At the protocol level, Windows NT includes a fast, robust implementation of the Transport Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) protocol stack, the most commonly used protocol among UNIX systems. Using TCP/IP, Windows NT computers can communicate with UNIX systems without additional networking software. (TCP/IP also provides efficient communication on wide-area networks, even when no UNIX systems are involved.) The TCP/IP protocol stack for Windows NT is NDIS-compliant and so can be used in conjunction with NetBEUI Frame (NBF) and other NDIS-compliant protocols. It includes an internet protocol (IP) router, serial line internet protocol (SLIP), and point-to-point protocol (PPP) support.
In addition to the TCP/IP protocol itself, Windows NT also includes more than a dozen TCP/IP utilities that make it easier for experienced UNIX users to access UNIX systems from Windows NT and to administer the TCP/IP networking on their own computer. Additional tools are included on the CD-ROM accompanying this resource kit.
Windows NT also provides facilities for integrating computers running Windows NT into networks managed through Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), which is commonly used to manage TCP/IP networks. Through its SNMP service, a Windows NT computer can report its current status to an SNMP management system on a TCP/IP network, either in response to a request from a management system or automatically when a significant event occurs on the Windows NT computer.
For more information, see Part III, "TCP/IP."