A network redirector provides mechanisms to locate, open, read, write, and delete files and submit print jobs. It also makes available such application services as named pipes and mailslots. When an application needs to send or receive data from a remote device, it sends a call to the redirector. The redirector provides the functionality of the application and presentation layers of the OSI model.
The redirectors are included in the Windows 98 network client software as the following file system drivers:
Windows 98 also supports network redirectors created by other network vendors.
The Installable File System (IFS) Manager controls file I/O transfers for all the file systems. Each 32-bit, protected-mode redirector is implemented as a file system driver. The redirector works with the IFS Manager to map local names to network devices and to decide whether the application needs a local or remote device. For more information about IFS Manager, see Chapter 28, "Windows 98 Architecture."
In Client for Microsoft Networks, the redirector for Microsoft networks formats an application’s request into SMB packets. In Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks, the NetWare redirector formats requests into NCP packets. In both cases, the data packet is then passed by the protocol to the adapter driver.
Windows 98 provides two server services for peer resource sharing: