NDIS Network Drivers

Windows CE 2.0 and later support network drivers based on a subset of the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) model used by Windows NT. The full specification allows several types of network drivers; Windows CE only supports Miniport drivers. There is no support for legacy or monolithic network drivers.

For Miniport drivers, Windows CE is source code compatable with Windows NT. With a few exceptions, the NDIS APIs supported by Windows CE are exactly like those supported by Windows NT. The Windows CE Device Driver Reference contains a complete list of NDIS APIs supported by Windows CE, and documentation for the APIs which differ from their Windows NT counterparts.

Because Windows CE Miniport drivers are source code compatable with Miniport drivers for Windows NT, this guide does not discuss the details of how to write a Miniport driver. For information on how to write a Miniport driver, see the Windows NT Device Driver Kit.