DirectPlay uses a simple send/receive communication model to implement a connectivity API tailored to the needs of game play. The DirectPlay architecture is composed of two types of components: DirectPlay itself and the service provider. DirectPlay is provided by Microsoft and presents a common interface to the game. The service provider furnishes medium-specific communication services as requested by DirectPlay. Any organization, including online services, can supply service providers for specialized hardware and communications media. Microsoft includes two service providers with DirectPlay, one for networking and one for modem support.
The DirectPlay interface hides the complexities and unique tasks required to establish an arbitrary communications link inside the DirectPlay service provider implementation. When you design a game for use with DirectPlay, you need only concern yourself with the performance of the communications medium, not whether that medium is provided by a modem, network, or online service.
DirectPlay will dynamically bind to any DirectPlay service provider installed on the user's system. The game interacts with the DirectPlay object. The DirectPlay object interacts with one of the available DirectPlay service providers, and the selected service provider interacts with the transport or protocol.