 10, 2012 |url=http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5026038.html |date=February 12, 2001 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was also possible to run later Novell products without IPX, with the beginning of full support for both IPX and TCP/IP by NetWare version 5<ref>[http://support.novell.com/techcenter/articles/ana19980302.html Maintaining IPX Compatibility During a Migration to TCP/IP on a NetWare Network]. support.novell.com.</ref> in late 1998.