Installation Requirements for Network Adapters
This topic summarizes the installation requirements for network adapters.
Note NDIS 6.0 and later drivers support a set of standardized INF keywords for network devices.
General Requirements
| INF File Section | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
Required |
Class= Net ClassGuid= {4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} |
|
INF SourceDisksNames Section and INF SourceDisksFiles Section |
Required if ... |
Required if the INF file is not distributed with Windows 2000. If the INF file is distributed with Windows 2000, a LayoutFile entry must be specified in the Version section, and the SourceDisksNames and SourceDisksFiles sections are not used. No network-specific requirements. |
Required |
No network-specific requirements. |
|
Required |
Must contain an ExcludeFromSelect entry for each Plug and Play (PnP) adapter installed by the INF file. Non-PnP adapters, such as non-PnP ISA and EISA adapters, should not be listed. Note that Windows XP and later operating systems do not support non-PnP ISA adapters and EISA adapters. |
|
Required |
No network-specific requirements. |
|
Required |
The hw-id must match the hardware ID supplied by the adapter to the PnP manager. |
|
Required |
Characteristics entry Allowable values: NCF_VIRTUAL, NCF_SOFTWARE_ENUMERATED, NCF_PHYSICAL, NCF_MULTIPORT_INSTANCED_ADAPTER, NCF_HAS_UI, NCF_HIDDEN, NCF_NOT_USER_REMOVABLE NCF_VIRTUAL, NCF_SOFTWARE_ENUMERATED, and NCF_PHYSICAL are mutually exclusive. The BusType entry is required for a physical adapter. The EisaCompressedId entry is required for an EISA adapter. This entry specifies both an EISA Compressed ID and an adapter mask for the adapter. Windows XP and later operating systems do not support EISA adapters. A Port1DeviceNumber or Port1FunctionNumber entry is required for a multiport network adapter. |
|
Required |
No network-specific requirements. |
|
Required |
Creating the Ndi Key Specifying service-related values Specifying Bundle Membership(only for LBFO miniport drivers) Allowable binding interfaces: UpperRange: ndis5, ndisatm, ndiswan, ndiscowan, noupper, ndis5_atalk, ndis5_dlc, ndis5_ip, ndis5_ipx, ndis5_nbf, ndis5_streams LowerRange: ethernet, atm, tokenring, serial, fddi, baseband, broadband, arcnet, isdn, localtalk, wan |
|
Optional |
Setting static parameters for the component Requiring the Installation of Another Network Component Specifying Configuration Parameters for the Advanced Properties Page |
|
Required |
No network-specific requirements. |
Additional Requirements for WAN Adapters
WAN adapters have additional installation requirements that are described in the following topics:
Specifying WAN Endpoints for a WAN Adapter
Specifying ISDN Keys and Values for an ISDN Adapter
Installing a Multiprotocol WAN NIC
Note The Remove Section and Notify Objects for Network Components are not supported.