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The pages on this site contain documentation for very old MS-DOS software, purely for historical purposes. If you're looking for up-to-date documentation, particularly for programming, you should not rely on the information found here, as it will be woefully out of date.

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Since 386 enhanced-mode Windows is a multitasking, protected-mode
environment, the network driver or related software must support the
following:
 
♦  Asynchronous network requests
 
♦  Application programming interface (API) mapping
 
♦  Expanded Memory Specification (EMS) memory
 
In 386 enhanced-mode Windows, much of the additional network support is
provided by virtual devices.
 
VNETBIOS and DOSNET Virtual Devices
 
Microsoft provides two network-related virtual devices: VNETBIOS and DOSNET.
The VNETBIOS device provides support for the NetBIOS interface; the DOSNET
device supports the Microsoft LAN Manager and Microsoft Network interfaces.
If the network support software is compatible with these interfaces, no
additional work is required to support the network driver. If the support
software is not compatible, a new or a modified virtual device may be
required.
 
The VNETBIOS and DOSNET virtual devices may be modified, extended, or
replaced to fit a given network's needs. Notice, however, that the DOSNET
device provides services that are also used by other virtual devices.
Therefore, it is standard practice to replace it with a new device that has
a different name, but which also uses the same device identifier as DOSNET.
 
Asynchronous Network Requests
 
The VNETBIOS device maps all asynchronous request arguments to a global
buffer located between 640K and 1 megabyte. Furthermore, VNETBIOS sets up a
dummy callback function for any requests in which the application provided a
callback. The network software uses the global buffer and dummy callback to
complete the asynchronous event. Later, VNETBIOS copies the data to the
application's original buffer and calls the application's callback address.
When either Windows or a virtual machine (VM) terminates, 386 enhanced-mode
Windows cancels any outstanding asynchronous network requests as well as all
local connections.
 
Support for asynchronous network requests can also be added to the network
software. Although this requires changes to the network software, no
customizing of 386 enhanced-mode Windows is required. Network software can
manage asynchronous requests by using virtual-machine identifiers or by
using critical sections.
 
Network software can always retrieve the identifier of the current virtual
machine by using Get Current Virtual Machine ID (Interrupt 2Fh Function
1683h). This means the software can always identify which virtual machine
that initiates the asynchronous request by saving the identifier with the
requests buffer or callback address. Later, when the network software needs
to access these locations, it can again retrieve the current VM identifier
and compare it with the saved identifier. If the identifiers match, the
stored addresses are valid and the software can complete the operation. If
they do not match, the network software can use Switch VMs and Callback
(Interrupt 2Fh Function 1685h) to direct 386 enhanced-mode Windows to switch
to the correct virtual machine. In such cases, Windows calls the given
callback function which can carry out the network operation.
 
Network software can also handle asynchronous requests by enclosing the
request in a critical section. However, this method is not recommended.
Windows does not switch tasks while in the critical section, so although an
asynchronous request is guaranteed to complete in the correct virtual
machine, the user will be left waiting for each asynchronous task to
complete before being allowed to switch to another program or application.
Since some asynchronous requests can be outstanding for a very long time,
this can make the system less than useful. Network software can start and
end a critical section by using Begin Critical Section and End Critical
Section (Interrupt 2Fh Functions 1681h and 1682h).
 
API Mapping
 
In 386 enhanced-mode, MS-DOS, the BIOS, and all TSR programs (such as
networks) run in virtual mode. If a Windows application needs to pass an
address to MS-DOS, the BIOS, the network, or any other software loaded
before Windows, it must map the address to a real mode address. Mapping
applies to addresses pushed on stack as function parameters and addresses
embedded in buffers passed as function parameters.
 
In general, a mapper must hook the interrupts for MS-DOS, BIOS, or the
network to determine the exact API being used. In every case where an
address is being passed, the mapper must:
 
1  Copy the passed data or buffer space down into virtual-mode memory.
 
2  Replace the protected-mode address with a real-mode address pointing to
   the data's new location.
 
3  Simulate the original interrupt to let the recipient software handle it.
 
When the MS-DOS, BIOS, or network software returns from the interrupt, the
mapper must go through the same process but in reverse, copying data from
the address to a protected-mode location, and readjusting the pointer to a
protected-mode address again so that the original caller can use it
correctly.
 
EMS Memory
 
Some network software minimize use of conventional memory by storing data
and code in EMS memory. Although this frees memory before 386 enhanced-mode
Windows starts, some EMS emulators are not compatible with Windows and may
either prevent Windows from starting or make the network data and code
unavailable while Windows runs.
 
To ensure EMS compatibility with Windows, use a cooperating EMS emulator
(such as EMM386.SYS). When starting, 386 enhanced-mode Windows checks for an
EMS emulator and prints an error message and terminates if it detects an
unknown emulator.
 
If the computer has EMS hardware but no software has opened an EMS handle,
386 enhanced-mode Windows bypasses and ignores EMS hardware. Instead, it
provides simulated expanded memory to Windows applications and non-Windows
applications. When Windows exits, it makes the EMS hardware available once
again.
 
If certain expanded memory emulators (such as Microsoft EMM386 version 4.0
and Compaq CEMM) are running and no software has opened an EMS handle, 386
enhanced-mode Windows turns off the emulator and provides simulated EMS to
Windows applications and non-Windows applications. When Windows exits, it
turns the EMS emulator back on.
 
Network-Virtual Device
 
With 386 enhanced-mode Windows, it is possible to write a virtual device
that understands the network well enough to route events to the appropriate
virtual machines.
 
For example, when the network card generates an interrupt telling the
network software that its information packet has arrived, the virtual device
reads the packet and simulates the network interrupt for the real-mode
network software. Otherwise, it can schedule an event for the target VM,
including boosting its priority to get it to run as soon as possible, and,
at that time, simulate the interrupt. Using this method, the network
software always receives the interrupt in the proper VM context. Thus, the
network software should not need to be modified at all.
 
Notice also that the virtual device could take on some part of the network
functionality, thus bypassing the normal network software in some or all
cases. This would avoid the bottleneck of having to call the normal network
software in virtual mode; the virtual device could copy the data directly to
the target application's buffers, and so forth. This would also avoid
data-overrun problems when 386 enhanced-mode Windows is unable to switch to
the proper virtual machine in a reasonable amount of time because a virtual
device can access any VM's address space at any time even when the VM is
inactive. And finally, it could free up memory for non-Windows applications
by, in effect, moving the entire network into protected mode.
 
Most network software runs in conventional memory (the first 640K bytes of
memory) and therefore competes with non-Windows applications for memory. To
free the conventional memory otherwise occupied by the network software, it
is recommended that the network software be moved to a virtual device.
 
Virtualized Connections
 
386 enhanced-mode Windows maintains a complete set of current drive and
directory information for each VM. Network support may keep global
connections or provide for separate connections in each VM, as appropriate.
If the network support keeps global connections, it should also provide a
mechanism to allow each new VM to inherit the current connections in
Windows.
 
Some networks may choose to handle the virtualization themselves rather than
rely on a virtual device. By keeping track of the current virtual machine
identifier, the network can maintain a separate state for each VM and manage
these appropriately. The virtual device can inform the network software when
virtual machines are created and destroyed. The virtual device can even
manage instance data within the network software by transparently inserting
the appropriate data for the current virtual-machine context.
 
Network-Control Blocks
 
The VNETBIOS device supports up to 4K of network-control blocks (NCB).
Although this number of NCBs should be adequate for most situations, the
limit can also be set with the NetHeapSize setting in the [Networks] section
of the SYSTEM.INI file.
 
 
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