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Introduction to MDI

Introduction to MDI

The MAC (Media Access Control) Driver Interface (MDI) is a STREAMS-based Media Access Control (MAC) provider interface for network device drivers. MDI is designed to minimize the effort involved in developing and maintaining drivers that support new network devices. MDI is not exposed directly to network protocol stacks; developers implementing protocol stacks and complex data-link providers should use the Data Link Provider Interface.


NOTE: The DLPI module for SVR5 is not the same thing as the DLPI driver interface that was used for implementing network drivers on SCO SVR5 1 and 2 systems. Rather, it sits between the protocol stacks and the MDI drivers to provide media-specific information and support routines for MDI drivers. The DLPI module also performs common functions, such as Service Access Point (SAP) demultiplexing, source routing, and transmit monitoring. See the dlpid manual page for more information.

MDI is currently defined for the following media types:

The MDI specification may be extended in the future to support other media.
© 2005 The SCO Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
OpenServer 6 and UnixWare (SVR5) HDK - June 2005