🚀 go-pugleaf

I am planning a 5 building campus backbone network over fiber, using cisco routers in each building.  The building routers connect to a dual ETHERNET & Token-Ring fiber building spine to which departmental LANs are bridged at each floor or as appropriate.  

The dept LANs will be ETHERNET and Token-Ring using TCP/IP, IPX protocols and many Token-Rings using NetBIOS/NetBEUI.

Off campus buildings will be connected to the campus backbone routers via serial links as required, 56Kbps and above.

My questions are centered around how the cisco bridge software handles the NetBIOS packets as follows:

1. If the campus backbone is ETHERNET can T-R/NetBIOS traffic be successfully bridged across the backbone ?  What about packet size differences ?  Fragmentation?

2. If I cannot use ETHERNET on the campus backbone what is the next best choice, until I can justify the cost of FDDI ?

3.  Is the NetBIOS "name request" packet passed successfully by the bridge software ?

Finally, as cisco moves into direct sales our local rep. can no longer support us.  We have 2 routers ordered, for pilot and anticipate others if the NetBIOS issues are resolved.  Where do we turn in the Dayton/Cincinatti area for sales and support ?

Thank you in advance for your help.  I would appreciate a direct response as I don't always check the NEWS as often as I should.

Regards,
Len Sholder, World-Wide Network Planning Services, NCR Corp.