Microsoft/3Com LAN Manager
Network Driver Interface Specification
Version 2.0.1
Published 05 Oct., 1990
Copyright 1988, 1989, 1990 3Com Corporation/Microsoft Corporation
NOTICE
This specification is intended for use by those developing or
using networking products. This specification may be copied
freely for that purpose as long as copyright notice is preserved
on all copies of the specification. No fee or royalty is
required by either 3Com Corporation or Microsoft Corporation to
develop products which use the information contained within this
specification. Information contained in this specification may
be included in documents, presentations, or products of third
parties; however, authorship must be attributed jointly to 3Com
Corporation and Microsoft Corporation, and appropriate copyright
notices must be placed in any such documents or presentations.
Additional copies of this specification may be obtained from 3Com
Corporation or Microsoft Corporation.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Definition of Terms 1-1
Scope of this Document 1-2
Changes for this Version 1-2
Chapter 2 - Configuration and Binding
Configuration and Binding Process 2-1
Chapter 3 - Protocol to MAC Interface Description
Transmission 3-1
Reception 3-1
Non Host-Buffered Adapter 3-2
Host-Buffered Adapter 3-3
Indication Control 3-3
Status Indication 3-3
General Requests 3-4
System Requests 3-5
Protocol Manager Primitives 3-5
Chapter 4 - Data Structures
Module Characteristics 4-1
Common Characteristics 4-1
MAC Service-Specific Characteristics 4-4
MAC Service-Specific Status Table 4-8
MAC Upper Dispatch Table 4-9
Protocol Service-Specific Charateristics Table 4-10
Protocol Lower Dispatch Table 4-10
Characteristics Table for NetBIOS Drivers 4-11
Frame Data Description 4-13
Transmit Buffer Descriptor 4-13
Transfer Data Buffer Descriptor 4-14
Receive Chain Buffer Descriptor 4-14
PROTOCOL.INI 4-15
Configuration Memory Image 4-17
ConfigMemoryImage 4-17
ModuleConfig 4-17
KeywordEntro 4-18
Param 4-19
Bindings List 4-20
Chapter 5 - Specification of Primitives
Direct Primitives 5-3
TransmitChain 5-3
TransmitConfirm 5-4
ReceiveLookahead 5-5
TransferData 5-6
IndicationComplete 5-7
ReceiveChain 5-8
ReceiveRelease 5-9
IndicationOff 5-9
IndicationOn 5-10
General Requests 5-11
Initiate Diagnostics 5-11
ReadErrorLog 5-12
SetStationAddress 5-12
OpenAdapter 5-13
CloseAdapter 5-14
ResetMAC 5-14
SetPacketFilter 5-15
AddMulticastAddress 5-16
DeleteMulticastAddress 5-17
UpdateStatistics 5-17
ClearStatistics 5-18
Interrupt 5-18
SetFunctionalAddress 5-19
SetLookahead 5-19
General Request Confirmation 5-21
StatusIndication 5-22
RingStatus 5-22
AdapterCheck 5-23
StartReset 5-24
EndReset 5-25
Interrupt 5-25
System Requests 5-26
InitiateBind 5-26
Bind 5-27
InitiatePrebind (OS/2 only) 5-27
InitiateUnbind 5-28
Unbind 5-29
Protocol Manager Primitives 5-30
GetProtocolManagerInfo 5-30
RegisterModule 5-31
BindAndStart 5-33
GetProtocolManagerLinkage 5-34
GetProtocolIniPath 5-35
RegisterProtocolManagerInfo 5-35
InitAndRegister 5-36
UnbindAndStop 5-37
BindStatus 5-38
RegisterStatus 5-41
Chapter 6 - Protocol Manager
Protocol Manager Initialization 6-1
Static Binding Sequence 6-1
OS/2 CallingConvention 6-3
DOS Calling Convention 6-4
Chapter 7 - VECTOR and Dynamic Binding
Static VECTOR Binding 7-1
Dynamic VECTOR Binding 7-2
Dynamic Binding/Unbinding in the DOS
Environment 7-2
Dynamic Binding/Unbinding in the OS/2
Environment 7-3
VECTOR Demultiplexing 7-4
Appendix A:
System Return Codes A-1
Appendix B:
Reference Material B-1
Appendix C:
802.3 Media Specific Statistics C-1
Appendix D:
802.5 Media Specific Statistics D-1
Appendix E:
Utilities Provided with the Protocol Manager E-1
Chapter 1: Introduction
This document describes the LAN Manager network driver
architecture and interfaces that let a DOS or OS/2 system support
one or more network adapters and protocol stacks. This
architecture provides a standardized way for writing drivers for
network adapters and communications protocols. It also solves
the problem of how to configure and bind multiple drivers into
the desired set of layered protocol stacks.
Drivers written to the interfaces defined here will function
concurrently in a system with other networking and protocol
drivers, and will operate correctly with the LAN Manager software
for DOS and OS/2.
Definition of Terms
To simplify the job of supporting multiple adapters and
protocols, the architecture defines four kinds of drivers.
- Media Access Control (MAC) drivers, which provide low-level
access to network adapters. The main function of a MAC driver
is to support transmitting and receiving packets, plus some
basic adapter management functions. MAC drivers are device
drivers that are loaded during system initialization and remain
permanently in memory. Since they cannot be unloaded, they are
called "static".
- Protocol drivers, which provide higher-level communication
services from data link to application (depending on the
driver). An example is a NetBIOS driver that provides a
NetBIOS interface at the top and talks to a MAC driver at the
bottom. Protocol drivers can be device drivers, TSRs, or
transient DOS applications. A protocol driver is called
"static" if it cannot be unloaded. A protocol driver is called
"dynamic" if it can be loaded and unloaded on demand.
- MAC-layer entities, which bind to real MAC drivers and
expose a new MAC-like layer interface on top. Possible
examples are MAC bridges, test tools, or interface mappings
which change the NDIS interface to meet some environment-specific
administrative requirement.
- The Protocol Manager driver. This is a special driver that
provides a standardized way for multiple MAC and protocol
drivers to get configuration information and bind together
into the desired protocol hierarchy. The Protocol Manager gets
all configuration information from a central file, PROTOCOL.INI.
Scope of this Document
This document defines:
1. Protocol Manager functions and interfaces for configuration
and binding of MAC and protocol drivers.
2. The software interface between MAC and protocol drivers.
Separate documents will specify the configuration and interface
details for other kinds of protocol drivers, including data link
and transport drivers.
Changes for this Version
The major highlights of this version compared to the last (1.0)
are:
1. Support for dynamic binding/unbinding of protocol modules,
allowing protocols to be swapped in and out of memory as
needed. No changes are required of MAC drivers to support
the dynamic bind/unbind features. In particular NDIS 1.0.1
conformant MACs will support dynamically binding protocol
modules.
2. Additional Protocol Manager functions to support dynamic
binding and future administrative requirements.
3. Some adjustments to the Reset MAC function, StartReset, and EndReset
primitives were made to correct some inconsistencies and keep logic
out of the criticial paths.
4. Additional fields were added to certain tables to provide
additional information. The presence or absence of these
fields can be determined by examining the length field in each
table.
5. Some new recommendations and clarifications on such issues
as double-word alignment of data blocks, the use of the
permanent station address, the copying of DS and entry points,
the use of 80386 32-bit registers, the release of internal re-
sources before confirmations, the handling of 0 length data
blocks, the formatting of MAC headers, the use of zero handles,
new transmit error codes for Token Ring to support source-
routing, and various other points that needed additional
clarifications.
6. A standard for protocol service-specific characteristics
tables.
7. The inclusion of additional 802.3 and 802.5 specific
information and added statistics definitions.
8. Additional information and caveats to help developers.
9. The Protocol Manager now has a transient component (in some
configurations)called PROTMAN.EXE. This is now described
with certain restricitions imposed on Protocol Manager
primitives.
10. Some new error response codes were defined.
11. A new appendix, Appendix E, was added to describe some
helpful bind and configuration management utilities provided
with Protocol Manager.
12. Selected statistics designated as manditory for both
service-specific and media specific statistics(802.3 and 802.5).
13. Extended 802.3 statistics to include Number_of_Underruns.
14. OpenAdapter function expanded to permit driver return of
vendor specified warning errors and/or hardware error codes.
It is not expected that any of these changes will result in
incompatibilities with protocol and MAC drivers written to
previous versions of this specification. Great care was taken to
avoid creating incompatibilities. It is the protocol's responsibility
to identify and interoperate with older NDIS version driver imple-
mentations that may not have implemented support for statistics.
Older network drivers will co-exist with network drivers written to
this specification. However, to take advantage of new features
(such as dynamic binding), developers may wish to update their protocol
drivers tobe NDIS 2.0.1 compliant.
Chapter 2: Configuration and Binding
A network server or workstation includes at least one Media
Access Control (MAC) and one protocol driver, plus the Protocol
Manager driver. More complex configurations may have multiple
MAC and protocol drivers.
The Protocol Manager is always defined in CONFIG.SYS to load
before any MAC or protocol drivers. Its job is to read the
configuration information out of the PROTOCOL.INI file and make
this available to MAC and protocol drivers which load later.
MAC and protocol drivers use this information to set
initialization parameters and allocate memory appropriately. For
example, a NetBIOS driver may use the configuration information
provided by the Protocol Manager to determine its maximum number
of names and sessions.
As each driver configures and initializes itself, it identifies
itself to the Protocol Manager using a driver-defined "module
name" and "characteristics table". The module name defines a
kind of logical name for the communication service provided by
the driver. The characteristics table provides specific
parameters about the service and the set of entry points the
driver uses to communicate with other drivers. A single driver
may identify itself to the Protocol Manager as multiple logical
modules if, for example, it implements more than one layer of
protocol interface (such as transport and data link).
Before two modules can communicate, they must be bound together.
Binding is the process of two modules exchanging characteristics
tables so that they can access each other's entry points. This
establishes the linkage they need to make requests of one another
and indicate asynchronous request completion. Binding is
controlled by the Protocol Manager based on information from
PROTOCOL.INI. Binding can be either static or dynamic for
protocol drivers. If a protocol driver is static, then its
binding is static. If it is dynamic, then its binding is
dynamic. A dynamic protocol driver can be unbound from its bound
drivers prior to unloading itself from memory. This unbinding
process is also controlled through the Protocol Manager.
Configuration and Binding Process
In the typical case of a system with one MAC driver and a NetBIOS
driver, the set of drivers load and initialize as follows:
1. Protocol Manager loads, initializes, and reads PROTOCOL.INI.
2. MAC driver loads. It calls GetProtocolManagerInfo to get any
needed configuration information, like its DMA channel.
3. MAC driver initializes and calls RegisterModule to identify
itself as the module named e.g. "ETHERCARD." This call passes
ETHERCARD's characteristics table to Protocol Manager.
4. NetBIOS driver loads. It calls GetProtocolManagerInfo to get
any needed configuration information, like the maximum number
of names, sessions, and commands to support.
5. NetBIOS driver initializes and calls RegisterModule to
identify itself as the module named "NetBIOS". This call
passes NetBIOS's characteristics table to Protocol Manager and
indicates that NetBIOS wants to bind to ETHERCARD.
6. After all device drivers have loaded, Protocol Manager
determines from the information supplied on previous
RegisterModule requests that NetBIOS must bind to ETHERCARD.
Using a defined dispatch address in the characteristics table
for NetBIOS, Protocol Manager calls NetBIOS and instructs it
to bind to ETHERCARD. The call, InitiateBind, includes the
characteristics table for ETHERCARD.
7. NetBIOS calls ETHERCARD, requesting to Bind. The modules
exchange characteristics tables with each other. They now
have each other's entry points and are bound.
8. NetBIOS may now call ETHERCARD at its defined entry points for
transmitting and receiving packets (see next section).
If the example NetBIOS driver was dynamically loadable, the
binding to the ETHERCARD MAC would be done through the Protocol
Manager's VECTOR facility (see Chapter 7). The Vector shields
the static MAC driver from the details of dynamic binding.
Chapter 3: Protocol to MAC Interface Description
The interface between a protocol and MAC driver provides for the
transmission and reception of network packets, called frames.
The interface includes other functions for controlling and
determining the status of the network adapter controlled by the
MAC.
To allow for efficient use of memory and to minimize buffer
copies, frames being transmitted and received are passed between
protocol and MAC using a scatter/gather buffer description
convention. This passes an array of pointers/lengths called a
frame buffer descriptor. There are three types of these
descriptors, one for describing frames being transmitted
(TxBufDescr) and two for frames being received (RxBufDescr and
TDBufDescr).
Overall, the calls at the protocol/mac interface are grouped into
categories of transmission, reception, indication control, status
indications, and general requests. An additional category of
function, system requests, is generic to all drivers.
Transmission
Transmitting data can work either synchronously or
asynchronously, at the option of the MAC. Protocols must be able
to handle both cases. Primitives are TransmitChain and
TransmitConfirm.
Protocol MAC
Transmit Chain -CALL-> Call passes TxBufDescr and unique handle.
MAC may copy data now or later.
<-RETURN- Return indicates if data has been
copied. If not, MAC now owns frame
data blocks and will copy them
asynchronously.
Later on, after data is copied by MAC:
TransmitConfirm <-CALL- Call supplies unique handle from Transmit.
-RETURN-> Data block ownership returned to protocol.
NOTE: If the MAC transmits the frame synchronously, it indicates
this on the return from TransmitChain and will not generate a
TransmitConfirm.
Reception
Receiving data can work in either of two ways, depending on the
MAC. Protocols must be able to handle both cases.
- The MAC generates a ReceiveLookahead indication that points to
part or all of the received frame in contiguous storage. This
is called the "lookahead" data. The protocol may issue a
TransferData call back to the MAC if it wants the MAC to copy all
or part of the received frame to protocol storage. The protocol
may, of course, copy the look ahead data itself. In some imple-
mentations, this may be the entire frame.
- The MAC generates a ReceiveChain indication that points to a
RxBufDescr that describes the entire frame received. The
protocol may copy the data immediately or later. If later, it
releases the frame buffer areas back to the MAC via a call to
ReceiveRelease.
Generally, the first approach will be implemented by MAC drivers
for non-host buffered network adapters, while drivers for host
buffered network adapters will implement the second. Non-host
buffered adapters that use programmed I/O or DMA will generally
provide a small leading portion of the received frame as look
ahead data, whereas those using a single memory mapped buffer
will usually provide the whole frame.
In either case, the protocol must validate the received packet
very rapidly (within a few instructions) and to reject it if
necessary. This is very important to performance in a multi-
protocol environment.
The following sections illustrate the non host-buffered adapter
versus host-buffered adapter receive scenarios:
Non Host-Buffered Adapter
MAC Protocol
ReceiveLookahead -CALL-> Call passes pointer to lookahead data.
Protocol examines this data.
If protocol wants the frame and look ahead wasn't the whole
frame, the protocol can ask MAC to transfer the frame:
TransferData <-CALL- Passes TDBufDescr indicating where to put
the received data.
-RETURN->
<-RETURN-
Upon return from protocol, MAC re-enables the hardware.
IndicationComplete -CALL-> MAC calls protocol to allow interuppt-time
post processing.
<-RETURN-
Host-Buffered Adapter
MAC Protocol
ReceiveChain -CALL-> Call passes pointer to RxDataDescr.
<-RETURN- Return tells if protocol accepts
the frame, and if so, whether it
copied the data. If accepted but
not copied, ownership of data
blocks passes to the protocol which
copies the data asynchronously.
IndicationComplete -CALL-> MAC calls protocol to allow
interrupt-time post processing.
<-RETURN-
Later, if protocol deferred copying the data (this may occur during
IndicationComplete)
<-CALL- ReceiveRelease. The call supplies
the unique handle from ReceiveChain.
-RETURN-> Data block ownership returned to MAC.
Indication Control
Two primitives let a protocol selectively control when it can be
called with indications from the MAC. These are IndicationOn and
IndicationOff.
Before calling an indication routine, the MAC implicitly disables
indications. This means, for example, that if another frame
arrives while the protocol is processing the indication for the
previous one, the protocol will not be reentered. Likewise, if
the protocol issues a TransmitChain for loopback data from within
the ReceiveLookahead indication routine, it will not be reentered
to process the loopback data reception.
Protocols can re-enable indications upon returning from
ReceiveLookahead, ReceiveChain or Status indications or by
calling IndicationOn within the IndicationComplete routine.
Status Indication
Status indications are calls from a MAC to protocol that convey a
change in adapter or network status.
A status indication works much like a reception indication. The
status indication handler is entered with indications disabled
and there is a mechanism which will leave indications disabled.
MAC Protocol
Status -CALL-> Call passes status type and
information.
<-RETURN-
IndicationComplete -CALL-> MAC calls protocol to allow
interrupt-time post processing.
<-RETURN-
General Requests
General requests are calls from a protocol to a MAC, asking it to
do a general function such as open or close the network adapter
or change the station address.
General requests work much like a TransmitChain request, except
the primitives are Request and RequestConfirm.
Protocol MAC
Request -CALL-> Issue request to MAC with unique
handle.
<-RETURN- Return indicates if request completed.
Later, if request completed asynchronously:
<-CALL- RequestConfirm. The call supplies
unique handle from Request.
-RETURN->
If the MAC satisfies the request synchronously, it indicates this
on the return from Request and will not generate a RequestConfirm.
System Requests
System requests support module binding and management functions.
They are usually made by the Protocol Manager to a MAC or
protocol module, but can also be made by a protocol to another
protocol or MAC module.
System requests work much like general requests except that all
are synchronous and the requests are not module specific.
Upper Module Lower Module
System -CALL-> Issue request to lower module.
<-RETURN- Return indicates request completed.
Protocol Manager Primitives
Protocol Manager primitives are requests from protocol or MAC modules
to the Protocol Manager for various Protocol Manager services. These
requests are always synchronous.
Protocol or MAC Protocol Manager
Module
Primitive -CALL-> Issue request to Protocol Manager
<-RETURN- Return indicates request completed
Chapter 4: Data Structures
Module Characteristics
Protocol and Media Access Control (MAC) modules are described by
a data structure called a characteristics table. Each
characteristics table consists of several sections: a master
section called the common characteristics table and four
subtables. The common characteristics table contains module-
independent information, including a dispatch address for issuing
system commands like InitiateBind to the module. The four
module-specific subtables are chained off the common
characteristics table. These define module-specific parameters
and the entry points used for inter-module communication (such as
the MAC/protocol interface functions). When two modules bind
together, they exchange pointers to their common characteristics
tables, so that each gets access to the other's descriptive
information and entry points.
NOTE: NDIS drivers must copy the Module DS and entry point
addresses (from the Common Characteristics and Upper/Lower
Dispatch Tables) to their local data segment at Bind time. In
future versions of this specification, this information may be
volatile. Having this information directly accessible will also
improve performance. This information must not be copied prior
to the Bind call and must not be used unless the Bind completes
successfully.
NOTE: The information in the characteristics table for a module
is primarily informational, in support of network management and
configuration tools. Upper modules binding to lower ones will
NOT need to parse this information to adapt their behavior at the
interface. They will generally just use the information to
validate that they have been bound to the correct type of module.
Most of the other information is provided in the structure to
support information utilities.
Some new fields have been added to some of the characteristics
tables for V2.0.1. The size/length fields at the start of the
tables can be checked to see if the new fields are available in
the table.
Common Characteristics
The format of this information is identical for all modules.
Note that all information in this section of the table is static.
WORD Size of common characteristics table (bytes)
BYTE Major NDIS Version (2 BCD digits - 02 for this version)
BYTE Minor NDIS Version (2 BCD digits - 00 for this version)
WORD Reserved
BYTE Major Module Version (2 BCD digits)
BYTE Minor Module Version (2 BCD digits)
DWORD Module function flags, a bit mask :
0 - Binding at upper boundary supported
1 - Binding at lower boundary supported
2 - Dynamically bound (i.e., this module can be swapped out)
3-31 - Reserved, must be zero
BYTE[16] Module name - ASCIIZ format
BYTE Protocol level at upper boundary of module:
1 - MAC
2 - Data link
3 - Network
4 - Transport
5 - Session
-1 - Not specified
BYTE Type of interface at upper boundary of module:
For MAC's: 1 => MAC
For Data Links: To be defined
For Transports: To be defined
For Session: 1 => NCB
For any level: 0 => private (ISV defined)
BYTE Protocol level at lower boundary of module
0 - Physical
1 - MAC
2 - Data link
3 - Network
4 - Transport
5 - Session
-1 - Not specified
BYTE Type of interface at lower boundary of module:
For MAC: 1 => MAC
For Data Link: To be defined
For Transport: To be defined
For Session: 1 => NCB
For any level: 0 => private (ISV defined)
WORD Module ID filled in by Protocol Manager on return from
RegisterModule
WORD Module DS
LPFUN System request dispatch entry point
LPBUF Pointer to service-specific characteristics (NULL if none)
LPBUF Pointer to service-specific status (NULL if none)
LPBUF Pointer to upper dispatch table (see below; NULL if none)
LPBUF Pointer to lower dispatch table (see below; NULL if none)
LPBUF Reserved for future expansion, must be NULL
LPBUF Reserved for future expansion, must be NULL
NOTE: LPSZ Long pointer to an ASCIIZ string
LPBUF Long pointer to a data buffer
LPFUN Long pointer to a function
In V1.0.1, the 2 bytes after the first WORD were required to be
set to 0. For compatibility with V1.0.1, an NDIS spec major
version number of 00 is interpreted the same as major version
number 01.
The module function flags bit mask must accurately specify the
capabilities of the module. The Protocol Manager uses these
fields; e.g. the "Dynamically bound" (bit 2) flag when set
indicates that this module is a dynamically loadable and
unloadable module. Such a module can only be used in the
Protocol Manager dynamic mode.
The upper and lower boundary protocol level and interface type
bytes must accurately specify the protocol level and interface
type. The Protocol Manager uses these fields. If an interface
does not support NDIS bindings or a protocol level is undefined
at the interface, a value at OxFF must be used. In this case the
corresponding interface type is undefined.
In addition to the above common characteristics table, a given
module will typically have a set of sub-tables that are chained
off the common table:
- Service-specific characteristics table:
This table contains descriptive information and parameters
about the module.
- Service-specific status table:
This table contains runtime operating status and statistics for
the module.
- Upper dispatch table:
This table contains dispatch addresses for the upper boundary
of the module - i.e., the entry points it exports as a service
provider.
- Lower dispatch table:
This table contains dispatch addresses for the lower
boundary of the module - i.e., the entry points it exports
as a service client.
NOTE: Under OS/2 dispatch addresses and data segments are Ring 0
selectors. This field is usually set at Ring 3 INIT time even
though the selector set must be Ring 0.
MAC Service-Specific Characteristics
All MAC's use the following format for this table. This table
contains volatile information (like the current station address)
which may be updated by the MAC during the course of operation.
Other modules may read this table directly during execution.
WORD Length of MAC service-specific characteristics table
BYTE [16] Type name of MAC, ASCIIZ format:
802.3, 802.4, 802.5, 802.6, DIX, DIX+802.3, APPLETALK,
ARCNET, FDDI, SDLC, BSC, HDLC, ISDN
WORD Length of station addresses in bytes
BYTE [16] Permanent station address
BYTE [16] Current station address
DWORD Current functional address of adapter (0 if none)
LPBUF Multicast Address List (structure defined below)
DWORD Link speed (bits/sec)
DWORD Service flags, a bit mask:
0 - broadcast supported
1 - multicast supported
2 - functional/group addressing supported
3 - promiscuous mode supported
4 - software settable station address
5 - statistics are always current in service-specific
status table
6 - InitiateDiagnostics supported
7 - Loopback supported
8 - Type of receives
0 - MAC does primarily ReceiveLookahead indications
1 - MAC does primarily ReceiveChain indications
9 - IBM Source routing supported
10 - Reset MAC supported
11 - Open / Close Adapter supported
12 - Interrupt Request supported
13 - Source Routing Bridge supported
14 - GDT virtual addresses supported
15 - Multiple TransferDatas permitted during a single
indication (V2.0.1 and later)
16 - Mac normally sets FrameSize = 0 in ReceiveLookahead
(V2.0.1 and later)
17-31 - Reserved, must be 0
WORD Maximum frame size which may be both sent and received
DWORD Total transmission buffer capacity in the driver (bytes)
WORD Transmission buffer allocation block size (bytes)
DWORD Total reception buffer capacity in the driver (bytes)
WORD Reception buffer allocation block size (bytes)
CHAR[3] IEEE Vendor code
CHAR Vendor Adapter code
LPSZ Vendor Adapter description
WORD IRQ Interrupt level used by adapter (V2.0.1 and later)
WORD Transmit Queue Depth (V2.0.1 and later)
WORD Maximum number of data blocks in buffer descriptors
supported (V2.0.1 and later)
Remaining bytes in table (based on Length) are vendor-specific
In interpreting these tables the implementer must always bear in
mind that additional functions may be added to future MAC's and
that the support of functions that the protocol does not need
must not prevent the protocol from accepting a bind for the MAC.
The type name describes to the protocol the type of MAC protocol
header that the MAC driver supports. In general, protocol stacks
must be prepared to support the types "802.3", "802.5", "DIX" and
"DIX+802.3". If the native media of the MAC is not one of these
types (for example, ARCNET) then it is recommended that the MAC
developer must consider claiming support for one of the above
types and doing a transparent internal mapping between the
private header format of the media and the public header format
being claimed. Without support for one of the above header
formats, general protocol compatibility cannot be guaranteed.
The list specified above is not exhaustive. New names may be
added in the future or a vendor may provide special MAC type
names for use with protocols that interoperate with special MACs
provided by that vendor. In the latter case it is recommended
that a vendor use a MAC type name that does not start with an
alphanumeric character to avoid conflicts with NDIS MAC type
names that might be specified in future versions of this
specification.
The normal type name of an ethernet MAC would be "DIX+802.3."
See Appendix B for references on IEEE 802.3 and DIX.
In the various parts of this specification, all station and
multicast addresses for a given MAC have the length specified in
the "Length of Station Address" field.
The permanent station address must be obtained from the hardware
if at all possible, as it may be used by LAN Manager for security
or administrative purposes. If a PROTOCOL.INI entry is used to
override the current station address, the permanent station
address must not be affected. Only if there is no hardware based
addressing scheme will it be possible to override the permanent
station address by configuration parameters. The current station
address will always reflect the current address as set via
parameter or by calling Request SetSetationAddress.
The functional address DWORD represents the functional address
bit pattern present in the last 4 bytes of an IBM compatible
functional address. This excludes the first 2 bytes 0xC0, 0x00.
The functional address DWORD represents the logical OR of all
functional addressess currently registered to the adapters.
Multicast Address List is a buffer formatted as follows:
WORD Maximum number of multicast addresses
WORD Current number of multicast addresses
BYTE[16] Multicast address 1
BYTE[16] Multicast address 2
. . .
BYTE[16] Multicast Address N
The Multicast Address List is kept packed by the MAC so that the
current multicast addresses occur first in the list.
Service flags indicate which optional functions are supported by
an NDIS driver. If a particular function bit is set, that
function is supported. When attempts are made to invoke
unsupported functions, NDIS MAC drivers must respond properly by
returning INVALID_FUNCTION (0x0008).
If loopback is supported in the network adapter hardware, then
bit 7 of the MAC service flags must be set.
If loopback is not supported in hardware (bit 7 of the MAC
service flags is not set), the protocol driver must handle this
function itself by some loopback delivery of the frame to be
transmitted.
The following criteria must be met for loopback:
1. The destination address is the same as the local
station's current station address or the destination is
a broadcast, multicast or functional address which
would have been received by this station if sent by another.
2. The frame must qualify for reception according to the
current packet filter.
The loopback mechanism must cause the Receive indication to occur
at interrupt time (and it must be delayed by IndicationOff)
If IBM source routing is used (bit 9 is set) it is the protocol
module's responsibility to encode and interpret appropriate
source routing information. This bit merely implies that the
device is capable of sending packets with the "source routing
bit" set in the source address so that a protocol may recognize
such a packet.
While the ResetMAC function (bit 10) is optional, it is strongly
recommended that those implementing the NDIS MAC driver support
this function. Some protocol drivers may rely on this function
to recover from hardware error conditions.
If the service flags indicate that OpenAdapter is supported (bit
11 is set), then the protocol driver must ensure that the adapter
is open. The open status of an adapter can be determined by
examining bit 4 of the MAC status in the MAC service-specific
status table. If the adapter is not open, then the protocol must
issue an OpenAdapter Request (normally during bind-time
processing).
If Source Routing Bridge is set (bit 13) then it is implied that
the MAC is capable of receiving all packets on the network which
have the source routing bit set.
If GDT virtual addresses are supported (bit 14 is set) then Ring
0 GDT virtual addresses may be used to describe frames. All
MAC's must support the use of physical addresses to describe
frames; however, for some MAC's it is preferable to supply a GDT
address if one is readily available. The GDT address must remain
valid throughout the scope of its use by the MAC.
If bit 16 of the service flags field is set, then the MAC driver
does not normally provide the total frame size of received data.
In this case the MAC normally calls RecieveLookahead with the
FrameSize parameter equal to 0. Setting this bit is optional.
It is left to the MAC implementor to determine how frequently
returning FrameSize equals 0 constitutes sufficient grounds to
set this bit. However, this bit must be reset if the MAC always
calls ReceiveLookahead with the FrameSize parameter non-zero or
if a 0 FrameSize parameter is returned only for intermittent
erroneous packet reception. For V1.0.1 compatibility, bit 16
reset gives no indication whether the MAC will return a zero
FrameSize parameter or not. Some MAC and higher layer protocols
do not support "length" fields within their encoding. Such
protocols rely on knowing the size of valid frame data received
at the MAC interface and then deduce the amount of data at their
layer by stripping off the lower layer protocol headers. This
bit warns such protocols that the required received frame size is
not normally available at the MAC interface and that receive
frames might not be able to be processed. Such protocols can
refuse to bind to such MACs.
The maximum frame size must reflect the maximum size packet that
can be both transmitted and received by the MAC client. This
size must reflect only the bytes which actually cross the NDIS
boundary. For Ethernet, this value is typically 1514, since the
client does not specify the CRC bytes. Token Ring values vary
but do not include the non-data SD, ED and FS bytes or the FCS.
The network adapter RAM is characterized by four parameters. The
first is the number of bytes available for storing packets to be
transmitted, usually one or two full-size packets in size. The
second parameter is the allocation granularity, typically about
256 bytes, indicating how much memory would be occupied by a one
byte packet pending transmission. The next two parameters are
the number of bytes available for storing received packets and
the receive packet granularity. Often these parameters will be
affected by PROTOCOL.INI keywords (for example, specifying two
transmit buffers rather than one), and it is required that these
numbers accurately reflect the current adapter configuration.
Protocol drivers may use these numbers to determine reasonable
window sizes, and incorrect values may impact performance.
The intent of the IEEE Vendor and Vendor Adapter Codes is that,
when used in combination, they uniquely identify this MAC driver
for this adapter. The IEEE Vendor Code uniquely defines the
vendor providing the MAC driver. The use of the IEEE Vendor Code
avoids the need for any global registry of Vendor Adapter Codes.
The IEEE Vendor Code is assigned by the IEEE and becomes the
first three bytes of a six-byte IEEE 802 address. The Vendor
Adapter Code specifies a particular MAC driver provided by the
Vendor for an adapter. If the IEEE Vendor Code is assigned to
the Vendor, the Vendor assigns a unique Vendor Adapter Code to
each MAC driver provided. For those without an IEEE Vendor Code,
a value of 0xFFFFFF is required. In this case, the Vendor
Adapter Code is undefined.
The Vendor Adapter description string is an ASCIIZ string
containing a description of the adapter that could be used to
format an error message (for example, "3Com EtherLink II
Adapter").
The transmit queue depth specifies the maximum number of
TransmitChain requests the MAC can buffer internally. This
number must be set to one if the TransmitChain implementation in
the MAC is synchronous. Each queued TransmitChain request
requires that the MAC driver copy at least the chain descriptor
and immediate data, so this parameter is generally configurable
through a PROTOCOL.INI keyword called MAXTRANSMITS. The protocol
driver can use this queue depth to compute the amount of time a
transmit might be queued up within the MAC.
The maximum number of data buffer blocks is the maximum number of
blocks supported in Transmit, TransferData, and ReceiveChain
buffer desciptors. For V1.0.1 backward compatibility this must
be a minimum of 8. For V1.0.1 compatible MACs for which this
field is absent, the maximum number assumed is 8.
The size of the NDIS defined part of the MAC specific
characteristics table may increase in subsequent versions of the
specification. If vendor specific information follows the NDIS
defined information, a protocol using it must check the NDIS spec
version number in the Common Characteristics table to determine
where the NDIS specified information ends and the vendor
specified information begins.
MAC Service-Specific Status Table
The MAC service-specific status and media-specific statistics
tables provide information about the status of and traffic
through a MAC. Since these tables can be updated by the MAC
driver at interrupt time, a protocol must ensure that these
tables are read with interrupts disabled. The MAC must update
this table (and the media-specific statistics table if present)
atomically.
WORD Length of status table
DWORD Date/time when diagnostics last run (0xFFFFFFFF if not run).
Format is seconds since 12:00 Midnight January 1, 1970
DWORD MAC status, a 32-bit mask:
0-2 - Opcoded as follows:
0 - Hardware not installed
1 - Hardware failed startup diagnostics
2 - Hardware failed due to configuration problem
3 - Hardware not operational due to hardware fault
4 - Hardware operating marginally due to soft faults
5-6 Reserved
7 - Hardware fully operational
3 - If set, MAC is bound, else not bound
4 - If set, MAC is open, else not open (if adapter
doesn't support open/close function, set to 1 if
hardware is functional)
5 - If set, adapter diagnostics are in progress (V2.0.1
and later)
6-31 - Reserved, must be zero
WORD Current packet filter, a bit mask:
0 - directed and multicast or group and functional
1 - broadcast
2 - promiscuous
3 - all source routing
4-15 - Reserved, must be zero
Statistics for MAC's
Statistics in bold are mandatory, all others are strongly recommended,
0xFFFFFFFF means not supported.
Reserved slots should return as 0xFFFFFFFF (unsupportd).
LPBUF Pointer to media specific statistics table (may be NULL)
DWORD Date/time when last ClearStatistics issued (0xFFFFFFFF
if not kept) format is seconds since 12:00 Midnight
January 1, 1970
DWORD Total frames received OK
DWORD Total frames with CRC error
DWORD Total bytes received
DWORD Total frames discarded - no buffer space
DWORD Total multicast frames received OK
DWORD Total broadcast frames received OK
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total frames discarded - hardware error
DWORD Total frames transmitted OK
DWORD Total bytes transmitted OK
DWORD Total multicast frames transmitted
DWORD Total broadcast frames transmitted
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total frames not transmitted - time-out
DWORD Total Frames not transmitted - hardware error
Remaining bytes (based on Length) in table are vendor specific.
All statistics counters are 32-bit unsigned integers that wrap to
zero when the maximum count is reached after which the counters
will continue to count. When updating these counters, a frame is
counted in all the supported counters that apply. The case of an
unsupported counter (0xFFFFFFFF) can be distinguished from the
situation wherby a counter is about the wrap around if the values
of the counters are checked at bind times. If the initial value
of the counter is 0xFFFFFFFF, then the counter is not supported.
Otherwise the counter is supported and 0xFFFFFFFF at a later time
means the counter is about to wrap around.
SERVICE SPECIFIC STATISTICS DEFINITIONS:
Total frames received ok
(NumberOfFramesReceivedOK) - corresponding 802.3 statistics
This contains a count of frames that are successfully received.
It does not include "frames with errors", as listed in non-media
specific statistics item 7.
Frames received with CRC error
This contains a count of frames that are an integral number of
bytes in length and do not pass the FCS check. Reports on CRC
errors "as the station sees it".
Total bytes received ok
This contains a count of bytes in frames that are successfully
received. It includes bytes from received multicast and broadcast
frames. This number should include everything, starting from
destination address up to but excluding FCS. Source address
destination address, length (or type) and pad are included. It
should exclude FCS and the preambles.
According to this definition, this NDIS statistics is not exactly
the same as 802.3's NumberOfBytesReceivedOK, which does not include
the octets in the address and length/type fields.
Frames discarded - no buffer space
Frames discarded by MAC driver due to a lack of buffer space.
Multicast frames received ok.
(NumberOfMulticastFramesReceivedOK)
This includes all of the multicast frames the MAC driver received
successfully.
It does not include "frames with errors" as listed in non-media
specific statistics item 7.
Broadcast frames received ok.
(NumberOfBroadcastFramesReceivedOK)
This includes all of the broadcast frames the MAC driver receives
successfully.
It does not include "frames with errors" as listed in non-media
specific statistics item 7.
Frames discarded - hardware error
Frames discarded due to hardware error.
Definition of this statistic should be adapter spacific.
Total frames transmitted ok.
(NumberOfFramesTransmittedOK)
Total number of frames transmitted successfully.
Total bytes transmitted ok.
Total number of bytes transmitted successfully.
This number should include everything, starting from destination
address up to but excluding FCS. Source address destination
address, length (or type) and pad are included. It should exclude
FCS and the preambles.
Multicast frames transmitted ok.
(NumberOfMulticastFramesTransmittedOK)
Number of frames transmitted successfully to non-broadcast group
address.
Broadcast frames transmitted ok.
(NumberOfBroadcastFramesTransmittedOK)
Number of frames transmitted successfully to broadcast address.
Frames not transmitted - time-out
This contains a count of frames that could not be transmitted
due to the hardware not signaling transmission completion
for an excessive period of time.
Frames not transmitted - hardware error
This contains a count of frames that could not be transmitted
due to a hardware error. This count should exclude DMA underrun
error which itself is a separate counter (Frames transmitted
with underun). Definition of this statistic should be adapter specific.
MAC Upper Dispatch Table
The number and meaning of dispatch addresses provided here apply
to the boundary between a MAC and a protocol. This may differ at
other protocol boundaries. Note that each upper/lower module
binding may have its own unique set of dispatch addresses that is
set up when the modules exchange characteristics tables. This
can be achieved by exchanging copies of the common
characteristics table, where the copy has the desired pointers to
the specific dispatch tables for the binding.
LPBUF Back pointer to common characteristics table
LPFUN Request address
LPFUN TransmitChain address
LPFUN TransferData address
LPFUN ReceiveRelease address
LPFUN IndicationOn address
LPFUN IndicationOff address
NOTE: No dispatch address is allowed to be NULL.
Protocol Service-Specific Characteristic Table
For compatibility with future versions of this specification, all
protocols must provide a protocol service-specific
characteristics table which starts with the following fields:
WORD Length of protocol service-specific characteristics table
BYTE [16] Type name of protocol, ASCIIZ format:
WORD Protocol type code
This may be followed by protocol-specific information.
The protocol type name will be used in future versions of this
specification. Specific type names for different protocol types
will be defined later. Protocol type codes will also be defined
later. For the moment these two fields are simple place holders
and must be set to null string and zero respectively.
Protocol Lower Dispatch Table
The protocol lower dispatch table is specified in the
characteristics table for the protocol binding to the MAC. The
characteristics table for the MAC actually does not supply a
lower dispatch table (the pointer to it is NULL).
LPBUF Back pointer to common characteristics table
DWORD Interface flags (used by Vector frame dispatch):
0 - Handles non-LLC frames
1 - Handles specific-LSAP LLC frames
2 - Handles non-specific-LSAP LLC frames
3-31 - Reserved must be zero
LPFUN RequestConfirm address
LPFUN TransmitConfirm address
LPFUN ReceiveLookahead indication address
LPFUN IndicationComplete address
LPFUN ReceiveChain indication address
LPFUN Status indication address
NOTE: No dispatch address is allowed to be NULL.
Characteristic Tables for NetBIOS Drivers
NetBIOS drivers written to the existing LAN Manager Ring0 NetBIOS
specification can be adapted to fit into the Protocol Manager
structure by defining a common characteristics table for them
shown below. Note that such a NetBIOS driver must still respond
to the existing LAN Manager NetBIOS Linkage binding mechanism;
these drivers will only use Protocol Manager binding at their
lower boundary (to the MAC). A variant kind of NetBIOS module
will be defined in the future that takes advantage of Protocol
Manager binding at both boundaries.
Common characteristics for NetBIOS drivers:
WORD Size of common characteristics table (bytes)
BYTE Major NDIS Version (2 BCD digits)
BYTE Minor NDIS Version (2 BCD digits)
WORD Reserved
BYTE Major Module Version (2 BCD digits)
BYTE Minor Module Version (2 BCD digits)
DWORD Module function flags, 0x00000002 (binds lower)
BYTE[16] NetBIOS Module name
BYTE Protocol level at upper boundary of module: 5 = Session
BYTE Type of interface at upper boundary of module: 1 = LANMAN NCB
BYTE Protocol level at lower boundary of module: 1 = MAC
BYTE Type of interface at lower boundary of module: 1 = MAC
WORD NetBIOS Module ID
WORD NetBIOS Module DS
LPFUN System request dispatch entry point
LPBUF Pointer to service-specific characteristics (see below)
LPBUF Pointer to service-specific status, must be (NULL)
LPBUF Pointer to upper dispatch table (see below)
LPBUF Pointer to lower dispatch table (see below)
LPBUF Reserved, must be NULL
LPBUF Reserved, must be NULL
Upper dispatch table for a NetBIOS module:
LPBUF Back pointer to common characteristics table
LPFUN Request address
LPFUN NetBIOS NCB handler (LANMAN calling conventions)
Lower dispatch table for a NetBIOS module:
LPBUF Back pointer to common characteristics table
DWORD Interface flags (used by Vector frame dispatch):
0 - Handles non-LLC frames
1 - Handles specific-LSAP LLC frames
2 - Handles non-specific-LSAP LLC frames
3-31 - Reserved must be zero
LPFUN RequestConfirm address
LPFUN TransmitConfirm address
LPFUN ReceiveLookahead indication address
LPFUN IndicationComplete address
LPFUN ReceiveChain indication address
LPFUN Status indication address
Service-specific characteristics for a NetBIOS module:
WORD Length of NetBIOS module service-specific characteristics table
BYTE [16] Type name of NetBIOS module, ASCIIZ format:
WORD NetBIOS module type code
This may be followed by module-specific information.
The protocol type name will be used in future versions of this
specification. Specific type names for different protocol types
will be defined later. Protocol type codes will also be defined
later. For the moment these two fields are simple place holders
and must be set to null string and zero respectively.
Frame Data Description
The MAC describes frame data with a data structure called a
buffer descriptor. The descriptor is composed of pointers and
lengths which describe a logical frame. Buffer descriptors are
ephemeral objects. A descriptor is valid only during the scope
of the call that references it as a parameter. The called
routine must not modify the descriptor in any way. If the called
routine needs to refer to the described data blocks after
returning from the call, it must save the information contained
in the descriptor.
Data blocks described by descriptors are long-lived. Ownership
of the data blocks is implicitly passed to the module that is
called with the descriptor. The called module relinquishes
ownership back to the caller either via setting a return
argument, or by later issuing a call back to the supplying
module. Under OS/2, some pointers may be either GDT virtual
addresses or physical addresses. In this case the pointer has an
associated pointer type opcoded field. Defined values are 0 for
physical address and 2 for GDT virtual addresses. GDT virtual
addresses may be supplied to the MAC only if bit 14 of the
service flags in the MAC service specific characteristics table
is set. The GDT address must remain valid throughout the scope
of its use by the MAC.
Under DOS there is no distinction between physical and virtual
addresses. All addresses in this case are segment: offset. Care
must be taken to ensure that the segment offset plus data length
do not exceed the 64K segment boundary. The pointer type field
if present is always encoded as a 0.
For performance reasons, it is recommended that data blocks used
for transmission and reception be double-word aligned where
possible. Both MAC and protocol NDIS drivers may choose to
perform byte, word or dword memory movement without first
ensuring proper alignment. This will result in reduced
performance in combination with drivers which do not guarantee
such alignment.
A buffer descriptor may contain one or more data blocks of length
zero. In this case the other fields in the data block (Data Ptr
and Data Type) may not be valid and must be ignored.
Transmit Buffer Descriptor
All transmit data is passed using a far pointer to a transmit
buffer descriptor, TxBufDescr. The format of this descriptor is:
WORD TxImmedLen ;Byte count of immediate data; max is 64
LPBUF TxImmedPtr ;Virtual address of immediate data
WORD TxDataCount ;Count of remaining data blocks; max is
configurable
Followed by TxDataCount instances of:
BYTE TxPtrType ;Type of pointer (0=Physical, 2=GDT)
BYTE TxResByte ;Reserved Byte (must be 0)
WORD TxDataLen ;Length of data block
LPBUF TxDataPtr ;Address of data block
In a TxBufDescr structure, the immediate data described by the
first two fields is ephemeral and may be referenced only during
the scope of the call that supplies it. Such immediate data is
always transmitted before data described by TxDataLen and
TxDataPtr pairs. If the called routine needs to refer to the
immediate data after returning from the call, it must copy the
data. The maximum size of immediate data is 64 bytes. For
V2.0.1 MACS or later the maximum TxDataCount is specified in the
MAC specific characteristics table. For V1.0.1 MACs the maximum
count is 8.
Transfer Data Buffer Descriptor
Transfer data can be described by a far pointer to a transfer
data buffer descriptor, TDBufDescr. Transfer data buffer
descriptors have the following format:
WORD TDDataCount ;Count of transfer data blocks; max is
configurable
Followed by TDDataCount instances of:
BYTE TDPtrType ;Type of pointer (0=Physical, 2=GDT)
BYTE TDResByte ;Reserved Byte (must be 0)
WORD TDDataLen ;Length of data block
LPBUF TDDataPtr ;Address of data block
For V2.0.1 MACs or later the maximum TDDataCount is specified in
the MAC specific characteristics table. For V1.0.1 MACs the
maximum count is 8.
Receive Chain Buffer Descriptor
Receive chain data can be passed by a far pointer to a receive
chain buffer descriptor, RxBufDescr. Receive chain buffer
descriptors have the following format:
WORD RxDataCount ;Count of receive data blocks; max is
configurable
Followed by RxDataCount instances of:
WORD RxDataLen ;Length of data block
LPBUF RxDataPtr ;Virtual address of data block
For V2.0.1 MACs or later the maximum receive data block count is
specified in the MAC specific characteristics table. For V1.0.1
MACs the maximum count is 8.
For received frames that are larger than 256 bytes, the first
data block of the frame must be at least 256 bytes long. Frames
less than or equal to 256 bytes will be passed up with
RxDataCount equal to 1.
PROTOCOL.INI
The PROTOCOL.INI file stores configuration and binding
information for all the protocol and MAC modules in the system.
The file uses the same general format as the LANMAN.INI file. It
consists of a series of named sections, where the section name is
in fact the module name from a module characteristics table.
Below the bracketed module name is a set of configuration
settings for the module in name=value format. For example:
[MYNetBIOS]
Drivername = NetBIOS$
Bindings = ETHERCARD
MaxNCBs = 16
MaxSessions = 32
MaxNames = 16
The rules for PROTOCOL.INI contents are:
- Bracketed module name. Must be the name of a protocol or MAC
module, e.g. [MYNetBIOS]. This is the name of the module as
defined in that module's characteristics table. The name must
be 15 characters or less (not counting the brackets). Mixed
case may be used but the Protocol Manager will convert it to
uppercase when it reads the file into memory.
- Drivername = . This parameter is required
for all device driver modules. It defines the name of the OS/2
or DOS device driver that the module is contained in. Note
that a single device driver name may be mentioned by several
sections of the PROTOCOL.INI file, if the driver contains
multiple logical modules. The Drivername parameter is the
recommended method by which a module searches for its module
section in the PROTOCOL.INI file to get its configuration
parameters. This allows the module to find all relevant module
sections based on a single name intrinisic to the module
independent of the particular bracketed module name used in the
PROTOCOL.INI file. This keyword is also required for DOS
dynamic modules like TSRs or transient application modules.
Although there is no driver name instrinsically assigned to
such modules it is required that a unique name be assigned to
this keyword for such modules anyway. In this way the same
search mechanism used by device drivers can be used by dynamic
DOS modules to find their relevant module sections in
PROTOCOL.INI.
- Bindings = | ,, . . .
This parameter is optional for protocol modules. It is not
valid for MAC modules. If present, it is used by the protocol
module to determine what MAC modules it will ask to bind to.
(In other words, changing this parameter in the PROTOCOL.INI
file can reconfigure a protocol to bind to a different MAC.).
The Bindings parameter may be omitted if the protocol driver
software is preconfigured to bind to a particular MAC, or if
the system will only contain one MAC and one static protocol
module. In the latter case (only in static mode), the Protocol
Manager by default will ask the one static protocol to bind to
the one MAC.
- Other keywords and parameters. Any other keyword=value
statements are module specific. Keyword names must be 15
characters or less. They may be mixed case but are converted
to uppercase when read by the Protocol Manager. Note that
keyword names are unique within the scope of each
section and can appear within the section in any order.
- Whitespace around the equals sign is not significant, nor is
trailing white space on the line. Except for this leading and
trailing white space, all other characters of the value string
are taken verbatim.
- A list of 0 or more parameters can appear to the right of the
equals sign. If there are no parameters the equals sign can be
optionally omitted. A parameter is terminated by a space, tab,
comma, or semicolon. No parameters are interpreted by the
Protocol Manager.
- A parameter can either be up to a 31-bit signed numeric value
or a string of any length.
- A numeric parameter can be expressed either in decimal or
hexadecimal format. All numeric parameters must start with the
characters '0' through '9' or by a + or - followed by the '0'
to'9' character. A hexadecimal parameter must start with '0x'
or '0X' and use valid hexadecimal digits. A non-hexadecimal
numeric parameter is treated as decimal integer. A parameter
not surrounded by quotes and starting with 0 to 9 or + and -
followed by 0 to 9 will be assumed to be a numeric parameter.
- A string is a parameter which either starts with a non-numeric
character or is surrounded with quotes ("...."). The string is
preserved in the memory image as it appears in PROTOCOL.INI.
- A line starting with a semicolon in column 1 is a comment and
is ignored. Blank lines are ignored too.
- Lines may be as long as required. Continuation lines are not
supported. Lines end with CR LF.
- Tabs, formfeeds, and spaces are considered to be white space.
The Protocol Manager supports an optional section with optional
keywords defined below:
[PROTMAN]
Drivername = PROTMAN$
Dynamic = YES or NO
PRIORITY = prot1, prot2, ...
Bindstatus = YES or NO
The bracketed module name can be any valid name as long as it is
unique within this PROTOCOL.INI. Drivername is required and must
be assigned PROTMAN$, identifying the section as belonging to the
Protocol Manager. None of the entries are case-sensitive.
The DYNAMIC keyword is optional. It defaults to NO if not
present. If set to NO, the Protocol Manager operates only in the
static mode and does not support dynamic protocol drivers. If
set to YES, the Protocol Manager operates in the dynamic mode and
supports both static and dynamic binding.
The PRIORITY keyword is optional. If absent, then the VECTOR
uses default demultiplexing priority if multiple protocol drivers
are bound to the same MAC (see Vector Demultiplexing in Chapter
7). If present, the parameters on the right-hand side are
presumed to be a list of protocol module names, highest priority
first. The VECTOR prioritizes protocol drivers for
demultiplexing (if necessary) according to their order in the
list, and packets are offered to the first protocol driver listed
first. Protocol drivers not listed are assigned default priority
AFTER those listed. It is not necessary that a protocol driver
ever bind for it to be listed here.
The BINDSTATUS keyword is optional. If absent, then the
BindStatus command is not supported by the Protocol Manager. If
set to YES, then BindStatus is supported by the Protocol Manager.
The default disable condition is a memory optimization feature
primarily for DOS environments.
When syntax errors are detected in processing the PROTOCOL.INI
commands, by convention, all NDIS drivers should:
1) Display a error message detail exact syntax problem.
2) Assume some non-fatal value for the parameter associated
with the error and complete processing.
Configuration Memory Image
When the Protocol Manager initializes, it reads PROTOCOL.INI and
parses it into a memory image that it makes available to MAC and
protocol modules via the Get Protocol Manager Info call. The
parsed image is formatted to make it easy for run-time modules to
interpret. All information contained in PROTOCOL.INI is present
in the memory image in the same order as in the file. (Comments
and white space are of course not present in the image). Note
that in static mode the image is only available during device
driver initialization time. In dynamic mode the image may
additionally be created by a utility which then registers it with
the Protocol Manager.
The structure definitions defined below do not conform rigorously
to C language syntax. They provide a pseudo C-like language to
define the data structures encoded in the configuration memory
image.
ConfigMemoryImage
The ConfigMemoryImage data structure defines the complete memory
image for all logical devices read from the PROTOCOL.INI
configuration file. It is a doubly linked list of ModuleConfig
structures. Each ModuleConfig structure corresponds to one
module. The ConfigMemoryImage structure is defined as follows:
struct ConfigMemoryImage
{
struct Module Config(1) Module(1);
struct Module Config(2) Module(2);
. . .
struct ModuleConfig(N) Module(N);
};
where:
N=the number of modules encountered by the Protocol Manager when
parsing the configuration file PROTOCOL.INI.
ModuleConfig
The ModuleConfig(i) structure defines the memory image for
configuration parameters corresponding to one (bracketed name)
module. For the (i)th module specified in PROTOCOL.INI it is
defined as follows:
struct ModuleConfig(i)
{
struct ModuleConfig(i+1) far *NextModule;
struct ModuleConfig(i-1) far *Prev Module;
unsigned char Module Name [16];
struct KeywordEntry(1) KeywordEntry(1);
struct KeywordEntry(2) KeywordEntry(2);
. . .
struct KeywordEntry(N) KeywordEntry(N);
};
where:
N = the number of keyword entries encountered in the PROTOCOL.INI
file for this module.
NextModule = a FAR pointer to the next module configuration
structure. NULL if this is the structure for the last module.
For OS/2 the selector is a Ring 3 selector. For DOS the pointer
is a segment:offset pair.
PrevModule = a FAR pointer to the previous module configuration
structure. NULL if this is the structure for the first module.
For OS/2 the selector is a Ring 3 selector. For DOS the pointer
is a segment:offset pair.
ModuleName = array containing the characters of the module name
(given in brackets in the configuration file). This is an ASCIIZ
string consisting of a maximum of 15 non-null uppercase characters.
KeywordEntry
For each keyword line in the configuration file for the module a
memory image structure is created specifying the keyword and the
parameter values. The (j)th keyword encountered in the
PROTOCOL.INI file for the module is defined as follows:
struct KeywordEntry(j)
{
struct KeywordEntry(j+1) far *NextKeywordEntry;
struct KeywordEntry(j-1) far *PrevKeywordEntry;
unsigned char Keyword[16];
unsigned NumParams;
struct Param(1) Param(1);
struct Param(2) Param(2);
. . .
struct Param(N) Param(N);
};
where:
N = the number of parameters entered with the keyword. If N =0
the parameters are not present.
NextKeywordEntry = a FAR pointer to the next keyword entry
structure in the memory image. NULL if this is the last keyword
entry. For OS/2 the selector is a Ring 3 selector. For DOS the
pointer is a segment:offset pair.
PrevKeywordEntry = a FAR pointer to the previous keyword entry
structure in the memory image. NULL if this is the first keyword
entry. For OS/2 the selector is a Ring 3 selector. For DOS the
pointer is a segment:offset pair.
Keyword = the array containing the characters of the keyword
found in the configuration file. This is an ASCIIZ string
consisting of a maximum of 15 non-null characters. The case of
alphabetic characters will be uppercase in the memory image.
NumParams = the number (N) of parameters entered with the keyword
each parameter described by a param structure. The value is 0 if
no parameters were present.
Param(k) = the (k)th parameter structure to specify the value of
one parameter in a list of parameters for a keyword.
"Param(k+1)" follows Param(k) in sequence within the memory
image. Each parameter is delimited by a length field for the
parameter. It is assumed that a keyword's fields will be parsed
sequentially.
Param
For the (k)th parameter defined in a parameter list for a
specific keyword the following structure defines its value and
attributes:
struct Param(k)
{
unsigned ParamType;
unsigned ParamLen;
union ParamValue
{
long Numeric;
unsigned char String[STRINGLEN];
};
};
where:
STRINGLEN = length of the ASCIIZ parameter string (including the
terminating NULL) for string parameters.
ParamType = the type of parameter. The following types are supported:
0 - signed integer supporting up to 31 bit values least
significant byte first.
1 - a string of characters.
ParamLen = the length of the parameter value. The length
could be one of the following either be 4 for numeric
parameters or STRINGLEN for string parameters where
STRINGLEN is the length of the string (including the
terminating NULL).
Numeric = a 31-bit signed numeric value.
String = an ASCIIZ character string. The case of alphabetic
characters in the string is preserved from that in PROTOCOL.INI.
The size of the Param (k) structure is thus ParamLen + 4.
BindingsList
For each module that registers with the Protocol Manager a
BindingsList structure may be given to the Protocol Manager
specifying the set of modules that the given module wishes to
bind to. The current module will require services from these
other modules. This structure is defined as follows:
struct BindingsList
{
unsigned NumBindings;
struct Module
{
char ModuleName[16];
} BoundDriver[NUMBINDINGS];
};
where:
NumBindings = the number (NUMBINDINGS) of modules that the
specified module wants to be bound to it from below. In the
static default binding mode of one static protocol and one MAC, a
value of 0 in this field means for the protocol that it will bind
to the MAC. Otherwise in the non-default binding mode, a value
of 0 in this field means that the module has no lower bindings.
ModuleName = an ASCIIZ string specifying the logical name of a
module which the current module wishes to have bound to it from
below. Maximum of 15 non-null characters. The Protocol Manager
will convert all alphabetic characters to uppercase.
BoundDriver = an array of NUMBINDINGS module names specifying the
list of modules to which the current module wants to be bound.
The order of the modules in the list is significant in that
InitiateBind requests will be issued to the protocol module in
this order.
Chapter 5: Specification of Primitives
Implementers should obey the following general guidelines:
- All primitives specified in this section can be called in
protected mode in either interrupt or task context under OS/2.
Since any primitive may be called in interrupt context it is
illegal to block during the execution of a primitive.
- All routines must run (as much as possible) with interrupts
enabled. Interrupt handlers must dismiss the interrupt at the
8259 as soon as possible.
- An indication handler will normally be entered with interrupts
enabled. The handler may enable or disable interrupts if it
chooses and on return the MAC must assume that the interrupt
state may have been changed.
- Under MS-DOS indication handlers must assume they have only 200
bytes of stack space. If more stack space is needed then the
handler must supply a stack.
- Confirmation and IndicationComplete handlers must be fully re-
entrant and are always entered with interrupts enabled. Under
DOS Confirmation and IndicationComplete handlers must assume
they are entered on whatever stack the interrupt occurred on.
- A confirmation handler may be entered with the confirmation for
a request before the request has returned.
- It is recommended that a MAC release the internal resources
associated with either TransmitChain or a request before
calling the confirmation handler. This allows the protocol to
submit a new TransmitChain or request from the confirmation
handler. Failing to do so may have a significant impact on
performance.
- A protocol must assume whenever it gives control to a MAC that
interrupts may be enabled by the MAC unless otherwise
explicitly specified.
- When passing a virtual address to one of these primitives under
OS/2 the address must be a Ring 0 GDT address unless otherwise
specified. The interrupt service routine portion of the MAC
must handle the fact that this address may not be valid if an
interrupt occurs in real mode.
- All primitives have a set of specific error codes defined. In
general, MAC's and protocols must return these specific codes.
However it is acceptable to return GENERAL_FAILURE for any non-
recoverable failure. NDIS developers must be aware that new
error codes may be added in the future and must design their
code to allow for this.
- If a particular entry point or function is not supported by an
NDIS protocol or MAC driver, the entry point must still be
exposed and an error (INVALID_FUNCTION 0x0008) returned if it
is called. Crashing when an unsupported request is made is
unacceptable.
- Parameters are passed on the stack compatible with Microsoft C
FAR Pascal calling conventions. On entry to any routine the
called module must save the caller's DS before setting its DS
from the "dataseg" parameter. At exit the caller's DS must be
restored. Furthermore the called module must follow standard
Microsoft C conventions about saving "register variable" SI and
DI registers if these are used. Modules which use the 80386
registers EDI, ESI and EBP must preserve these registers also.
The direction bit is assumed to be clear on entry and must be
clear upon exit. These conventions apply for calls in both
directions across the NDIS MAC interface.
- Direct calls return in AX a return code specifying the status
of function invocation. Those functions specified as using
IOCTLs return this in the status field of the request block.
- Before calling a module in OS/2 it is the caller's
responsibility to ensure that it is currently executing in
protected mode. If it is running in real mode it must do an
OS/2 "RealToProt" DevHlp call before calling the inter-module
interface function. Furthermore in OS/2 the inter-module call
can only be made at post CONFIG.SYS INIT time since all
selectors are Ring 0 selectors.
- A MAC starts with packet reception disabled. A protocol must
call SetPacketFilter to enable reception of packets.
- It is recommended that the number of Request commands which can
be simultaneously queued by the MAC be configurable. The
suggested keyword in the configuration file is "MaxRequests."
The recommended default is 6. The suggested range is 1 to 10.
- The number of TransmitChain commands which can be
simultaneously queued by the MAC must be configurable. The
suggested keyword in the configuration file is "MaxTransmits".
The recommended default is 6. The suggested range is 1 to 50.
- On a DIX or 802.3 network, packet buffers received may have
been padded to the minimum packet size for short packets. It
is the responsibility of the MAC client to examine the length
field if present and strip off the padding.
- For DIX or 802.3 networks the MAC client can transmit a buffer
with packet length smaller than the minimum. It is the
responsibility of the MAC to provide the required padding bytes
before transmission on to the wire. The content of the padding
bytes is undefined.
- Protocol drivers conforming to this specification are expected
to format and interpret MAC headers for the MAC driver types
supported. Generally, protocols are expected to support
802.3, DIX, and 802.5 MAC headers. It is recommended that MAC
drivers for other media types consider claiming to be one of
the above types and doing a transparent internal mapping
between that and its own private MAC header format. In doing
so, the MAC will be able to claim interoperability (assuming
the appropriate testing is done) with most protocol drivers
developed for LAN Manager.
- In the absence of any such conversion, the MAC header is passed
protocol-to-MAC or MAC-to-protocol in exactly the format in
which it exists on the medium. The CRC and non-data fields are
not passed across this boundary. Therefore the Ethernet CRC
and the Token Ring SD, FCS, ED and FS fields are not passed and
will not be included in the packet length. The protocol must
convert header fields found in the header buffer passed up to
whatever format is required to conveniently store them in local
memory. For example multi-byte fields (e.g., 802.3 length) may
not be received in the byte order that is normally used by the
CPU for storing multi-byte parameters. For exact format of the
MAC header refer to the appropriate standards document (see
Appendix B).
- For performance reasons, it is recommended that PhysToGDT be
used whenever possible instead of PhysToVirt.
- Commonly Used Parameters
ProtID The unique module ID of the protocol, assigned at bind
time by the Protocol Manager.
MACID The unique module ID of the MAC, assigned at bind time
by the Protocol Manager.
ReqHandle A handle assigned by the protocol to identify this
request. If the request is implemented asynchronously
by the MAC driver in question, this handle is returned
on the confirmation call used to indicate completion of
the request. A ReqHandle of 0 indicates that the
confirmation be unconditionally suppressed. For
example, the request may still be handled
asynchronously but there will be no notification of
completion. A ReqHandle of 0 must not change the
immediate return code.
ProtDS DS value for called protocol module, obtained from the
module's dispatch table at bind time.
MACDS DS value for called MAC module, obtained from the
module's dispatch table at bind time.
Direct Primitives
TransmitChain
Purpose: Initiate transmission of a frame
PUSHWORD ProtID ;Module ID of protocol
PUSHWORD ReqHandle ;Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSHLPBUF TxBufDescr ;Pointer to framebufferdescriptor
PUSHWORD MACDS ;DS of called MAC module
CALL TransmitChain
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x000A HARDWARE_ERROR
0x000B TRANSMIT_ERROR
0x000C NO_SUCH_DESTINATION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
TxBufDescr Far pointer to the buffer descriptor for the frame.
Description:
This call asks the MAC to transmit data. The MAC may either copy
the data described by TxBufDescr before returning, or queue the
request for later (asynchronous) processing. The MAC indicates
which option it is taking by setting the appropriate return code.
In the asynchronous case, ownership of the frame data blocks
passes to the MAC until the transmission is complete; the
protocol must not modify these areas until then. Ownership of
the data blocks is returned to the protocol when the MAC either
returns a status code which implies completion of the original
request or calls its TransmitConfirm entry with the ReqHandle
from TransmitChain. If a request handle of zero was used and
therefore TransmitConfirm will not be called, then ownership must
not be considered returned until the protocol receives a message
that implies the transmission has occurred (e.g., receiving an
ACK to the transmitted message).
Note that when doing asynchronous transmission, the MAC must
retain any needed information from TxBufDescr, since the pointer
to that structure becomes invalid upon returning from
TransmitChain. Also, if the TxImmedLen of the descriptor is non-
zero, the MAC must retain a copy of the immediate data at
TxImmedPtr, since the immediate data area becomes invalid upon
returning from TransmitChain.
The MAC header must fit entirely in the immediate data, if
present, or in the first non-immediate element described in
TxBufDescr if there is no immediate data.
A MAC must be prepared to handle a TransmitChain request at
anytime, including from within interrupt-time indication
routines.
The return code REQUEST_QUEUED will cause a TransmitConfirm to be
called from the MAC back to the protocol if the ReqHandle on the
TransmitChain call is not 0. All other return codes from
TransmitChain imply that no TransmitConfirm will occur.
The TRANSMIT_ERROR and NO_SUCH_DESTINATION error codes are
intended to allow a protocol to recreate the frame status byte on
a Token Ring network. Thus, NO_SUCH_DESTINATION implies that the
address recognized bits were not set (and therefore the frame was
not copied), while TRANSMIT_ERROR merely means that the frame was
not copied. Protocols which make use of Source Routing may need
the NO_SUCH_DESTINATION error code to be completely conformant.
Token Ring MAC driver writers must make every attempt to return
these error codes properly.
TransmitConfirm
Purpose: Imply the completion of transmitting a frame.
PUSH WORD ProtID ;Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD MACID ;Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ;Unique handle from TransmitChain
PUSH WORD Status ;Status of original TransmitChain
PUSH WORD ProtDS ;DS of called protocol module
CALL TransmitConfirm
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This routine is called by a MAC to indicate completion of a
previous TransmitChain. The purpose of this is to return
ownership of the transmitted data blocks back to the protocol.
The ProtID parameter must be the value passed by the protocol on
the previous TransmitChain to identify the requestor.
The ReqHandle is the value passed by the protocol on the previous
TransmitChain which identifies the original request.
TransmitConfirm does not necessarily imply that the packet has
been transmitted, though it generally will have been (with the
exception of some intelligent adapter implementations). If the
packet has been transmitted, Status must indicate the final
transmit status:
0X0000 SUCCESS
0X000A HARDWARE_ERROR
0X000B TRANSMIT_ERROR
0X000C NO_SUCH_DESTINATION
0X00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
See TransmitChain for more details.
ReceiveLookahead
Purpose: Indicate arrival of a received frame and offer lookahead data.
PUSH WORD MACID ;Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD FrameSize ;Total size of frame (0 if not known)
PUSH WORD BytesAvail ;Bytes of lookahead available in Buffer
PUSH LPBUF Buffer ;Virtual address of lookahead data
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ;Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD ProtDS ;DS of called protocol module
CALL ReceiveLookahead
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0003 FRAME_NOT_RECOGNIZED
0x0004 FRAME_REJECTED
0x0005 FORWARD_FRAME
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
FrameSize The total size, in bytes, of the received frame. A
value of 0 indicates that the MAC does not know the
total frame size at this time.
BytesAvail The number of bytes available in the lookahead
buffer. This is guaranteed to be at least as large as
the lookahead size established with the SetLookahead
request. For frames which are smaller than the
lookahead size, the lookahead buffer will contain the
whole frame.
Buffer Virtual address of contiguous lookahead buffer. The
buffer contains the leading BytesAvail octets of the
frame. This buffer is ephemeral; it is addressable to
the protocol only during the scope of the Receive call.
Indicate Virtual address of indication flag byte. This byte is
set to 0xFF by the MAC prior to this call. If the
protocol clears the byte to zero prior to returning
then indications will be left disabled until
IndicationOn is called from IndicationComplete.
Description:
This routine is called by a MAC to indicate reception of a frame
and to offer frame lookahead data. The protocol is expected to
inspect this information very rapidly to determine if it wants to
accept the frame or not. If it wants to accept the frame, it may
call TransferData to ask the MAC to copy the frame data to a
specified buffer described by a TDBufDescr. The protocol can
indicate that it is rejecting or does not recognize the frame by
returning an appropriate error code. Note that the frame not
recognized error has special significance to the Vector function.
If the protocol is accepting the frame and if the lookahead
buffer contains the whole frame, the protocol can simply copy the
data itself before returning from Receive. The protocol may
determine that it has the whole frame if BytesAvail equals
FrameSize, or if the lookahead information includes a protocol
header with the frame length, and this matches BytesAvail.
It is strongly recommended that MACs provide a non-zero FrameSize
whenever possible. Some protocols might not be able to process
frames unless the frame size given by this parameter is known. A
MAC can optionally indicate that it does not normally provide a
non-zero frame size by setting bit 16 of the service flags in the
MAC specific characteristics table.
The MAC implicitly disables indications (IndicationOff) before
calling Receive Lookahead. The Indicate flag byte instructs the
MAC on whether to reenable indications or leave them disabled on
the return. If the protocol chooses to leave indications
disabled, it can enable them within IndicationComplete by calling
IndicationOn.
The protocol must absolutely minimize its processing time within
the ReceiveLookahead handler. This is necessary to let certain
MAC's re-enable the hardware to avoid loss of incoming frames.
Shortly after returning from ReceiveLookahead, the MAC will call
the protocol back at its IndicationComplete entry point. The
protocol can do any needed post-processing of the received frame
at that time. The MAC does not guarantee to provide one
IndicationComplete call for each indication. It can choose to
issue a single IndicationComplete for several indications that
have occurred.
TransferData
Purpose: Transfer received frame data from the MAC to a protocol.
PUSH LPWORD BytesCopied ;Number of bytes copied
PUSH WORD FrameOffset ;Starting offset in frame for transfer
PUSH LPBUF TDBufDescr ;Virtual address of transfer data description
PUSH WORD MACDS ;DS of called MAC module
CALL TransferData
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
BytesCopied Virtual address of buffer for returning number of
bytes copied during transfer data operation.
FrameOffset Starting offset in received frame where data transfer
must start. The value of FrameOffset must be less
than or equal to the value of BytesAvail from the
corresponding ReceiveLookahead.
TDBufDescr Virtual address of transfer descriptor describing
where to store the frame data.
Description:
A protocol calls this synchronous routine from within its
ReceiveLookahead handler before return, to ask the MAC to
transfer data for a received frame to protocol storage. The
protocol can specify any starting frame offset and byte count for
the transfer, so long as these don't exceed the frame's length.
If bit 15 of the MAC service flags is set, multiple TransferDatas
may be called during a single ReceiveLookahead indication. If
this bit is reset, only one TransferData per ReceiveLookahead
indication is permitted. In the latter case subsequent calls
within the same indication will return an error.
For MACs with bit 15 of the MAC service flags reset, a protocol
intending to call TransferData must do so only if it has decided
to accept the incoming packet. Since the MAC driver may be
shared by multiple protocols, a protocol's failure to follow this
restriction in this case jeopardizes other coexisting protocol
drivers from receiving these packets. When a protocol is bound
to a MAC with bit 15 set, this restriction does not apply as a
mandatory requirement. However, it is still recommended in such
cases for performance reasons that a protocol call TransferData
only if it has decided to accept the incoming packet. A protocol
module must set the Lookahead size large enough to determine if
the packet is intended for it by examining ony the Lookahead
bytes presented by ReceiveLookahead.
It is recommended that the multiple TransferData feature with bit
15 set be implemented in MAC drivers whenever it is reasonable to
do so with the adapter hardware.
IndicationComplete
Purpose: Allow protocol to do post-processing on indications.
PUSH WORD MACID ;Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD ProtDS ;DS of called protocol module
CALL IndicationComplete
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
A MAC calls this entry point to enable a protocol to do post-
processing after an indication. The MAC will always generate an
IndicationComplete subsequent to an indication regardless of the
return code of the indication. Although still in interrupt
context and subject to the normal OS/2 guidelines for interrupt
processing, the protocol is not under the severe time constraints
of the indication. The MAC must minimize stack usage before
calling this routine and, under DOS, must have swapped off of any
special "interrupt" stack.
This routine is always entered with interrupts enabled and with
the network adapter interrupt dismissed from the interrupt
controller. Therefore, it may be reentered at the completion of
another indication. Also no one-to-one correspondence is
guaranteed between indications and IndicationComplete. A MAC may
generate one IndicationComplete for several indications. A
protocol may enforce a one-to-one correspondence by leaving
indications disabled until the return from IndicationComplete.
If indications are explicitly disabled by a protocol on return
from an indication, it is the protocol's responsibility to invoke
IndicationOn as soon possible during IndicationComplete.
MAC developers must avoid simply serializing each indication with
IndicationComplete as this can negatively affect performance.
The MAC must be designed to allow an indication to occur during
IndicationComplete processing. Of course, if this occurs,
another IndicationComplete call will be necessary.
ReceiveChain
Purpose: Indicate reception of a frame in MAC-managed buffers.
PUSH WORD MACID ;Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD FrameSize ;Total size of frame (bytes)
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ;Unique handle for this request
PUSH LPBUF RxBufDescr ;Virtual address of receive descriptor
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ;Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD ProtDS ;DS of called protocol module
CALL ReceiveChain
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0001 WAIT_FOR_RELEASE
0x0003 FRAME_NOT_RECOGNIZED
0x0004 FRAME_REJECTED
0x0005 FORWARD_FRAME
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
FrameSize Total size of received frame, in bytes.
RxBufDescr Virtual address of receive descriptor describing the
received frame.
Indicate Virtual address of indication flag byte. This byte
is set to 0xFF by the MAC prior to this call. If the
protocol clears the byte to zero prior to returning
then indications will be left disabled until
IndicationOn is called from IndicationComplete.
Description:
A MAC calls this routine to indicate the reception of a frame in
MAC-managed storage. Ownership of this storage is implicitly
passed to the protocol when this call is made. At its option,
the protocol may copy the data right away and indicate this via
the return code (in which case ownership reverts to the MAC); or
the protocol may queue the request and copy the frame later, in
which case it retains ownership of the frame's storage until it
calls ReceiveRelease. Since the protocol may queue data received
in this manner, it is possible that the MAC may run low on
available frame buffers. The MAC may elect to call
ReceiveLookahead instead of ReceiveChain while it is low on frame
buffers. This allows the MAC to retain control of its remaining
buffers until the protocol releases the buffers it is holding.
Note that for frames longer than 256 bytes, the MAC must
guarantee that the first data block of the frame is at least 256
bytes long. Frames less than or equal to 256 bytes in length
must be completely specified with a single data block. This
allows the protocol to parse packet headers out of the first data
block and greatly facilitates protocol processing efficiency.
Like ReceiveLookahead, a protocol's processing within
ReceiveChain is time critical. At some point after return from
ReceiveChain the MAC will generate an IndicationComplete to allow
post-processing of the indication.
The MAC implicitly disables indications (IndicationOff) before
calling ReceiveChain. The Indicate flag byte instructs the MAC
on whether to reenable indications or leave then disable on the
return. If the protocol chooses to leave indications disabled,
it can enable them within IndicationComplete by calling
IndicationOn.
ReceiveRelease
Purpose: Return frame storage to the MAC that owns it.
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ;Unique handle from ReceiveChain
PUSH WORD MACDS ;DS of called MAC module
CALL ReceiveRelease
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
A protocol uses this call after it has copied frame data provided
by a ReceiveChain call. ReceiveRelease returns ownership of the
frame data blocks to the MAC.
IndicationOff
Purpose: Disable MAC indications
PUSH WORD MACDS ;DS of called MAC module
CALL IndicationOff
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
A protocol may use this call to prevent the generation of
ReceiveLookahead, ReceiveChain and Status indications from the
MAC. This is similar in concept to disabling interrupts. When
indications are off, a MAC must queue events that would cause it
to generate indications to the protocol. A MAC implicitly
disables indications just before calling the ReceiveLookahead,
ReceiveChain or Status indication entry point of a protocol.
The only legal use of IndicationOff is to bracket a call or calls
to the MAC. For example, the following sequence is valid:
IndicationOff
TransmitChain
IndicationOn
In this situation the protocol must not block while indications
are off and must call IndicationOn as soon as possible. The
protocol must ensure that all calls to IndicationOff are paired
up with a corresponding call to IndicationOn. If the protocol
issues an IndicationOff call from a timer tick handler, or from a
ReceiveLookahead, ReceiveChain or Status indication handler it
must issue the IndicationOn call before returning.
Note that IndicationComplete may still occur even though
indications are disabled. Disabling indications has no effect on
a MAC's ability to call IndicationComplete.
This function always returns with interrupts disabled. It is the
responsibility of the caller to re-enable them.
IndicationOn
Purpose: Enable MAC indications
Called from protocol to MAC.
PUSH WORD MACDS ;DS of called MAC module
CALL IndicationOn
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
A protocol must use this call to re-enable indications after
having disabled them. Note that a MAC may optionally defer the
actual re-enabling of indications.
It is possible that IndicationOff and IndicationOn pairs will
nest. Therefore the MAC must maintain a reference count to
enable it to determine when to actually re-enable indications.
The protocol must not assume that a call to IndicationOn will
immediately enable indications.
IndicationOn may be called from an IndicationComplete handler
after leaving indications disabled on return from an indication
handler. IndicationOn may also be used, paired with
IndicationOff, to bracket a call or calls to the MAC.
This function always returns with interrupts disabled. It is the
responsibility of the caller to re-enable them. No indications
will be generated until after the call has returned.
General Requests
General requests are commands from a protocol to a MAC directing
it to do adapter management operations like setting the station
address, running diagnostics, and changing operating parameters
or modes. A MAC may choose to implement any of the Request
functions synchronously or asynchronously. A MAC returns the
REQUEST_QUEUED return code to inform the protocol that a given
request will be processed asynchronously. When this is the case,
the MAC will call back to the protocol's RequestConfirm entry
point to indicate when processing of the request is complete. If
a request handle of zero is used then the RequestConfirm call is
suppressed. It is the caller's responsibility to make certain
that any data referenced by the request remains valid until the
request is guaranteed to have completed. If a protocol makes a
general MAC request when executing its InitiateBind startup
function and the MAC returns REQUEST_QUEUED, the protocol must
wait for the corresponding RequestConfirm to be returned before
exiting from the InitiateBind function. Any other return code
from a general request implies that no RequestConfirm will occur.
All general requests have the following common calling convention:
PUSH WORD ProtID ;Module ID of Protocol or 0
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ;Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD Param1 ;Request dependent word parameter or 0
PUSH DWORD Param2 ;Request dependent dword parameter or 0
PUSH WORD Opcode ;Opcode of request
PUSH WORD MACDS ;DS of called MAC module
Call Request
InitiateDiagnostics
Purpose: Start runtime diagnostics.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 1 ; Initiate Diagnostics Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x000A HARDWARE_ERROR
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Causes a MAC to run hardware diagnostics and update its status
information in the MAC-specific status section of the
characteristics table. A MAC must return an error if it does not
support run time diagnostics. While the diagnostics are in
progress, the MAC must set the diagnostics in progress bit (bit
5) in the MAC status field in the MAC service-specific status
table. If HARDWARE_ERROR is returned, the protocol may examine
the various fields in the service-specific status table for an
indication as to the cause of the problem.
ReadErrorLog
Purpose: Return error log.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD LogLen ; Length of log buffer
PUSH LPBUF LogAddr ; Buffer for returning log
PUSH WORD 2 ; Read Error Log Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Causes a read error log to be issued to adapter. This command is
implemented on the IBM token ring adapter and possibly other
adapters. The format of the information returned is adapter
specific and not specified here.
SetStationAddress
Purpose: Set the network address of the station.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH LPBUF AdaptAddr ; Buffer containing the adapter address
PUSH WORD 3 ; SetStationAddress Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
There is only a single station address. Each time it replaces
the current station address in the MAC service-specific
characteristics table and will reconfigure the hardware to
receive on that address if required. The station will be
initially configured with the address specified in the permanent
station address field of the MAC service-specific characteristics
table (which this call does not modify).
The adapter address buffer contains only the bytes of the address
to be set. The length of the address must be equal to the length
specified in the MAC service characteristics table.
If the hardware does not support a mechanism to modify its
station address then the current station address buffer is not
updated and this function returns INVALID_FUNCTION. In this case
the MAC continues to use the permanent station address to
recognize incoming directed packets.
If a MAC does not support the OpenAdapter and CloseAdapter
commands (bit 11 of the MAC service flags is reset), then the
SetStationAddress command can be issued by the protocol at any
time. However, if the MAC supports the Open Adapter and
CloseAdapter commands (bit 11 of the MAC service flags is set),
then this command is valid only either during system
initialization time or while the MAC is in a closed state. The
protocol driver must issue an Open Adapter call after issuing the
SetStationAddress call for the SetStationAddress command to take
effect.
OpenAdapter
Purpose: Issue open request to network adapter.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD OpenOptions ; Adapter specific open options
PUSH DWORD ExtendedRet ; Optional pointer to a DWORD extended
return code
(vendor-specific or warning level)
PUSH WORD 4 ; Open Adapter Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x0024 HARDWARE_FAILURE
0x002A NETWORK_MAY_NOT_BE_CONNECTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Where:
Optional vendor-specific information can be returned through the
ExtendedRet pointer. A caller supporting this would push a pointer to a
DWORD. The DWORD would have been initialized to 0xFFFFFFFF (unsupported).
If there is any extended return information this value would be changed.
A caller not supporting this would simply push a NULL (0) pointer. The
OpenAdapter routine which supports this would verify the ExtendedRet
pointer is not NULL (0) and then write the information. The OpenAdapter
routine which does not support this would simply ignore the pointer.
The purpose of ExtendedRet is to provide warning messages on a
SUCCESS return without requiring additional testing for those callers
not supporting warnings, to provide additional information on
GENERAL_FAILURE and HARDWARE_FAILURE, and to pass vendor-specific codes
on any return to provide for active functional experimentation and
evolution without inconveniencing other vendor's components.
Description:
The purpose of the OpenAdapter function is to activate an
adapter's network connection. This may involve making an
electrical connection for some adapters like token ring adapters.
This also implies that a considerable delay may occur between
submittal of this request and its confirmation. If the MAC
indicates that OpenAdapter is supported (by setting bit 11 of the
service flags in the MAC service-specific characteristics table),
then the protocol driver must ensure the adapter is open during
bind-time processing. Since OpenAdapter can only be called when
the adapter is closed, even in a VECTOR configuration, the
protocol must first check if the adapter is already open by
examining bit 4 of the MAC status in the MAC service-specific
status table.
While an adapter is closed the following functions are guaranteed
to operate: SetLookahead, SetPacketFilter, SetStationAddress,
Interrupt, Indicationoff, IndicationOn.
Since this function is adapter specific it is expected that any
necessary parameters are either known a priori by the MAC or can
be recovered from the PROTOCOL.INI file. The format of the
information is highly adapter specific and left up to the
implementer to define.
The OpenOptions parameter is adapter specific. For IBM TokenRing
and compatible adapters, these are defined in the IBM Token Ring
Technical Reference Manual.
CloseAdapter
Purpose: Issue close request to network adapter.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 5 ; Close Adapter Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This function closes an adapter. This causes it to decouple
itself from a network so that packets cannot be sent or received.
CloseAdapter resets the functional or multicast addresses
currently set.
Since this function is adapter specific it is expected that any
necessary parameters are either already known by the MAC or can
be recovered from the PROTOCOL.INI file. The format of the
information is highly adapter specific and left up to the
implementer to define.
ResetMAC
Purpose: Reset the MAC software and adapter hardware.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 6 ; Reset MAC Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x0024 HARDWARE FAILURE
0x002A NETWORK_MAY_NOT_BE_CONNECTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
The function causes the MAC to issue a hardware reset to the
network adapter. The MAC may discard without confirmation any
pending requests and abort operations in progress. For
compatibility with some current protocols which do not properly
handle resets, it is suggested the MAC complete pending requests,
returning INVALID_FUNCTION on all confirmations which result. The
MAC must preserve the current station address, LOOKAHEAD length,
packet filter, multicast address list, functional address and
indication on/off state.
For MAC's that support the OpenAdapter function, the Reset MAC
command leaves the adapter in the opened state if it was opened
prior to the reset. The adapter open parameters that were in
effect prior to the reset must be the same ones in effect after
the reset.
When the reset is initiated, the MAC must generate a StartReset
status indication back to the protocol. For some MAC's a
considerable delay can elapse between the start of the reset and
its completion. All MAC's must subsequently issue an EndReset
indication when the reset is complete. During the time between
the StartReset indication and the corresponding EndReset
indication, the MAC must return INVALID_FUNCTION for any request
it receives while a reset is in progress. The EndReset indication
notifies the protocol that the MAC can handle new requests.
As always, an IndicationComplete follows these indications.
MACSs written to V1.0.1. of this spec will not issue the
End Reset. They must issue the IndicationCompleteto signal
the end of the reset.
Note that the completion (i.e. the return from this command or
the request confirm) of the Reset MAC request itself does not
signal the start or end of the reset.
There can be no guarantee that this function will succeed, though
the NDIS MAC developer must make every attempt. An error return
from this call can be considered fatal. If the reset fails,
the adapter may no longer be in the same state. For example, if the
adapter was open before a failed ResetMAC, it may now be closed.
SetPacketFilter
Purpose: Select received packet general filtering parameters.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD FilterMask ; Bit mask for packet filter
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 7 ; Set Packet Filter Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
FilterMask bit
0 directed and multicast or group and functional
1 broadcast packets
2 any packet on LAN (promiscuous)
3 any source routing packet on LAN
4-15 Reserved, must be zero
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This command tells the MAC which kinds of received packets must
generate indications to the protocol invoking this command. A
FilterMask of 0 indicates that the MAC must not indicate received
packets to that protocol. If a FilterMask bit is set, then this
indicates that the MAC must indicate that type of packet to the
protocol. Except for a 0 FilterMask, a filter bit of 0 does not
require the MAC to suppress indications for that type of packet.
For example the FilterMask used by the MAC may or may not
correspond to the capabilities of the hardware adapter. For
example a MAC may be designed to receive multicast frames by
promiscuously receiving all frames and discarding those that do
not match the filter. It is optional for the MAC to support such
software filtering. If the MAC can suppress such indications, it
is strongly recommended that it do so. However, if the MAC does
not suppress such indications, then the protocol must be prepared
to receive these and discard the incoming packet if necessary.
If this request returns SUCCESS, then the hardware is enabled to
receive the types of packets requested and will generate
Indications to the protocol for those types of packets.
If the MAC does not support the receiving of packets of the type
specified, then it will return GENERAL_FAILURE. In this case the
FilterMask is left in its previous state.
AddMulticastAddress
Purpose: Allow adapter to respond to a multicast address.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH LPBUF MultiAddr ; Buffer containing multicast address
PUSH WORD 8 ; Add Multicast Address Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This function allows the addition of multicast addresses. The
term multicast address also implies 802.5 group addresses. This
function allows the addition of only one address at a time but
can be repeated to add more multicasts.
It is the MAC's responsibility to return an error if too many
multicast addresses have been added (OUT_OF_RESOURCE or
INVALID_FUNCTION) or if an address of the wrong type has been
added (INVALID_PARAMETER).
Multicast addresses are never over written and will return an
error (INVALID_PARAMETER) if they already exist no matter what
their type. They must be explicitly deleted.
The multicast address buffer contains only the bytes of the
multicast address to be added. The length of the multicast
address must be equal to the length specified in the MAC service
characteristics table.
DeleteMulticastAddress
Purpose: Forbid adapter to respond to a multicast address.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH LPBUF MultiAddr ; Buffer containing multicast address
PUSH WORD 9 ; Delete Multicast Address Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This function removes a previously added multicast address. The
term multicast address also implies 802.5 group addresses.
INVALID_PARAMETER is returned if the address was not in the
table.
The multicast address buffer has the same format as in the
AddMulticastAddress command.
UpdateStatistics
Purpose: Cause MAC statistics to be updated.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 10 ; Update Statistics request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Causes the MAC to atomically update the statistics in its
characteristics table. The requester can then read that table
when this operation is complete. Those statistics which are not
always current will remain the same until the next UpdateStatistics
call is performed. If all of the statistics in the table are
always current this function must return SUCCESS.
ClearStatistics
Purpose: Cause MAC statistics to be cleared.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 11 ; Clear Statistics request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Causes the MAC to reset its statistics counters. This implies
that all statistics must be reset to zero in an atomic operation.
InterruptRequest
Purpose: Request asynchronous indication.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 12 ; InterruptRequest
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This function requests the MAC to generate an asynchronous
Interrupt Status indication back to the protocol. The protocol
may control the generation of this Interrupt Status indication by
disabling and later enabling indications. The MAC may at its
discretion suppress the generation of this indication if there is
another indication pending which may be issued in place of the
Interrupt status indication. This request is intended to be used
for MAC's which can generate a hardware interrupt on demand.
This function must be implemented if at all possible. Interrupt
request will substantially improve the performance of some
protocols (particularly DLC).
SetFunctionalAddress
Purpose: Cause adapter to change its functional address.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH LPBUF FunctAddr ; Buffer containing functional address
PUSH WORD 13 ; Set Functional Address Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This sets the IEEE802.5 functional address to the passed
functional address. The adapter will use the functional address
to discern packets intended for it. For more information on
functional addresses see the IEEE 802.5 specification.
The functional address buffer contains only the bytes of the new
functional address bit pattern. It represents the logical OR of
all functional addresses to be registered with the adapter. The
length of the functional address buffer is 4 bytes.
Multiple protocols can set or reset their functional address bit
if required by each protocol by first reading the current
functional address DWORD bit pattern from the MAC service
characteristics table, then ORing in or ANDing out the required
functional bit and passing the new functional address pattern in
this command.
SetLookahead
Purpose: Set length of lookahead information for ReceiveLookahead.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle for this request or 0
PUSH WORD Length ; Minimum length of lookahead info
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter - must be 0
PUSH WORD 14 ; Set Lookahead Request
PUSH WORD MACDS ; DS of called MAC module
Call Request
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This request sets the minimum length in bytes of lookahead
information to be returned in a Receive Lookahead indication.
Until SetLookahead is initially called, a value of 64 bytes is
assumed for the lookahead length. When first called,
SetLookahead sets the lookahead length value equal to the Length
parameter of the request. After the first SetLookahead request,
the lookahead length is changed only if the value of the Length
parameter is larger than the current lookahead length. If the
length parameter value is smaller, the current Lookahead length
remains unchanged and SUCCESS is returned. SetLookahead may be
called at any time and the lookahead length is preserved during a
reset. The maximum value for the lookahead length is 256 bytes.
MAC's which never call Receive Lookahead or always return
lookahead information of length greater than or equal to 256
bytes may return SUCCESS without any internal action. MAC's must
support 256 bytes of lookahead data if requested.
General Request Confirmation
Purpose: Confirm completion of a previous General Request.
PUSH WORD ProtID ; Module ID of Protocol
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD ReqHandle ; Unique handle of original request
PUSH WORD Status ; Final status of original request
PUSH WORD Request ; Original Request opcode
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called Protocol module
Call RequestConfirm
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0X0024 HARDWARE_FAILURE
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Notify a protocol that an asynchronous MAC control Request has
completed after previous Request had returned a REQUEST_QUEUED.
It is possible that a RequestConfirm can be returned to the
protocol before the protocol's corresponding Request function has
completed.
The ProtID parameter must be the value passed by the protocol on
the previous general request to identify the requestor.
If a protocol had made a general MAC request when executing its
InitiateBind startup function and the MAC returned
REQUEST_QUEUED, the protocol must wait for the corresponding
RequestConfirm to be returned before exiting from the
InitiateBind function.
Status Indication
Status indications are spontaneous calls from a MAC to a
protocol, typically at interrupt time. They inform the protocol
of changes in MAC status.
All status indications have the following common calling
convention:
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD Param1 ; Opcode dependent word parameter or 0
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ; Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD Opcode ; Opcode of status indication
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called Protocol module
Call Status
Indicate is the virtual address of the indication flag byte.
This byte is set to 0xFF by the MAC prior to this call. If the
protocol clears the byte to zero prior to returning then
indications will be left disabled until IndicationOn is called
from IndicationComplete.
RingStatus
Purpose: Return a change in ring status.
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD Status ; New Ring Status
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ; Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD 1 ; Ring Status Indication
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
Call Indication
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
Description:
Called by 802.5-style MAC drivers to indicate a change in ring
status. The status codes for 802.5-style drivers are encoded as
a 16-bit mask, where the bits in the mask are defined as follows:
Bit Meaning
15 Signal Loss
14 Hard Error
13 Soft Error
12 Transmit Beacon
11 Lobe Wire Fault
10 Auto-Removal Error 1
9 Reserved
8 Remove Received
7 Counter Overflow
6 Single Station
5 Ring Recovery
4-0 Reserved
For certain ring status changes, the adapter may already have
been removed from the ring. The protocol driver must check
whether the adapter has been closed (by examining bit 4 fo the
MAC status field in the MAC service-specific status table). For
additional information, consult the IBM Token Ring Technical
Reference Manual. If the status condition caused the adapter to
close, the MAC must return confirmations with non-SUCCESS status
codes for all pending TransmitChain and general requests.
AdapterCheck
Purpose: Return hardware status.
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD Reason ; Reason for Adapter Check
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ; Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD 2 ; Adapter Check Indication
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
Call Status
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
Description:
Called to indicate a fatal adapter error. If this function is
called the protocol must issue a ResetMAC call (if supported)
before communications can resume. Note that a MAC may choose to
tolerate some number of errors before issuing an AdaperCheck
indication. For example, a MAC may want to accept the occasional
receive DMA overrun, and only issue the AdapterCheck for this
condition if it occurs excessively.
For 802.5 MAC's the Reason code is defined as follows (NOT a bit
mask):
0x8000 Adapter Inoperative
0x1000 Illegal Opcode
0x0800 Local Bus Parity Error
0x0400 Parity Error
0x0100 Internal Parity Error
0x0080 Parity Error, Ring Transmit
0x0040 Parity Error, Ring Receive
0x0020 Transmit Overrun
0x0010 Receive Overrun
0x0008 Unrecognized Interrupt
0x0004 Unrecognized Error Interrupt
0x0003 Adapter Detected No PC System Service
0x0002 Unrecognized Supervisory Request
0x0001 Program Request
All 802.5 values not defined above are reserved.
The MAC must always return confirmations with non-SUCCESS status
codes for all pending TransmitChain and general requests.
For 802.3 MAC's the Reason code is defined as follows (NOT a bit mask):
0x8000 Adapter Inoperative (Adapter did not respond
to command or could not be found)
0x4000 Command Timed Out (Adapter did not complete
command within acceptable time interval)
0x2000 SQE Test Failure (No heartbeat detected on
previous transmission)
0x1000 Excessive Collisions (Transmission failed due
to excessive collisions)
0x0800 Lost Carrier Sense (Adapter lost carrier
during transmission)
0x0400 TDR Failure (TDR test detected a short or
open on the link)
0x0020 Transmit Underrun (DMA underrun occurred on
transmission)
0x0010 Receive Overrun (DMA overrun occurred on reception)
All 802.3 values not defined above are reserved.
StartReset
Purpose: Imply that adapter has started a reset.
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter must be zero
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ; Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD 3 ; Start Reset Indication
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
Call Status
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
Description:
Called to indicate that the adapter has started a reset. This
will generally be due to a call to ResetMAC (perhaps by another
protocol driver in a VECTOR configuration) but can be
unsolicited. The protocol must assume when it gets this
indication that all requests outstanding to the MAC have been
discarded without notification. The end of the reset will be
signalled by an EndReset indication. The reset process may take
a significant amount of time. While it is in progress, the MAC
may reject any requests it cannot handle with INVALID_FUNCTION
(0x0008). As with any other indication, StartReset is entered
with indications implicitly disabled. To protect itself from
other indications the protocol may choose to modify the Indicate
flag to keep indications disabled on return. This will not
prevent the EndReset indication from being generated however.
EndReset
Purpose: Imply that adapter has finished a reset.
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD Status ; MAC error information
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ; Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD 5 ; End Reset Indication
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
Call Status
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
Description:
Called to indicate that the adapter has finished a reset and
follows the StartReset indication. The protocol may return
INVALID_FUNCTION if it was written to the 1.0.1 version of this
specification, where it assumes end of reset on IndicationComplete.
To ensure compatibility with 1.0.1 protocol drivers, the MAC must
ensure the IndicationComplete is called after EndReset and before
any other indications.
EndReset will pass up a success/fail code for ResetMAC in
the Status parameter.
0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0024 HARDWARE_ERROR
0x002A NETWORK_MAY_NOT_BE_CONNECTED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
As with any other indication, EndReset is entered with
indications implicitly disabled. To protect itself from other
indications the protocol may choose to modify the Indicate flag
to keep indications disabled on return. MAC drivers must be
prepared for the possibility that both StartReset and EndReset
allow the protocol to modify this flag.
EndReset is not affected by IndicationOn and IndicationOff. In
other words, if the protocol modifies the indicate flag during
StartReset to disable indications, this will not prevent the
EndReset indication from being generated.
If both StartReset and EndReset disable indications, the
IndicationOff depth is 2, requiring two calls to IndicationOn
in order to enable indications. For example, if protocol A
disables indications during StartReset and protocol B disables
indications during EndReset, both protocols must issue IndicationOn
before indications are re-enabled. The same is true if the same
protocol issues IndicationOff twice.
Interrupt
Purpose: Imply that an interrupt has occurred as the result of an
interrupt request.
PUSH WORD MACID ; Module ID of MAC
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter must be 0
PUSH LPBYTE Indicate ; Virtual address of indicate flag
PUSH WORD 4 ; Interrupt indication
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
Call Indication
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
Description:
The MAC calls this function to indicate to a protocol that an
interrupt requested by an Interrupt request has occurred. Since
this indication may be deferred by disabling indications, a
protocol may use this mechanism to implement a simple scheduling
scheme to allow it to regain control once outside of a critical
code region. The MAC may at its discretion suppress the
generation of this indication if there is another indication
pending which may be issued in place of the Interrupt status
indication.
System Requests
All MAC and protocol modules implement a set of system request
functions that support module-independent functions such as
binding. The caller of these functions is usually the Protocol
Manager. The entry point for system requests is defined in the
common characteristics table for the module. All system requests
are implemented synchronously. Note that all pointers in system
requests are Ring 0 GDT virtual addresses.
All system requests have the following common calling convention:
PUSH DWORD Param1 ; Request dependent dword parameter or 0
PUSH DWORD Param2 ; Request dependent dword parameter or 0
PUSH WORD Param3 ; Request dependent word parameter or 0
PUSH WORD Opcode ; Opcode of request
PUSH WORD TargetDS ; DS of called module
Call System
InitiateBind
Purpose: Instruct a module to bind to another module.
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter must be 0
PUSH LPBUF CharTab ; Characteristics of module to bind
PUSH WORD LastBind ; Non-zero if last InitiateBind
PUSH WORD 1 ; Initiate Bind Request
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called Protocol module
CALL System
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0021 INCOMPLETE_BINDING
0x0022 DRIVER_NOT_INITIALIZED
0x0023 HARDWARE_NOT_FOUND
0x0024 HARDWARE_FAILURE
0x0025 CONFIGURATION_FAILURE
0x0026 INTERRUPT_CONFLICT
0x0027 INCOMPATIBLE_MAC
0x0028 INITIALIZATION_FAILED
0x002A NETWORK_MAY_NOT_BE_CONNECTED
0x002B INCOMPATIBLE_OS_VERSION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This call is issued by the Protocol Manager to an upper protocol
module. It passes the address of the characteristics table of
the lower module that the upper module must issue a Bind call to.
If the upper module specified a BindingsList including more than
one lower module, then InitiateBind's will be issued for those
modules in the order the lower modules are listed in the
BindingsList structure. LastBind is used to indicate the last
Initiate Bind request so the module may perform any final
initialization prior to returning. In the static default binding
case of one static protocol and one MAC, the Protocol Manager
will issue an InitiateBind passing the characteristics table of
the MAC even if no bindings list was specified. In this case
LastBind will be non-zero. In the non-default case if a module
other than a MAC does not have lower bindings (having a Bindlist
with a NumBindings count = 0), the Protocol Manager will still
issue an Initiate Bind to the module to allow final
initialization. In this case CharTab will be NULL and LastBind
will be non-zero.
If the Bind operation fails then the Initiate Bind operation must
also fail returning the same return code as the failing Bind
call.
If a module returns a non-SUCCESS code on InitiateBind, in the
dynamic mode the Protocol Manager will automatically deregister
that module and remove all reference to it in its bind tables.
In particular any other module that had registered (via
RegisterModule) its intention to bind with the failed module will
get an InitiateBind call with the "CharTab" pointer far NULL and
"LastBind" non-zero. A module that has lower bindings and
receives an InitiateBind with a NULL bind "CharTab" must generate
a non-SUCCESS return code in order to force the Protocol Manager
to deregister it. In DOS it is recommended that a dynamic module
that failed its bind deinstall itself. In OS/2 it is recommended
that the dynamic driver that failed its bind leave its dynamic
segments unlocked.
Bind
Purpose: Exchange module characteristic table information.
PUSH LPBUF CharTab ; Pointer to caller's table
PUSH LPBUF TabAddr ; Address where to return a pointer
; to called module's characteristics
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter must be zero
PUSH WORD 2 ; Bind Request
PUSH WORD TargetDS ; DS of called module
CALL System
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0022 DRIVER_NOT_INITIALIZED
0x0023 HARDWARE_NOT_FOUND
0x0024 HARDWARE_FAILURE
0x0025 CONFIGURATION_FAILURE
0x0026 INTERRUPT_CONFLICT
0x0027 INCOMPATIBLE_MAC
0x0028 INITIALIZATION_FAILED
0x002A NETWORK_MAY_NOT_BE_CONNECTED
0x002B INCOMPATIBLE_OS_VERSION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Used by one module to bind to another. It exchanges pointers to
characteristics tables between the two modules. A MAC will
accept only one bind and will not accept additional bind attempts.
For compatibility with Remote Initial Program Load, MAC drivers
must not manipulate the network adapter at INIT time. The MAC
driver is free to determine if the network adapter is present,
but must leave any hardware manipulation to Bind time processing.
InitiatePrebind (OS/2 only)
Purpose: In OS/2 dynamic bind mode instruct a module to restart
its prebind initialization.
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter (must be zero)
PUSH LPBUF 0 ; Pad parameter (must be zero)
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter (must be zero
PUSH WORD 3 ; Initiate Prebind Request
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
CALL System
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
In the OS/2 dynamic mode, this call is issued by the Protocol
Manager to a dynamically loadable protocol driver when the
Protocol Manager InitAndRegister is called. This function is
available for the protocol driver to restart its prebind
initialization when it is dynamically reloaded.
An OS/2 dynamic protocol driver is assumed to be made up of
static and transient segments. When the protocol is not needed,
the transient segments are unlocked (using the DevHlp Unlock
command) to allow them to be swapped out. When the protocol is
needed again, InitiatePrebind is issued. During InitiatePrebind,
the driver needs to Lock down its dynamic segments (using the
DevHlp Lock command, type 1) to force them back into memory and
make them addressable again. The protocol must save the lock
handle returned by this call for later Unlock'ing. Also, the
prebind initialization sequence is initiated in this call and
consists of re-reading the PROTOCOL.INI memory image,
configuration initialization, prebind memory allocations, and
registration with the Protocol Manager. The protocol module
typically carries out here the same functions that are performed
by a static protocol module when a strategy routine INIT command
is given.
InitiateUnbind
Purpose: Instruct a module to unbind from another module.
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter (must be zero)
PUSH LPBUF CharTab ; Char's of module to unbind
PUSH WORD LastUnbind ; Non-zero if last Init'Unbind
PUSH WORD 4 ; Initiate Unbind Request
PUSH WORD ProtDS ; DS of called protocol module
CALL System
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This call is issued by the Protocol Manager in dynamic mode to an
upper protocol module. It passes the address of the characteristics
table of the lower module that the upper module must issue an
Unbind command to (this would be an entry into the VECTOR if the
lower module is a MAC). LastUnbind is used to indicate the last
InitiateUnbind request, so the module may perform any final cleanup
before returning.
If a protocol module does not have lower bindings (having a
BindingsList with a NumBindings count = 0), InitiateUnbind will
still be issued with CharTab set to NULL and LastUnbind set to
non-zero in order to allow the module to terminate.
Unbind
Purpose: An unbind request from an upper protocol module to a
lower module.
PUSH LPBUF CharTab ; Caller's characteristics table
PUSH DWORD 0 ; Pad parameter (must be zero)
PUSH WORD 0 ; Pad parameter (must be zero)
PUSH WORD 5 ; Unbind Request
PUSH WORD TargetDS ; DS of called module
CALL System
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
Used by one protocol module to unbind from another. The caller's
characteristics table is passed to permit the called module to
identify the upper module. If the Unbind is to a MAC, the VECTOR
does the Unbind cleanup on behalf of the MAC. Thus MAC drivers
themselves do not need to support this call.
Protocol Manager Primitives
Since the Protocol Manager primitives may be accessed via an
IOCTL in OS/2, a request block is defined as follows:
struct ReqBlock
{
unsigned Opcode; /*Opcode for Protocol Manager request */
unsigned Status; /*Status at completion of request */
char far *Pointer1; /*First parameter Ring 0 GDT pointer */
char far *Pointer2; /*Second parameter Ring 0 GDT pointer */
unsigned Word1; /*Parameter word */
};
Direct calls are made to the Protocol Manager with a pointer to
the ReqBlock on the stack. For IOCTL requests, the parameter
buffer contains a pointer to the ReqBlock. The direct calling
sequence is as follows:
PUSH LPBUF ReqBlock ; Ring 0 GDT Address of ReqBlock
PUSH WORD TargetDS ; DS of Protocol Manager
Call ProtManEntry
Note that under OS/2 the direct entry cannot be used at
CONFIG.SYS initialization time since the driver is still in Ring
3 context.
Note also that if the Protocol Manager is in dynamic mode, these
primitives can be invoked by other modules after system
initialization. Dynamic OS/2 Ring 0 device drivers issuing these
primitives post INIT time must use the direct entry interface
since the IOCTL interface is illegal at this time.
GetProtocolManagerInfo
Purpose: Retrieve pointer to configuration image.
Opcode - 1
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - On return contains a FAR pointer to structure memory
image representing the parsed user configuration file
PROTOCOL.INI. For static OS/2 device drivers, the
selector of the pointer returned here is valid only at
device INIT time. For dynamic OS/2 device drivers, the
selector returned is always valid and will be a valid
LDT selector for the process under which this primitive
is called. For DOS this is a segment:offset pair.
Pointer2 - Unused
Word1 - On return contains the BCD-encoded major (low byte in
memory) and minor (high byte in memory) version of the
specification on which this Protocol Manager driver is
based. (2.0 for this specification)
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0X0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0002F INFO_NOT_FOUND
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This request is used by a module to obtain the configuration
information parsed from the user-defined protocol configuration
file PROTOCOL.INI. Modules invoke this function during device
driver initialization to obtain this information for initializing
configuration variables and making dynamic memory allocations and
to determine their inter-module bindings.
In DOS dynamic mode, INFO_NOT_FOUND is returned if the Protocol
Manager detects that the structured memory image is not valid.
This can occur if prior to loading a dynamic module the
structured configuration memory image was not registered with the
Protocol Manager via a RegisterProtocolManagerInfo command or if
the memory image got corrupted between registering it and getting
it via the current primitive. The corruption might occur if
another DOS program is loaded between the memory image
registrations and the memory image read operation by a dynamic
protocol invoking the GetProtocolManagerInfo primitive.
This request is valid in both the static and dynamic modes of
Protocol Manager operation. In the static mode, this request is
only valid prior to binding and starting. Invoking this
primitive in static mode after all modules are bound and started
will cause INVALID_FUNCTION to be returned by Protocol Manager.
RegisterModule
Purpose: Register a module and its bindings.
Opcode - 2
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - Contains a FAR pointer to the module's common
characteristics table. The module must have all
information in that table filled in except for the
Module ID which is filled in by the Protocol Manager on
return.
Pointer2 -Contains a FAR pointer to a BindingsList structure of
the modules to which this module wishes to be bound to.
The Protocol Manager will use only the information
passed in the BindingsList to determine the relevant
module bindings. This pointer can be FAR NULL to
indicate that this module will not currently bind to
any module. This latter option is useful for dynamic
OS/2 modules that need to register their module name
with the Protocol Manager but do not wish to remain
fully resident (and therefore bind) at the current
time. This non-bindable registration permits the
dynamic driver to reregister with a BindingsList when
it is later reloaded and made operational.
Word1 -Unused
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x002C ALREADY_REGISTERED
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This request is used by a driver or dynamically loadable
executable to identify one of its contained modules to the
Protocol Manager. After calling RegisterModule, a static driver
must remain installed and respond to system requests. A dynamic
OS/2 driver must leave its system entry function code permanently
locked in memory. A dynamic DOS module must remain installed and
respond to system requests until it is unbound and unloaded.
This registration is accomplished by passing a pointer to the
module's characteristics table to the Protocol Manager. The
driver also passes a bindings list requested by the module. The
bindings list contains the one or more module names which the
module wishes to bind to as a client. This bindings information
is later used by the Protocol Manager to determine the necessary
sequence of InitiateBind commands to issue. This bindings list
must persist while the protocol is operational. In the static
default bindings case of one static protocol and one MAC, the
bindings list pointer provided in this request can be NULL
indicating that a protocol module by default will bind to the
single underlying MAC. Otherwise in the non-default bindings
case, a NULL bindings list pointer provided in this request will
indicate that this module will not bind to any other module at
the current time and is not ready to initialize. In this latter
case the Protocol Manager will not call the module's InitiateBind
system function. A NULL binding list pointer is particuarly
useful for dynamic OS/2 drivers that register their module name
at INIT time, but are not to remain fully resident at startup
time. This is called a non-bindable registration. A protocol
module can also pass a non-NULL bindings list with a 0 number of
bindings count. In the default bindings case, this is
interpreted by the Protocol Manager to bind the protocol to the
single underlying MAC. In the non-default bindings configuration
this means that a protocol is registering without any lower
bindings, but is required to be initialized by an InitiateBind
call.
A driver which contains multiple modules can call RegisterModule
multiple times, once for each module. The Protocol Manager
responds to each request by assigning each module a module ID.
The module ID is returned in the module's characteristics table
on completion of the RegisterModule request.
If a module name is currently registered with the Protocol
Manager, an attempt to register the same module name will fail
and a status code of ALREADY_REGISTERED will be returned. A
dynamic OS/2 driver is considered currently registered if it had
previously registered with a non-NULL bindings list indicating a
requirement to bind and/or start and it had not yet unbound.
Thus a dynamic OS/2 driver can reregister with the Protocol
Manager under the same module names if it either had unbound or
had not previously made a bindable registration.
This request is valid in both the static and dynamic modes of
Protocol Manager operation. In the static mode, this request in
only valid prior to binding and starting. Invoking this
primitive in static mode after all modules are bound and started
will cause INVALID FUNCTION to be returned by the Protocol
Manager. A registration of a dynamic module (bit 2 set of the
"module function flags" in the Common Characteristics table) in
static Protocol Manager mode is invalid and will generate
INVALID_FUNCTION. It is mandatory that all static DOS and static
and dynamic OS/2 device drivers invoke this function at least
once at INIT time.
BindAndStart
Purpose: Initiate the binding process.
Opcode - 3
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - Caller's virtual address of FailingModules structure.
This structure in the caller's address space is filled in by the Protocol
Manager prior to returning from BindAndStart. If BindAndStart reports
an error, it contains the module names in ASCIIZ format of the upper module
and lower module (may be a NULL string) reporting the error.
If BindAndStart is successful then both are NULL strings.
struct FailingModules {
char UpperModuleName[16]; /* Upper failing module*/
char LowerModuleName{16}; /* Lower failing module*/
};
Pointer2 - Unused
Word1 - Unused
Returns: 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0020 ALREADY_STARTED
0x0021 INCOMPLETE_BINDING
0x0022 DRIVER_NOT_INITIALIZED
0x0023 HARDWARE_NOT_FOUND
0x0024 HARDWARE_FAILURE
0x0025 CONFIGURATION_FAILURE
0x0026 INTERRUPT_CONFLICT
0x0027 INCOMPATIBLE_MAC
0x0028 INITIALIZATION_FAILED
0x0029 NO_BINDING
0x0002D PATH_NOT_FOUND
0x0002E INSUFFICIENT_MEMORY
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This is used to trigger the Protocol Manager bind and start
sequence. This permits an application program (e.g., executing
from a DOS batch or OS/2 command file) to trigger the bind
sequence. The bind sequence is invoked by the Protocol Manager's
calling each module's inter-module InitiateBind function. If an
InitiateBind fails then BindAndStart will fail with same return
code as the failing InitiateBind.
In the static mode of Protocol Manager operation, this request
can be invoked only once to bind and start all static drivers.
Successive invocations return INVALID_FUNCTION.
In the dynamic mode, this command tells the Protocol Manager to
issue the IntitiateBind primitive to all dynamically loaded
protocol drivers that have registered since the last InitiateBind
(or since the beginning of time for the first call).
In DOS, the caller is required to invoke this primitive via the
direct entry point rather than the DOS IOCTL method. The
Protocol Manager will generate an INVALID_FUNCTION error if this
function is invoked by an IOCTL. This will permit the protocol
modules to make DOS function calls during their bind and start
sequence initiated by this primitive (when the Protocol Manager
calls the InitiateBind system entry point of the protocol). If
the IOCTL were used, the bind/start sequence would be carried out
inside of a DOS call and protocols would not be able to make
further DOS calls within their initialization sequence in order
to prevent DOS reentrancy.
In DOS the Protocol Manager loads PROTMAN.EXE to execute this
commnad. The caller must have previously guaranteed that at
least 20k of memory is available to load PROTMAN.EXE prior to
invoking the BindAndStart primitive. In static VECTOR
configurations (Chapter 7) PROTMAN.EXE will remain resident after
BindAndStart completes. In such cases it is strongly recommended
that the caller free as much memory as possible prior to calling
BindAndStart so the PROTMAN.EXE will reside in the lowest memory
possible. This will prevent large unusable gaps in DOS memory
when the calling function terminates.
A utility, NETBIND.EXE, that invokes the BindAndStart primitive
is provided with the Protocol Manager and is described in
Appendix E.
GetProtocolManagerLinkage
Purpose: Retrieve Protocol Manager Dispatch and DS Value.
Opcode - 4
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - On return contains the Protocol Manager Dispatch point.
Pointer2 - Unused
Word1 - On return contains the Protocol Manager DS.
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
This request is used by a module to obtain the dispatch entry
point and DS of the Protocol Manager. Direct calls may then be
made by DOS & OS/2 Ring 0 drivers and DOS utilities to the
dispatch entry point.
All dynamically reloaded OS/2 protocol drivers must issue this
command to the Protocol Manager at CONFIG.SYS INIT time using the
IOCTL mechanism and must save the Ring 0 Protocol Manager
dispatch entry point and DS. When the driver subsequently re-
registers with the Protocol Manager on reload at post INIT time,
it must do so via the direct entry interface using the saved
entry point and DS (since an IOCTL would be illegal at that
time).
Any DOS utility that intends to invoke the BindAndStart or
UnbindAndStop Protocol Manager primitives must first invoke this
primitive to get the Protocol Manager's direct entry point.
This request is valid in both the static and dynamic modes of
Protocol Manager operation. In the static mode, this request is
only valid prior to binding and starting. Invoking this
primitive in static mode after all modules are bound and started
will cause INVALID_FUNCTION to be returned by the Protocol
Manager.
GetProtocolIniPath
Purpose: A command to obtain the path to the PROTOCOL.INI file
read by the Protocol Manager when it initialized.
Opcode - 5
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - The virtual FAR pointer to a buffer, which will
contain the returned PROTOCOL.INI pathname in ASCIIZ
format on completion.
Pointer2 - Unused
Word1 - The length of the provided buffer on input.
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
Description:
This primitive can be called by an application program or
dynamically loadable protocol that will read and parse the
PROTOCOL.INI file to obtain the original location of the
PROTOCOL.INI file used by the Protocol Manager when it
initialized. This permits such a program to use the same file
read by the Protocol Manager. The Protocol Manager returns only
the pathname to the subdirectory containing the PROTOCOL.INI
file, excluding the string "PROTOCOL.INI", which may be up to 60
characters in length. This string will include the drive
identifier and be fully qualified relative to the root. The
buffer must be large enough to hold the returned string. If not,
the contents of the buffer are undefined and the
INVALID_PARAMETER error returned.
This request is valid in both the static and dynamic modes of
Protocol Manager operation. In the static mode, this request is
only valid prior to binding and starting. Invoking this
primitive in static mode after all modules are bound and started
will cause INVALID_FUNCTION to be returned by the Protocol
Manager.
RegisterProtocolManagerInfo
Purpose: A command valid only in the dynamic mode to register
the current startingaddress of the PROTOCOL.INI memory
image with the Protocol Manager.
Opcode - 6
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - The virtual FAR pointer to the structured memory
image representing the parsed user configuration file,
PROTOCOL.INI.
Pointer2 - Unused
Word1 - Length of structured memory image
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
Description:
In dynamic mode, this command registers with the Protocol Manager
the address of the PROTOCOL.INI memory image. It is assumed that
prior to dynamically loading a protocol module, the PROTOCOL.INI
file is re-read and re-parsed in some memory image. The pointer
to the memory image is given to the Protocol Manager, so that it
is available for the "GetProtocolManagerInfo" primitive of the
dynamic initializing module that reads its configuration
parameters.
In static mode, this command is illegal and the INVALID_FUNCTION
error code is returned.
A utility, READPRO.EXE, that reads and parses the PROTOCOL.INI
file into a memory image and registers this with the Protocol
Manager is provided with the Protocol Manager and is described in
Appendix E.
InitAndRegister
Purpose: An optional dynamic OS/2 command to dynamically restart
the prebind initialization of a dynamically reloadable
protocol driver.
Opcode - 7
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - Unused
Pointer2 - FAR virtual pointer to an ASCIIZ buffer containing
the name of the module to be prebind initialized.
Word1 - Unused
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE
Description:
In OS/2 dynamic mode, this reactivates the transient portions of
a protocol driver previously statically loaded at system startup,
but for which the transient portions of the driver were not
locked down. The command causes the Protocol Manager to invoke
the system entry point of the specified module with the
function"InitiatePrebind" in order for the driver to restart its
prebind initialization. The prebind initialization functions are
driver specific. However, it is expected that such functions
might include
o locking down its dynamic segments using the DevHlp Lock
command (lock type1) and saving the returned lock handle.
o getting its PROTOCOL.INI configuration information
o doing its prebind initialization,
o and finally, re-registering with the Protocol Manager.
In static mode, this command is illegal and the INVALID_FUNCITON
error code is returned.
UnbindAndStop
Purpose: A dynamic binding command to terminate a transient
previously dynamically bound protocol module and to
terminate its bindings.
Opcode - 8
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - Failing modules as for the "BindAndStart" command
Pointer2 - If non-NULL, FAR virtual pointer to an ASCIIZ buffer
containing the name of the module to be unbound.
If NULL, then terminates a set of previously dynamically
bound protocol modules as defined below. Valid only for DOS.
Word1 - Unused
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x0002D PATH_NOT_FOUND
0x0002E INSUFFICIENT_MEMORY
Description:
This is used in the dynamic mode to terminate either a specific
protocol module or a set of previously dynamically bound protocol
modules and to terminate their binds. A "set" is the collection
of protocol modules previously loaded or reloaded between two
successive "BindAndStart" calls or between the last
"BindAndStart" and this call. Successive "UnbindAndStop"
commands with NULL Pointer2 arguments terminate protocol sets in
the reverse order in which they were bound. The Protocol Manager
removes reference to the protocols from its VECTOR (for MAC
unbindings) table and general binding tables. The Protocol
Manager issues an "InitiateUnbind" command to each protocol to be
unbound so that the protocol can issue an "Unbind" command to the
modules it is bound to. For MAC unbindings, the "Unbind" is
issued back to the Protocol Manager VECTOR. The NULL Pointer2
option is used in DOS environments for TSR protocol modules in
which the unbind sequence usually proceeds in reverse order of
the bind sequence. The non-NULL Pointer2 option must be used in
OS/2 environments. The NULL Pointer2 option is invalid for OS/2.
In DOS, the caller is required to invoke this primitive via the
direct entry point method rather than the DOS IOCTL method. The
Protocol Manager will generate an INVALID_FUNCTION error if this
function is invoked by an IOCTL. This will permit the protocol
modules to be terminated to make DOS function calls during their
unbind/stop sequence initiated by this primitive (when the
Protocol Manager calls the InitiateUnbind system entry point of
the protocol). If the IOCTL were used, the unbind/stop sequence
would be carrried out inside of a DOS call, and protocols would
not be able to make further DOS calls within their termination
sequence in order to prevent DOS reentrancy.
In DOS the Protocol Manager loads PROTMAN.EXE to execute this
command. The caller must have previously guaranteed that at
least 20K of memory is available to load PROTMAN.EXE prior to
invoking the UnbindAndStop primitive.
A utility, UNBIND.EXE, that invokes the UnbindAndStop primitive
is provided with the Protocol Manager and is described in
Appendix E.
In static mode, this command is illegal and the INVALID_FUNCTION
error code is returned.
BindStatus
Purpose: A command to obtain information from the Protocol
Manager about the current set of bound modules.
Opcode - 9
Status - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - On input, under OS/2 only, if the caller is in Ring 3,
this must be a FAR virtual pointer to a buffer
where the returned information will be stored.
- On input, under DOS or in OS/2, if the caller is in
Ring 0, this pointer must be NULL.
- On output, Pointer1 points to the root tree.
Pointer2 - NULL
Word1 - only used in OS/2
- Length of buffer (input) and bytes copied (output).
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x000D BUFFER_TOO_SMALL
Description:
If enabled by the Protocol Manager's BINDSTATUS=YES parameter in
PROTOCOL.INI, this command can be called at any time to obtain
information from the Protocol Manager about the current set of
bound modules. If this command is disabled, an attempt to invoke
this command will return INVALID_FUNCTION.
The following characteristics tables are returned for the modules
which qualify:
Common Characteristics
Service-Specific Characteristics (including the Multicast
Address List for MAC modules)
Service-Specific Status
Media-Specific Statistics (for MAC modules only)
The tables are linked together into a bind tree using a new
structure:
struct BindNode {
struct cctable far *commonptr;
struct BindNode far *down;
struct BindNode far *right;
};
NOTE: There may be additional fields added to BindNodes in the
future, so do not rely on its exact size.
A BindNode is linked to its Common Characteristics Table (CCT) by
the CommonPtr field. The CCT's are then linked into a bind tree
using the Right and Down pointers. Down points to the first
BindNode bound below this one, and Right points to the next. At
the top of the tree (the uppermost level), the Right pointers
also link together the BindNodes as if they are bound to a
virtual root BindNode.
A simple example might help illustrate this better:
Protocol
/ \
MAC1 MAC2
which would be represented by the following bind tree:
Protocol
|
V
MAC1 -----> MAC2
where the BindNodes have been hidden to keep the diagram simple--
only their Down and Right pointers are shown. The remaining Down
and Right pointers would be NULL.
One option when making this call is to pass a NULL buffer pointer
(in Pointer1), in which case the root BindNode pointer will be
returned in Pointer1. The Protocol Manager uses BindNodes
internally to build the bind tree. The caller can then run the
current bind tree to obtain information. This is the only method
supported under DOS. Under OS/2, this method will only work for
Ring 0 drivers.
Under OS/2, Ring 3 programs must use a second method by providing
a pointer to a buffer (in Pointer1) of a specified size (in
Word1) to copy the characteristics tables into. In this case,
the Protocol Manager will copy the qualifying tables into the
buffer provided. The first entry in the buffer will be the root
BindNode. The order of the remaining BindNodes and tables within
the buffer is undefined. The BindNodes and their various tables
are linked together by pointers which will be fixed up by the
Protocol Manager to use the same selector as the buffer itself
(i.e., Ring 3 if the buffer is Ring 3). Specifically, the
Protocol Manager will fixup the following entries:
BindNode:
CommonPtr
Down
Right
Common Characteristics:
Pointer to service-specific characteristics
Pointer to service-specific status
Service-Specific Characteristics
Pointer to multicast address list (MAC's only)
Service-Specific Status
Pointer to media-specific statistics (MAC's only)
The remaining pointers (e.g., dispatch tables and entry points)
will be in an undefined state and must not be relied upon.
If the buffer was too small, BUFFER_TOO_SMALL will be returned,
the pointers to tables which were not copied will be NULL, and
the bytes copied return parameter (Word1) will indicate where the
information was truncated.
The information returned is merely a snapshot at a particular
point of time. The Protocol Manager will disable interrupts
while copying individual status and media-specific statistics
tables to guarantee their internal integrity. The caller cannot
assume that all tables were copied in the same atomic operation
however.
In the case of OS/2, if two or more modules are bound to the same
lower module, the lower module's table is duplicated in the tree.
Therefore, the Ring 3 caller will have to provide larger amount
of buffer space for the returned information.
The number of nodes in the bind tree does not necessarily reflect
the number of modules bound.
RegisterStatus
Purpose: A command to query whether a specific logical module is
currently registered with the Protocol Manager.
Opcode: - 0x0A
Status: - On return contains request status
Pointer1 - NULL
Pointer2 - FAR virtual pointer to a 16-byte ASCIIZ module name
Word1- NULL
Returns: - 0x0000 SUCCESS
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION
0x002C ALREADY_REGISTERED
Description:
This command can be called in either the static or dynamic mode
to determine whether a specific logical module is currently
registered with the Protocol Manager. This can be used by the
caller to determine whether a specified module has already
registered with the Protocol Manager to prevent duplicate
registration. A SUCCESS status returned means that the specified
module is not currently registered with the Protocol Manager. An
ALREADY_REGISTERED status means that the module is currently
registered.
In the static mode, this request is only valid prior to binding
and starting. Invoking this primitive in static mode after all
modules are bound and started will cause INVALID_FUNCTION to be
returned by the Protocol Manager.
Chapter 6: Protocol Manager
Protocol Manager Initialization
The Protocol Manager is loaded and initialized in both the OS/2
and DOS environment via the operating system CONFIG.SYS INIT
sequence. It must be loaded before any protocol or MAC driver is
loaded. In DOS, the Protocol Manager will be provided in a file
called PROTMAN.DOS. For OS/2, the file is PROTMAN.OS2. The
device name for the Protocol Manager is PROTMAN$ under DOS and
\DEV\PROTMAN$ under OS/2 (the \DEV format is required by versions
1.2 and later of OS/2).
In DOS to save memory, an additional dynamically loadable
component of the Protocol Manager called PROTMAN.EXE is provided.
This file must reside in the same directory as the static device
driver component, PROTMAN.DOS, itself. This file is called for
execution by the Protocol Manager device driver component
whenever the Protocol Manager primitives BindAndStart and
UnbindAndStop are to be executed. In the static VECTOR mode
(Chapter 7) PROTMAN.EXE will remain resident after BindAndStart
executes.
The Protocol Manager reads the PROTOCOL.INI file at INIT time
and parses it to create the configuration memory image passed to
the protocol modules. The file is located in the LANMAN
directory of the boot drive or the directory given by the /I:
parameter on the DEVICE=PROTMAN.xxx line in CONFIG.SYS. Under
DOS, this image is relocated to just below the memory ceiling,
where it must remain untouched until all binding has completed.
The Protocol Manager computes a checksum of this image and checks
it at bind time to guarantee that the image has not been modified
in the interim. Note that this memory is not reserved by the
Protocol Manager.
If the Protocol Manager CONFIG.SYS initialization is successful
it is ready to support the initialization of the other drivers.
However the initialization can be aborted for either of the
following reasons:
1. The Protocol Manager did not have enough memory to hold the
PROTOCOL.INI configuration memory image.
2. The Protocol Manager encountered a syntax error while parsing
the PROTOCOL.INI file. This could have been an illegal hex or
decimal parameter value, an overflow condition (numeric value
could not fit into 32 bits) was encountered or a string was
encountered with missing end quotes.
These conditions are flagged as fatal errors to prevent erroneous
configuration parameters from propagating to the drivers for
their operation.
Static Binding Sequence
The Protocol Manager can be configured to operate either in the
static binding mode or in the dynamic binding mode. In the
static binding mode, only statically loadable device drivers can
be loaded and bound once at system initialization time. In the
dynamic binding mode, dynamically loadable protocol drivers can
be loaded and dynamically bound and unbound during system
operation on a demand basis. Static drivers can also be loaded
at INIT time in dynamic mode. The static binding sequence is
described in this section. The dynamic binding sequence is
described in Chapter 7, "VECTOR and Dynamic Binding."
To determine the binding sequence, the Protocol Manager builds a
tree representing the bindings for all the modules in the system.
MAC drivers are at the bottom, and the highest level (for
example, NetBIOS) protocol layers at the top. It then binds
module pairs together from the bottom up. To do this, it issues
an InitiateBind to the upper module in the pair, passing it the
characteristics table of the lower module. The upper module is
expected to issue a Bind to the lower module (if it is
acceptable) and return. This continues with the next higher up
module. If there is a module which is not bound to anything
else, it receives an InitiateBind with a NULL characteristics
table pointer.
To be more formal, the definitions listed below are required:
o A MAC driver is a protocol module with an upper layer interface
level of one (MAC layer) and a lower layer interface level of
zero (physical). It must support binding at its upper
boundary.
o A MAC-layer entity is a protocol module with both upper and
lower layer interface levels of one. It must support binding
at its lower boundary.
o A standalone protocol module is one which has a lower layer
interface level of zero and which does not support binding at
its upper boundary.
The Protocol Manager builds a tree with multiple branches. Each
MAC driver is at the base of a branch, with the protocol layers
bound to it above it. Standalone modules are also considered
branches by themselves. The left-to-right order is defined by
the order in which the modules register with the Protocol
Manager. The Protocol Manager does a pre-order transversal of
the tree, issuing InitiateBinds to all of the nodes except the
MAC drivers.
An important aspect of the binding scheme is that it allows for
modules to specify that they only do binding from above or below.
This is a requirement in cases where a monolithic module exposes
several interfaces, such as a NetBIOS, TLI, and DLC. The TLI
could be presented as a logical module that had an upper
interface (the TLI) but no lower interface (since it uses a
private internal interface to its DLC). Such a module would have
a characteristics table with the following settings:
DWORD Module function flags, a bit mask (hints only):
Bit 0 - set (binds at upper boundary)
Bit 1 - clear (doesn't bind at lower boundary)
BYTE Protocol level at upper boundary of module:
4 - Transport
BYTE Type of interface at upper boundary of module:
1 => TLI
BYTE Protocol level at lower boundary of module
-1 - Not specified
BYTE Type of interface at lower boundary of module:
For any level: 0 => private (ISV defined)
LPBUF Pointer to upper dispatch table
LPBUF Pointer to lower dispatch table (NULL)
Sequence for non-VECTOR configurations:
1. Protocol Manager driver (PROTMAN.OS2 for OS/2 or PROTMAN.DOS
for DOS) is loaded during CONFIG.SYS initialization. The
Protocol Manager must be configured ahead of any MAC or
protocol drivers in CONFIG.SYS.
2. Protocol Manager initializes and reads PROTOCOL.INI to build
the configuration memory image.
3. MAC and protocol drivers are loaded by the operating system.
During its initialization processing, each driver optionally
does the following:
a. Open the PROTMAN$ device
b. Invoke the GetProtocolManagerInfo primitive to PROTMAN$ to
get a pointer to the configuration memory image.
c. Read configuration parameters from the image and use these
to finish initialization and build characteristics tables.
d. Use the RegisterModule function once for each module to be
defined to the Protocol Manager.
4. CONFIG.SYS processing ends and applications are started.
5. An application opens the PROTMAN$ device and issues the
BindAndStart IOCTL. Such an application utility called
NETBIND.EXE is provided with the Protocol Manager driver and
is defined in Appendix E.
6. The Protocol Manager uses information passed on previous
RegisterModule calls to determine the module binding
hierarchy.
7. Proceeding from bottom to top of the binding hierarchy, the
Protocol Manager uses InitiateBind to cause each module to
bind to the module below it in the hierarchy. Each module
getting this call responds by issuing a Bind call to the
module specified by the Protocol Manager on InitiateBind.
8. When all modules have been bound, the Protocol Manager returns
from BindAndStart.
The system is now fully operational. Vector configurations are
similar, with the VECTOR being automatically inserted between
layers one and two, if necessary (on top of the MAC driver as
well as any MAC-layer entities which are present).
OS/2 Calling Convention
All of the Protocol Manager requests are supported by a single
OS/2 IOCTL function. The services are demultiplexed via a
function code specified in the ReqBlock structure.
This IOCTL has the following IOCTL request packet parameters:
1. Block Device Unit Code: Undefined since the Protocol Manager
is a character device.
2. Command Code: 16 for Generic IOCTL.
3. Status: If the IOCTL corresponds to one of the Protocol
Manager commands then the status field is returned with the
ERR bit cleared signifying IOCTL successful completion.
However the final status of the command is returned in the
"status" field of the ReqBlock buffer as defined below. Note
that if the command is recognized the ERR bit is always
cleared regardless of the status returned in "status".
However if the command is not recognized an IOCTL status
UNKNOWN_COMMAND (3) is returned with the ERR bit set. Finally
all of the commands return with the status "DON" bit set.
4. Category code: 0x81 which is the LAN Manager category code.
5. Function code: 0x58 for Protocol Manager command type.
6. Parameter buffer: Pointer to ReqBlock structure.
7. Data buffer: Unused and therefore the pointer is NULL.
By using the GetProtocolManagerLinkage request a module may
obtain the Protocol Manager dispatch point and DS. Once a module
obtains the Protocol Manager's entry point and data segment it
passes the a request to the Protocol Manager via the following
function call:
int (far pascal *ProtManEntry)(ReqBlockPtr, DataSeg);
struct ReqBlock far *ReqBlockPtr;
unsigned DataSeg;
where:
ReqBlockPtr = a FAR pointer to the request block
DataSeg = the Protocol Manager's data segment base.
The Protocol Manager returns in AX the same return code that is
returned in the ReqBlock "status".
DOS Calling Convention
All of the Protocol Manager requests are supported by a single
DOS IOCTL function. The services are demultiplexed via a
function code specified in the ReqBlock. This IOCTL should be
requested via Interrupt 21 with general registers loaded with the
following contents:
AH = 44H for IOCTL request
AL = 02H for device input
DS:DX = Pointer to ReqBlock structure
CX = 14 for the size of the ReqBlock structure
BX = Handle from DOS Open of "PROTMAN$"
This IOCTL generates the following IOCTL request packet
parameters:
1. Block Device Unit Code: Undefined since the Protocol Manager
is a character device.
2. Command Code: 3 for IOCTL input.
3. Status: If the IOCTL corresponds to one of the Protocol
Manager commands then the status field is returned with the
ERR bit cleared signifying IOCTL successful completion.
However the final status of the command is returned in the
"status" field of the ReqBlock buffer as defined below. Note
that if the command is recognized the ERR bit is always
cleared regardless of the status returned in "status".
However if the command is not recognized an IOCTL status
UNKNOWN_COMMAND (3) is returned with the ERR bit set. Finally
all of the commands return with the status "DON" bit set.
4. Media Descriptor Byte: Unused
5. Transfer Address: Pointer to ReqBlock structure.
6. Byte/Sector Count: 14
7. Starting Sector Number: Unused
By using the GetProtocolManagerLinkage request a module or
application may obtain the Protocol Manager dispatch point and
DS. It then makes a request to the Protocol Manager via the same
direct calling mechanism as OS/2.
Chapter 7: VECTOR and Dynamic Binding
In static mode, the VECTOR is a function that is implemented
within the Protocol Manager that allows more than one protocol
stack to drive a single MAC. In this mode, the Protocol Manager
uses the VECTOR function only if it detects that more than one
protocol is using the same MAC. If more that one MAC is attached
to multiple protocol stacks, then an instantiation of the VECTOR
is created for each MAC so attached.
In dynamic mode, the VECTOR function is always present
unconditionally for protocol/MAC intermodule communications.
There can be zero, one, or more protocol stacks that bind to a
MAC, but the VECTOR function is still present. There can be zero
protocols if there is only one dynamic protocol stack being used
in the system and that stack is not currently loaded. In the
dynamic mode, the VECTOR shields all static binding MACs from the
interactions of dynamic binding and unbinding protocol modules.
Static VECTOR Binding
The Protocol Manager will modify the normal binding process if it
detects that multiple protocols have requested the use of the
same MAC in the PROTOCOL.INI file.
1. At INIT time from RegisterModule the Protocol Manager has
determined the bind hierarchy and has found some MACs that
bind to 2 or more protocols, signaling the insertion of
VECTOR.
2. To a MAC that will support multiple protocol stacks, the
Protocol Manager issues Bind passing a Protocol Manager
characteristics table with entry points into the VECTOR
module. The MAC starts itself and returns, passing back to
the Protocol Manager a pointer to the MACs characteristic
table.
3. For a protocol that is part of a multiple protocol stack
binding to the single MAC that was issued the previous Bind
command, the Protocol Manager issues InitiateBind passing as
the bind inter-module entry point, an entry point within the
VECTOR module inside of the Protocol Manager.
4. The protocol module responds by issuing a Bind request back to
the Protocol Manager through its VECTOR entry point. The
protocol module passes its characteristics table to the
Protocol Manager VECTOR. The Protocol Manager returns a
characteristics table within the VECTOR which is copied from
the associated MAC's characteristics tables, substituting the
VECTOR entry points for the real MAC's entry points.
5. The protocol starts itself and returns from InitiateBind.
6. The Protocol Manager then issues subsequent InitiateBind's to
other protocol modules as described above. If these other
protocols are bound to a MAC through the VECTOR, the VECTOR
procedure is repeated. Otherwise the non-VECTOR procedure is
used.
At the conclusion of the binding process the VECTOR is in a
position to filter calls as appropriate going in either direction
across the MAC/protocol interface.
Dynamic VECTOR Binding
A dynamic protocol module can be loaded and bound after system
initialization time on a demand basis. This dynamic loading and
binding takes place in three phases:
1. The PROTOCOL.INI file is re-read.
2. The dynamic protocol module does some prebind initialization
including getting its PROTOCOL.INI configuration parameters
and registering with the Protocol Manager.
3. The dynamically loaded protocol module dynamically binds to
other modules given in its bind specification. If these other
modules are MAC's, the bind takes place through the Protocol
Manager VECTOR facility.
At some point the dynamic protocol module is no longer required.
The protocol module unbinds itself, terminates, and unloads
itself from memory.
The mechanisms for dynamically binding and unbinding are carried
out somewhat differently between DOS and OS/2. The procedures
are briefly described below.
Dynamic Binding/Unbinding in the DOS Environment
1. In dynamic mode, both static and dynamic protocol modules can
be supported. At startup time, the Protocol Manager performs
initialization and binding of static modules as described in
section "Static Binding Sequence." However, in the dynamic
mode, the VECTOR function is always inserted.
2. At some point after system startup, a dynamic loadable
protocol module (that can be a transient application program
or a TSR) is demand loaded. For the dynamic protocol module
to have its configuration parameters at initialization, the
PROTOCOL.INI file must be re-read. Either an application
program or the protocol module itself reads and parses the
PROTOCOL.INI file into the configuration memory image. It is
suggested that the application or protocol module obtain the
location of the PROTOCOL.INI file using the "GetProtocolIni"
primitive. A pointer to this memory image is passed to the
Protocol Manager via the "RegisterProtocolManagerInfo"
primitive. This is required since the configuration memory
image created by the Protocol Manager at INIT time is not
valid at post INIT time. An application utility,
READPRO.EXE, that reads and parses PROTOCOL.INI is provided
with the Protocol Manager and is described in Appendix E.
3. After loading, the protocol module initializes. Minimally,
the protocol gets its PROTOCOL.INI configuration information
from the Protocol Manager via "GetProtocolManager Info," does
its prebind initialization, and registers with the Protocol
Manager via "RegisterModule."
4. Either an application or the dynamic protocol module itself
requests that the Protocol Manager initiate the binding
sequence via the "BindAndStart" primitive. This causes the
bind sequence described in steps 3 to 5 of the section "Static
VECTOR Binding" to be executed. After the bind, the dynamic
protocol is ready for use. An application utility,
NETBIND.EXE, to initiate the binding sequence is provided with
the Protocol Manager and is described in Appendix E.
5. During operation, all protocol commands to the MAC go through
the VECTOR
6. When the dynamic protocol module is ready to terminate, either
it or an application program issues the "UnbindAndStop"
command to the Protocol Manager. This causes the Protocol
Manager to call the protocol's "InitiateUnbind" system entry
point. In turn, this allows the protocol to issue "Unbinds"
to other modules it was bound to and to do final cleanup
before terminating. On return from the "UnbindAndStop"
command, the protocol can be removed from memory. An
application utility, UNBIND.EXE, to initiate the unbinding
sequence is provided with the Protocol Manager and is
described in Appendix E.
Dynamic Binding/Unbinding in the OS/2 Environment
1. In OS/2, all dynamic protocol modules are multi-segment OS/2
device drivers. A dynamic OS/2 protocol differs from a static
one in that the dynamic module has code and/or data segments
that may be swapped out of virtual memory when not needed.
These extra code and data segments must be specified with IOPL
in the module's .DEF file so that they are marked as
movable/swappable and not discardable by OS/2. In a static
protocol module all segments are permanently locked in memory.
A dynamic protocol module uses the OS/2 DevHlp Lock and Unlock
calls (using a lock type of 1) to lock and free its code
and/or data segments as needed. A dynamic protocol module is
able to re-register multiple times with the Protocol Manager
and to dynamically bind with other configured modules. When
no longer required, the dynamic module can unbind and the
dynamic memory segments can be Unlock'ed to free up the
memory. Static OS/2 protocol modules register and bind only
at system initialization time. They do not unbind.
2. Since all OS/2 dynamic protocol modules are OS/2 device
drivers they may perform some INIT time initialization. The
protocol must always register at INIT time with the Protocol
Manager via "RegisterModule". A protocol that is not required
at system startup must still register with the Protocol
Manager at INIT time passing a NULL BindingsList pointer in
the "RegisterModule" primitive. This is called a non-bindable
registration. In this case the protocol need not lock down
its extra code and data segments. It does, however, need to
save the selector values for its dynamic code and data
segments. The device driver's device header, strategy
routine, and the NDIS system entry routine must reside in the
driver's main code and data segments (the first ones in the
driver) which are permanently locked down. A driver required
at system startup must pass a non-NULL BindingsList pointer if
it has modules it is required to bind to (a bindable
registration). A driver required at system startup must go
ahead and DevHlp Lock its other segments at INIT time, making
sure to save the lock handle returned by the call. Also at
INIT time, the protocol module must invoke the
"GetProtocolManagerLinkage" primitive to get and save the
Protocol Manager's Ring 0 direct entry point and DS.
3. Assuming that the protocol was not required at system startup
time, at some point in time later it needs to be dynamically
bound. At this point the module needs to get its PROTOCOL.INI
configuration parameters, lock down its code and data
segments, and perform its bindings. If the configuration
parameters are not retained in the base data segment, the
protocol must re-read the PROTOCOL.INI file. This is done in
a similar fashion to that described for DOS. The
"InitAndRegister" primitive is the standard facility that lets
the Protocol Manager request the protocol to reload its
dynamic segments and perform its prebind initialization. Upon
receiving the "InitAndRegister" primitive, the Protocol
Manager calls the protocol driver's system entry point with
"InitiatePrebind", allowing the protocol to perform its
prebind initialization. The protocol module uses this
opportunity to issue DevHlp Lock calls (lock type 1) on it's
dynamic segments to bring them back into memory. The handle
returned from the Lock call must be saved for later unlocking.
Also at this juncture, the protocol can get its PROTOCOL.INI
memory image from the Protocol Manager via the direct entry
point "GetProtocolManagerInfo" function. It may also do other
prebind initialization and finally register with the Protocol
Manager via the direct entry point "RegisterModule" function.
If the protocol module had previously made a non-bindable
registration at system startup, then the current registration
affords it the opportunity to specify its bindings to the
Protocol Manager.
4. The bind and postbind initialization step is similar to that
described for DOS. Again, any protocol binds to MAC's are
performed through the VECTOR.
5. During protocol operation, any protocol commands to a MAC go
through the VECTOR.
6. When the protocol is no longer required, an application or the
protocol itself can issue the "UnbindAndStop" command to the
Protocol Manager. The sequence is similar to that described
for DOS. The OS/2 driver, however, issues DevHlp Unlock
commands against all of its dynamic segments so that these may
be swapped out from memory. The previously saved Lock handle
is required on this call.
VECTOR Demultiplexing
The Vector dispatches incoming frames to protocol stacks using
either a preprogrammed default or user statically defined
priority polling mechanism. The default mechanism is based on
the "Interface Flags" variable in the protocol's lower dispatch
table. These flags describe the protocol according to the kinds
of frames it handles. Protocols that handle:
o Non-LLC frames
o LLC frames with specific LSAPs
o LLC frames with non-specific LSAPs
According to default dispatch priority, VECTOR polls protocols in
that order (and within that order, in the order they registered)
until it finds one that does not return FRAME_NOT_RECOGNIZED or
FORWARD_FRAME in the indication. For specific protocols, this
default may be overridden by specifying the bracketed name of the
protocol with the Protocol Manager PROTOCOL.INI keyword PRIORITY.
Protocols with static priorities specified in this manner are
polled by the VECTOR before any protocol not so specified.
Protocols with static priorities are themselves polled in the
order in which their bracketed names appear in the PRIORITY
keyword parameter list. Of course, a protocol appearing in the
static list is only polled if it is registered with the Protocol
Manager and has bound to the MAC offering up the frame.
Appendix A: System Return Codes
This appendix lists return codes used in this version of the NDIS
specification. Note that new error codes may be added in the
future. Both protocol and MAC driver developers must design
their code to allow for this.
0x0000 SUCCESS: The function completed successfully.
0x0001 WAIT_FOR_RELEASE: The ReceiveChain completed successfully
but the protocol has retained control of the data buffer.
ReceiveRelease will be called to release the data buffers.
0x0002 REQUEST_QUEUED: The current request has been queued. If
the request handle is non-zero the module will call
TransmitConfirm or RequestConfirm when the request completes.
0x0003 FRAME_NOT_RECOGNIZED: Returned from the protocol when a
MAC does an Indication and the frame does not make sense to the
protocol. This will be interpreted by the VECTOR to mean that
the next protocol in line ought to be called with the Indication.
0x0004 FRAME_REJECTED: A received frame was recognized but it
was discarded. The buffer may be immediately re-used.
0x0005 FORWARD_FRAME: A protocol wishes the received frame to be
offered to other protocols but wishes to receive an
IndicationComplete. This will be interpreted by the VECTOR to
mean that the next protocol in line ought to be called with the
Indication.
0x0006 OUT_OF_RESOURCE: The module is in a transient out of
resource condition. The current request was not completed.
0x0007 INVALID_PARAMETER: One or more parameters was invalid.
0x0008 INVALID_FUNCTION: A command function was requested when
it was not legal to do so or a invalid request was made.
0x0009 NOT_SUPPORTED: A valid request which is not supported by
the Module was issued.
0x000A HARDWARE_ERROR: A hardware error occurred during the
execution of this request. The request was not completed
successfully and this can be considered non-fatal.
0x000B TRANSMIT_ERROR: The packet was not transmitted. May
indicate a local resource problem, excessive collisions, or a
remote resource problem. On Token Ring networks, this would be
returned if the destination address was recognized but the
receiver was out of buffers. This is a non-fatal error and can
be taken as a hint that the packet should be retransmitted.
0x000C NO_SUCH_DESTINATION: The destination address was not
recognized by any adapter on the local ring. This error is Token
Ring specific and can be interpreted to mean that source routing
must be invoked to reach the destination.
0x000D BUFFER_TOO_SMALL: The buffer provided was too small for
the information being returned. Some commands may still return
partial information.
0x0020 ALREADY_STARTED: The Protocol Manager has already started
the network drivers. This error occurs when BindAndStart is
called more than once.
0x0021 INCOMPLETE_BINDING: This bind-time error occurs when the
Protocol cannot complete all of the bindings described in the
bindings list, most probably due to missing modules.
0x0022 DRIVER_NOT_INITIALIZED: This bind-time error occurs when
the MAC does not initialize properly during system boot, and a
subsequent request is made to the MAC.
0x0023 HARDWARE_NOT_FOUND: This bind-time error occurs when the
network adapter is not found by the MAC.
0x0024 HARDWARE_FAILURE: This bind-time error occurs in the
following cases: network adapter reset failed, network adapter
diagnostics failed, network adapter is not responding, network
adapter is not found by the MAC. This error can be considered fatal.
0x0025 CONFIGURATION_FAILURE: This bind-time error occurs when
the configuration is unacceptable to the network adapter.
0x0026 INTERRUPT_CONFLICT: This bind-time error occurs in OS/2
only, when an interrupt from some other device in the computer
conflicts with the network adapter's.
0x0027 INCOMPATIBLE_MAC: This bind-time error occurs when a
Protocol determines a MAC is not compatible for the binding
operation. Thus, binding cannot proceed.
0x0028 INITIALIZATION_FAILED: This bind-time error occurs when a
Protocol fails its initialization.
0x0029 NO_BINDING: This bind-time error occurs to indicate that
the binding was not performed. This error can occur if a
protocol driver took an error exit during its initialization or
if a protocol driver has its upper level incorrectly specified as
a MAC.
0x002A NETWORK_MAY_NOT_BE_CONNECTED: This bind-time error
indicates that the adapter may not be connected to a network.
Intended to be suggestive of corrective action by the user.
0x002B INCOMPATIBLE_OS_VERSION: This bind-time error indicates
that a protocol or MAC driver does not support the version of DOS
or OS/2 being used.
0x002C ALREADY_REGISTERED: This error is returned by the
Protocol Manager if an attempt is made to register a module with
a module name already registered with the Protocol Manager. It
is also returned from a "RegisterStatus" primitive to indicate
that the name is already registered.
0x002D PATH_NOT_FOUND: This error is returned by the DOS
Protocol Manager if PROTMAN.EXE could not be found when
attempting to execute a BindAndStart or UnBindAndStop command.
0x002E INSUFFICIENT_MEMORY: This error is returned by the DOS
Protocol Manager if PROTMAN.EXE could not be loaded due to
insufficient DOS memory when attempting to execute a BindAndStart
or UnbindAndStop command.
0x002F INFO_N0T_FOUND: This error is returned by the DOS
Protocol Manager in a GetProtocolManagerInfo command if the
PROTOCOL.INI structured configuration memory image is not present
or previously invalidated due to being overwritten or corrupted.
0x00FF GENERAL_FAILURE: Unspecified failure during execution of
the function
0xF000 - 0xFFFF: Reserved for vendor defined error returns.
These errors are treated as GENERAL_FAILURE.
Appendix B: Reference Material
OS/2 Device Drivers Guide
DOS Technical Reference
ANSI/IEEE standard 802.2 - 1985 (ISO/DIS 8802/2) Logical link
control standard.
ANSI/IEEE standard 802.5 - 1985 (ISO/DIS 8802/5) Token ring local
area network standard.
ANSI/IEEE standard 802.3 - 1985 (ISO/DIS 8802/3) Carrier Sense
Multiple Access with Collision Detection local area network
standard.
The Ethernet. A Local Area Network. Data Link Layer and Physical
Layer Specifications, V2.0, November 1982. Also known as the
"Ethernet Blue Book"
IBM Token Ring Network PC Adapter Technical Reference (69X7830)
IBM Token Ring Network Architecture Reference - November 1985
(6165877)
Information processing systems - Open Systems Interconnection -
Basic Reference Model, (ISO 7498) The OSI reference model.
Appendix C: 802.3 Media Specific Statistics
The 802.3 media specific statistics structure is defined as
follows:
Statistics in bold are manditory, all others are strongly
recommended.
Reserved slots should return as 0xFFFFFFFF (unsupported).
WORD Length of 802.3 Statistics structure, including this field
WORD 802.3 Statistics structure version level (1)
DWORD Frames with alignment error
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total frames with overrun error
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total frames transmitted after deferring
DWORD Total frames not transmitted - max (16) collisions
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total late (out of window) collisions
DWORD Total frames transmitted after exactly 1 collision
DWORD Total frames transmitted after multiple collisions
DWORD Total frames transmitted, CD heartbeat
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total carrier sense lost during transmission
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Total number of underruns (V2.0.1 and later)
When updating the statistics counters, a frame is counted in all
the supported counters that apply.
Examples:
(a) A 'Multicast frame received ok's is counted in the following
statistics counters:
. Total multicast frames received ok
. Total frames received ok
(b) A 'Transmit Broadcast frame with one collision' is counted in
all the following statistics counters:
. Frames transmitted with only one collision.
. Total broadcast frames transmitted.
. Total frames transmitted ok.
MEDIA SPECIFIC STATISTICS DEFINITIONS:
Frames received with alignment error
(NumberOfFramesReceivedWithAlignmentErrors)
This contains a count of frames that are not an integral
number of bytes in length and do not pass FCS check.
Reports on alignments errors "as the station sees it".
Frames received with overrun errors
This contains a count of frames which could not be
accepted due to a DMA overrun error.
Frames transmitted after deferring
(NumberOfFramesWithDeferredTransmission)
This counter does not include frames involved in collisions.
Frames not transmitted - max collisions execeeded.
(NumberOfFramesAbortedDueToExcessiveCollision)
This contains a count of the frames that are not transmitted
successfully due to excessive collisions.
Frames transmitted with late (out-of-window) collision.
(NumberOfLateCollisions)
This contains a count of frames that are involved in a
out-of-window collision.
Frames transmitted after exactly one collision
(NumberOfSingleCollisionFrames)
This contains a count of frames that are transmitted
after exactly one collision.
Frames transmitted after multiple collisions
(NumberOfMultipleCollsionFrames)
This contains a count of frames that are transmitted
after multiple number of collisions.
Frames transmitted, CD heartbeat
(NumberOfSQETestErrors)
This contains a count of frames transmitted with CD(collision
detection) signal missing.
Frames with carrier sense lost during transmission
(NumberOfCarrierSenseErrors)
This contains a count of frames that experienced carrier sense
lost (carrier sense signal not present at the receive pair of the
controller) during transmission.
Frames transmitted with underrun error (V2.0.1 and later)
This contains a count of frames which could not be transmitted
due to a DMA underrun error.
Appendix D: 802.5 Media Specific Statistics
MEDIA SPECIFIC STATISTICS TABLE STRUCTURE:
The 802.5 media specific statistics structure is defined as
follows:
Statistics in bold are mandatory, all others are strongly
recommended.
Reserved slots should return as 0xFFFFFFFF (unsupported)
WORD Length of 802.5 Statistics structure, including this field
WORD 802.5 Statistics structure version level (1)
DWORD FCS or code violations detected in repeated frame
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Number of 5 half-bit time transition absences detected
DWORD A/C errors
DWORD Frames transmitted with abort delimiter
DWORD Frames transmitted that failed to return
DWORD Frames recognized, no buffer available
DWORD Frame copied errors
DWORD Number of frequency errors detected
DWORD Number of times active monitor regenerated
DWORD Reserved
DWORD Reserved
DWORD Reserved
DWORD Reserved (Obsolete statistic)
DWORD Number of underruns
When updating the statistics counters, a frame is counted in
all the supported counters that apply.
MEDIA SPECIFIC STATISTICS DEFINITIONS:
FCS or code violations detected in repeated frame
This counter is incremented for every repeated frame that has
a code violation or fails the Frame Check Sequence (FCS)
cyclic redundancy check.
Number of 5 half-bit time transition absences detected
Also known as Burst Error, this counter is incremented
every time 5 half-bit time transitions are not detected
between SDEL and EDEL in repeated frame.
A/C errors
Also known as ARI/FCI set error, this counter is incremented
when a station receives more than one AMP or SMP MAC frames with
AC (ARI/FCI) equal to zero without first receiving an intervening
AMP MAC frame. This counter indicates that the upstream Adapter is
unable to set its AC (ARI/FCI) bits in a frame that it has copied.
Frames transmitted with abort delimiter
This counter is incremented each time the Adapter transmits
an abort delimiter. This indicates that the frame was aborted
in mid-transmission.
Frames transmitted that failed to return
This counter is incremented when a transmitted frame fails to
return from around the ring due to time-out or the reception of
another frame.
Frames recognized, no buffer available
Also known as Receiver congestion, this counter is incremented
when a ring station is receiving/repeating a frame and recognizes
a frame addressed to it, but has no buffer space available for
the frame.
Frame copied errors
This counter is incremented when a ring station receives or
repeats a frame from the ring with the ring stations's
individual address, but with A = C = 1, indicating a possible
duplicate address.
Number of frequency errors detected
This counter is incremented when a ring stations detects a
signal frequency problem.
Number of times active monitor regenerated
This counter is incremented each time the active monitor
is lost and regenerated.
Number of underruns
This counter is incremented each time a DMA underrun is detected.
Appendix E: Utilities Provided with the Protocol Manager
To save system integrators the effort to read and parse the
PROTOCOL.INI file, to register it with the Protocol Manager, to
invoke the binding and unbinding Protocol Manager primitives, and
to report various Protocol Manager error conditions, 3 utilities
are provided with the Protocol Manager in both the DOS and OS/2
environments and one utility is provided exclusively for the OS/2
environment:
1. NETBIND.EXE - Initiates the binding and operational
startup of a set of modules previously loaded.
It issues to the Protocol Manager the
BindAndStart primitive and reports to the console
any binding/initialization errors detected by the
modules bound. This utility can be used in
either the static or dynamic Protocol Manager
modes of operation. In the static mode it should
be invoked after all device driver modules are
loaded (e.g. from AUTOEXEC.BAT in DOS or
STARTUP.CMD in OS/2). In the dynamic mode it can
be invoked either at system startup time as in
static mode or after a set of dynamically
loadable modules have been loaded and are ready
to be run. There are no command line parameters
associated with this utility.
2. UNBIND.EXE - Initiates the unbinding and termination
sequence of a set of dynamically loadable modules
previously loaded and bound. It issues to the
Protocol Manager the UnbindAndStop primitive and
reports to the console any unbinding/termination
errors detected by the modules being unbound.
The utility can be used only in the dynamic
Protocol Manager mode of operation. Invocation
in the static mode will generate an error. It
should be invoked when it is desired to terminate
(and release from memory) a set of dynamically
loadable modules that have been previously loaded
and bound. In DOS each invocation will terminate
and unbind the last set of modules previously
bound via the NETBIND.EXE utility. Modules can
be bound and unbound in groups if required by
invoking NETBIND.EXE for each group of modules to
be bound together and later invoking UNBIND.EXE.
UNBIND.EXE will unbind the groups only in the
reverse order in which the groups were
previsoulsy bound. If protocols are implemented
so that they free themsleves from memory at the
end of the unbind sequence, then this utility
will free up the memory of all such protocols
unbound. This utility has no effect on MAC
drivers which are always static device drivers.
In OS/2 the utility takes an argument string
specifying the name of the module being unbound.
In DOS there are no command line parameters
associated with this utility.
3. READPRO.EXE - Reads the PROTOCOL.INI file, parses it into
a memory image and registers this memory image
with the Protocol Manager so that the image is
available to dynamically loadable protocols when
they request their configuration memory image
information. By invoking the GetProtocolIniPath
Protocol Manager primitive, this utility assures
that the PROTOCOL.INI file is read from the
same subdirectory as that used by the Protocol
Manager when it had initialized. The memory
image is registered with the Protocol Manager via
the RegisterProtocolManagerInfo primitive. This
utility can be used only in the Protocol Manager
dynamic mode of operation. The utility reports
any detected error condtions on the console. It
should be invoked prior to the loading of any
dynamic modules. There are no command line
parameters associated with this utility.
4. RELOAD.EXE.- Initiates the prebind initialization of
an OS/2 dynamically loadable module. It issues
to the Protocol Manager the InitAndRegister
primitive containing the module name that was
given as a command line parameter. The Protocol
Manager calls the system entry point of the named
module with the InitiatePrebind system function.
The modules is required to reinitialize, which
may include locking down swappable segments,
requesting and parsing the PROTOCOL.INI image,
and reregistering with the Protocol Manager in
preparation for a subsequent NETBIND.EXE
invocation. This utility reports any detected
error to the console. It applies only to OS/2.
If the system integrator requires more functionality than that
provided by these utilities, the integrator can write an
application utility directly that performs the desired
functionality and invokes the required Protocol Manager
primitives described in Chapter 5. For example if in DOS a more
flexible unbind facility to unbind in a user specified order is
required, UNBIND.EXE can be replaced by a user written utility
that invokes the UnbindAndStop primitive in which Pointer2 points
to the name of the module to be unbound.