Using the Service Advertising Protocol

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Using the Service Advertising Protocol

The NWLink IPX/SPX/NetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol (NWLink) uses the Service Advertising Protocol (SAP) to locate the nearest server upon startup and to locate either all services or all services of a specific type. When the Windows Routing and Remote Access service is installed, the computer running Windows also uses SAP to listen for SAP advertisements and periodically make SAP advertisements to maintain a table of available services on the network. If you have installed Routing and Remote Access, you can run just SAP advertising and routing by disabling all other functions of the Routing and Remote Access.

The SAP Agent is a network service that allows services on a server running Windows Server 2003 to advertise themselves by using periodic SAP advertisements. Without the SAP Agent, the services on a computer running Windows are unavailable to computers running NetWare client software as well as computers running Windows that are configured to use just the NWLink protocol.

You can manually install the SAP Agent by using the properties of a connection, but is usually automatically installed when a service that uses the SAP Agent is installed. An example is Microsoft Exchange Server. To make the computer running Microsoft Exchange Server available to computers running NetWare client software and computers running Windows that are configured to use just the NWLink protocol, the Microsoft Exchange Server setup program automatically installs the SAP Agent. Once installed, the Microsoft Exchange Server service uses the SAP Agent to periodically advertise its presence and location so that it can be contacted by Microsoft Exchange clients on an IPX network.

When Routing and Remote Access is running, you can configure SAP settings per network adapter, such as whether to forward broadcasts from one adapter to another or whether to disable SAP over an adapter. These settings are configured through the Routing and Remote Access console. You cannot configure the SAP Agent.

The following table summarizes the relationship between the SAP Agent and Routing and Remote Access.

Note

• You do not need to install the SAP Agent service separately when Routing and Remote Access is running, since Routing and Remote Access assumes the responsibilities of the SAP Agent.

Important

• Client Service for NetWare is not available on 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP.

• Gateway Service for NetWare is included in Windows 2000 Server. It is not included in the Windows Server 2003 family.

• Computers running operating systems in the Windows Server 2003 family cannot be IPX routers.