Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!clarkson!grape.ecs.clarkson.edu!nelson From: nelson@sun.soe.clarkson.edu (Russ Nelson) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans Subject: Re: Difference between PD & NDIS objectives? Message-ID: Date: 7 Jun 91 16:49:06 GMT References: <8592.284cea9e@dit.ie> Sender: usenet@grape.ecs.clarkson.edu Reply-To: nelson@clutx.clarkson.edu (aka NELSON@CLUTX.BITNET) Organization: Clarkson University, Potsdam NY Lines: 34 In-Reply-To: bredmond@dit.ie's message of 5 Jun 91 13:43:58 GMT In article <8592.284cea9e@dit.ie> bredmond@dit.ie writes: Possibly naive question: What is the difference between Packet Drivers & NDIS? From the users perspective: none. From the technical perspective: many. Although the packet drivers and NDIS drivers perform the same function (hiding the Ethernet card behind a software spec && enabling multiple protocols' access to the board), they do it in completely different ways. Are they mutually exclusive alternatives? Not really -- you can emulate a packet driver using the dis_pkt shim, which itself uses an NDIS driver to do it work. In principle you can do the inverse although no one has done it yet. What is their future likely to be? Dunno. An NDIS driver is required to run LAN Manager, so it's unlikely that most companies would fail to provide one. I'll keep writing packet drivers as long as I can, and because the source code is available, anyone can maintain the code. When would I tend to use one & when the other? Pick an application. Most likely it will only support NDIS or the packet driver spec, not both. Your decision is then made for you. -- --russ I'm proud to be a humble Quaker. Clear cutting is criminal, spiking trees is criminal, and using hyperbole of this magnitude in a serious discussion is criminal. -- Irv Chidsey