With one exception, any installation configuration in which the client and server processes do not reside on the same machine or in the same instance must use Ingres Net.

The exception occurs when Ingres is configured in the cluster mode on nodes that are part of a cluster. In this case, the processes can reside on separate machines without using Net. If Ingres is configured in its normal (rather than cluster) mode on a node that is part of a cluster, Ingres Net is required to connect client and server processes on separate nodes.

For example, an Ingres 4GL client application using Net accesses a remote DBMS server. In this configuration, the Java application does not use Ingres Net because the Data Access Server (DAS) is local to the DBMS Server. If the DAS is remote to the DBMS Server, Ingres Net is required to enable the client/server connection.