The DLC Interface

The Data Link Control (DLC) interface is a special-purpose, nonroutable protocol. It is not used for communication between computers running Windows and Windows NT. DLC provides connectivity from a computer running Windows or Windows NT to IBM mainframes or printers that are connected directly to the network.

The DLC interface exposes an explicit set of commands that are issued through a structure known as the command control block (CCB). The system conveys the information in the command control block to the DLC protocol driver. The DLC protocol driver provides access to IEEE 802.2 class I and class II services. It also provides the interface to send and receive raw 802.5, 802.3, and Ethernet type network frames.

This overview discusses the following topics:

For more information on DLC, contact IBM and order the IBM Local Area Network Technical Reference: IEEE 802.2 and NETBIOS Application Programming Interfaces.