Data Link Protocols

Windows CE provides data-link layer support for both serial input/output (I/O) and local area networks (LANS). It supports the following:

• Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) and serial line Internet protocol (SLIP) for serial- and modem-based networking.
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) for LANs.
• A subset of NDIS 4.0:
  • Only Ethernets are supported.
  • Only Miniport drivers are supported, not intermediate or legacy drivers.

NDIS 4.0 does not expose an API to applications. For information related to device drivers, see the documentation for the Windows CE DDK.

NDIS 4.0 for Windows CE is packaged as a DLL, rather than a .sys file. This feature permits the ARP and NDIS modules to be partially installed. If an OEM chooses this option, the network stack will be configured for them but the DLLs will not be added to ROM. If the modules are needed for an application, the DLLs can be added to RAM.