This section summarizes requirements for network communications device drivers, in addition to the requirements for using an NDIS 5.0 miniport driver as defined in the “System Requirements for Network Communications” section earlier in this chapter.
41. Device drivers and installation meet PC 98 requirements
Required
The manufacturer does not need to supply a driver if a PC 98-compliant driver provided with the operating system can be used. If the manufacturer supplies a driver, the requirements for the device drivers and installation are defined in the “Basic PC 98” chapter in Part 2 of this guide. The basic requirements include driver support for unattended installation and Help file support if special driver parameters are used.
For exceptions to unattended installation requirements for ISDN adapters, see the “ISDN Requirements” section earlier in this chapter.
For information about NDIS status codes and indication mechanisms, see the Microsoft Windows NT 5.0 DDK.
42. Driver supports promiscuous mode
Required
This ensures that the adapter can be used with Microsoft Network Monitor Agent. This requirement applies only to LAN (non-switched) media.
Notice that, by default, promiscuous mode is not turned on. Configuring promiscuous mode should be possible only by using the Microsoft Network Monitor Agent or another similar administrative application.
43. Driver works correctly with Microsoft network clients and protocols
Required
This includes the 32-bit Microsoft client and NetWare-compatible clients provided with Windows, whether connected to a Windows NT-based server, a Novell NetWare 3.x or 4.x server, or a Windows-based peer server. In all cases, this includes connections using Microsoft TCP/IP, IPX/SPX-compatible protocol, and NetBEUI.
44. NDIS miniport driver does not make operating system–specific kernel calls
Required
A miniport driver that follows the NDIS 5.0 specification must not make operating system–specific calls. A correct driver makes calls only to the NDIS library. The NDIS library provides all the functions a driver needs or should use. This results in binary compatibility of the driver between Windows and Windows NT.
NDIS conformance must be validated over a single network connection and multiple connections. For Windows NT, this must be validated on a multiprocessor system as part of PC 98 testing.
45. NDIS 5.0 driver uses new INF format
Required
For NDIS 5.0 drivers (which are required for Windows NT 5.0), all network components must use the new-style INF format, which is based on the Windows 95 INF format. For information, see the Windows NT 5.0 DDK.
Note: For Windows NT 5.0, there will be no legacy INF support and no satisfactory upgrade option for OEM components created for Windows NT 4.0.