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The Internet Direct Connect Kit: Packet Driver Interfaces for LANs

This page includes a bunch of examples for how to configure your existing
LAN environment so it will allow you to connect to the Internet, too. If
you can't find an example that works for your environment here, and you
work out a solution, please email me and show me how you did it!

Currently I have examples for the following configurations:

   * Simple Packet Driver Interface
   * Novell NetWare (ODI Drivers)
   * Artisoft Lantastic (NDIS Drivers)
   * Microsoft Windows for Workgroups (NDIS Drivers)

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Simple Packet Driver Interface

If your computer doesn't need to access the network resources available on
your LAN, and all you want to do with your LAN connection is access the
Internet, perhaps all you need is a packet driver.

Packet drivers are specialized network drivers that drive TCP/IP network
connections over a specific make and model of network adapter. In this
example, I'm using the packet driver NE2000.COM to drive my network card
and the WINPKT.COM program to provide an interface between the packet
driver and Windows.

Of course you will need the packet driver designed to work with your
network card. Most LAN cards come with packet drivers on their software
disk, but don't despair if you can't find a packet driver on disk (or if
you've lost your disk). There's a big archive of packet drivers at
watsun.cc.columbia.edu, in the /packet-drivers/zip/drivers.zip and
drivers3.zip files, and some newer stuff in the /packet-drivers/new/
directory. You can also find the WINPKT.COM program there, in
/packet-drivers/new/winpkt.com and winpkt.doc.

Once you have located a packet driver for your network interface card and
downloaded the WINPKT.COM program, follow the instructions for loading the
packet driver, then run WINPKT.COM. The example below shows how to load the
packet driver and WINPKT.COM for my NE2000 card, which uses IRQ 2 and I/O
address 300.

DOS Batch Files For Loading The NE2000 Packet Driver

C:\INET\NE2000.com 0x60 2 300
C:\INET\WINPKT.COM 0x60

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Novell NetWare (ODI Drivers)

Adding TCP/IP functionality to a PC that uses the ODI network stack is
fairly easy. The example here is for an NE2000 or compatible network card.

The first change you need to make to your NET.CFG file, which contains
information about what protocols you're interested in using and how to
manage them. Most NET.CFG files have just one section, the Link Driver,
which tell the ODI driver what I/O address and interrupt your network card
is using.

It may turn out that you don't have a NET.CFG file. Some ODI drivers use
some sort of default or are smart enough to figure out what settings are
being used. If you don't have a NET.CFG file, you'll have to create one.
The instructions that came with your network card should explain how.

We're going to add a new section to the NET.CFG file and add some
additional information to the existing Link Driver section. The new Link
Support section defines how many buffers should be made available for your
Novell IPX and Internet TCP/IP traffic. The Frame and Protocol information
we're adding to the Link Driver section defines what protocols you're
interested in using and what kind of packaging, or Frame, each protocol
will come in. (NetWare 3.12 and 4.x users may also need to use a different
Frame type from the one shown in the example. Older versions of NetWare
used the Ethernet_802.3 frame type to transport the IPX protocol. Newer
versions of NetWare default to Ethernet_802.2 frames, but many network
administrators override the default and retain the 802.3 frame type so that
their older NetWare installations will remain compatible with the new. Find
out which Frame type you are using, and adjust the example accordingly.))

Sample NET.CFG File

Link Support
  Buffers 8 1586
Link Driver
  Port 300 20
  Int 2
  Frame Ethernet_802.3
  Frame Ethernet_II
  Protocol IPX  0000 Ethernet_802.3
  Protocol IP   0800 Ethernet_II
  Protocol ARP  0806 Ethernet_II
  Protocol RARP 8035 Ethernet_II

After the NET.CFG file has been modified (or created), the next step is to
modify the batch files that load your networking software. We're going to
add two new items to your networking stack. ODIPKT.COM is another
specialized packet driver, similar to the one described in the Simple
Packet Driver Interface section. The big difference between a standard
packet driver and ODIPKT.COM is that it interfaces with the Novell ODI
stack instead of a network card. The other program we're going to load is
WINPKT.COM, which provides a Windows friendly interface to the packet
driver.

You can get both these programs from the archive watsun.cc.columbia.edu in
the directory /packet- drivers/new/. Look for the files odipkt.com,
odipkt.8 (the documentation file), winpkt.com, and winpkt.doc.

Please note that ODIPKT.COM sets the interrupt vector to 0x69 instead of
the usual default of 0x60. You'll need to remember that when it comes time
to fill out the Network Configuration screen in Trumpet Winsock.

DOS Batch Commands To Load The ODI Stack

C:\LAN\LSL.COM
C:\LAN\NE2000.COM
C:\LAN\IPXODI.COM
C:\INET\ODIPKT.COM
C:\INET\WINPKT.COM 0x69
C:\LAN\NETX.EXE

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Artisoft Lantastic (NDIS Drivers)

Artisoft Lantastic versions 4.0 and later can be run using either a
proprietary network driver, or an industry standard NDIS stack. To run
TCP/IP applications with your Lantastic network you must use the NDIS stack
instead of the proprietary drivers. The examples here show you how to do
it.

Of the LAN configurations I've modified to work with TCP/IP, LANs based on
the NDIS stack are the most involved, but it's still not impossible to do.
As I've already mentioned, this example is for Artisoft Lantastic, version
4.0 and later, but the instructions here should apply to almost any NDIS
derived network stack, like Microsoft Windows for Workgroups.

Modifications are required in three places. First you have to modify the
NDIS configuration file to recognize that you're adding a packet driver to
the NDIS stack, then you need to modify your CONFIG.SYS file and the DOS
batch procedure that loads your network drivers before you can use TCP/IP.

First, let's talk about the hard part, modifying the NDIS PROTOCOL.INI
file. All you need to do here is add a new section, [pktdrv] to the end of
the file. The [pktdrv] section contains three instructions that identify
the driver name (which should always be pktdrv$), the title of the section
that describes your network card (in my example that would be AEXNDIS_NIF,
the title of the section just above), and the interrupt vector you wish to
use for TCP/IP (usually 0x60).

The hard part here is figuring out which section of your PROTOCOL.INI file
describes your network card. In most cases, that means looking for the
Interrupt and IOBase address for your network card. Once you've located
that section in your PROTOCOL.INI file, you'll find the section name
bracketed in square brackets [....].

To add the packet driver section to your PROTOCOL.INI, just copy the last
four lines of my sample PROTOCOL.INI file to the end of your file, then
replace the name AEXNDIS_NIF on the bindings = line with the name of the
section describing your LAN card.

Sample PROTOCOL.INI File for Artisoft Lantastic

[PROTMAN]
   DriverName = PROTMAN$

[AEXNDIS_NIF]
   DriverName = AEXNDS$
   IOBase = 0x300
   Interrupt = 5

[pktdrv]
   drivername = pktdrv$
   bindings = AEXNDIS_NIF
   intvec = 0x60

Once you've modified your PROTOCOL.INI file, you ready to go on and modify
the section of your CONFIG.SYS file that load the NDIS drivers.
dis_pkt9.dos is another specialized packet driver, similar to the one
described in the Simple Packet Driver Interface section. The big
differences between a regular packet driver and dis_pkt9.dos are that it
interfaces with the NDIS stack instead of a network card, and like other
NDIS drivers, it is loaded from the CONFIG.SYS file using a device=
statement (or you can use the devicehigh= directive).

You can get dis_pkt9.dos from the archive watsun.cc.columbia.edu in the
directory /packet- drivers/new/. Look for the files dis_pkt9.dos and
dis_pkt9.doc.

Sample CONFIG.SYS Commands For Loading The NDIS Packet Driver

device=c:\lantasti\protman.dos /i:c:\lantasti
device=c:\lantasti\aexndis.dos
device=c:\inet\dis_pkt9.dos

The last modification you need to make is to load WINPKT.COM, which
provides a Windows friendly interface to the packet driver. Load WINPKT.COM
at the end of the batch procedure that starts your peer-to-peer network
client and server functions.

You can get WINPKT.COM from the archive watsun.cc.columbia.edu in the
directory /packet- drivers/new/. Look for the files winpkt.com, and
winpkt.doc.

DOS Batch Commands To Load Artisoft Lantastic

AI-NDIS BIND_TO=AEXNDIS_NIF
AILANBIO
LH REDIR EGOR LOGINS=3
SET LAN_CFG=C:\LANTASTI
SET LAN_DIR=C:\LANTASTI.NET
REM
REM If you have a CD-ROM drive, load MSCDEX,EXE here.
REM
SERVER
NET LOGIN/WAIT \\EGOR EGOR
NET LPT TIMEOUT 10
NET ATTACH PORTAPUTER
NET USE P: \\PORTAPUTER\C-DRIVE
WINPKT 0x60

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Microsoft Windows for Workgroups (NDIS Drivers)

Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1x can be modified to run with
the same NDIS packet driver used with Artisoft Lantastic. Like the
Lantastic configuration, you have to make modifications in three places:
the PROTOCOL.INI file (in the Windows directory) CONFIG.SYS file, and the
procedure that loads your network drivers (usually the AUTOEXEC.BAT file).
The modifications to these files are substantially similar to those made
for Artisoft Lantastic, so if you need a more detailed tutorial
(particularly for the modifications to the PROTOCOL.INI file), read the
Artisoft Lantastic (NDIS) section, above.

First, you'll need to add a section for the NDIS packet driver to the
PROTOCOL.INI file. All you need to do here is add a new section, [pktdrv]
to the end of the file. The [pktdrv] section contains three instructions
that identify the driver name (which should always be pktdrv$), the title
of the section that describes your network card (in my example that would
be AEXNDIS_NIF, the title of the section just above), and the interrupt
vector you wish to use for TCP/IP (usually 0x60).

Sample PROTOCOL.INI File for Microsoft Windows for Workgroups

[network.setup]
version=0x3110
netcard=ms$ae2,1,MS$AE2,3
transport=ms$nwlinknb,NWLINK
transport=ms$ndishlp,MS$NDISHLP
transport=ms$netbeui,NETBEUI
lana0=ms$ae2,1,ms$nwlinknb
lana1=ms$ae2,1,ms$ndishlp
lana2=ms$ae2,1,ms$netbeui

[protman]
DriverName=PROTMAN$
PRIORITY=MS$NDISHLP

[MS$AE2]
DriverName=MS2000$
INTERRUPT=5
IOBASE=0x300

[NE2000]
Adapters=MS$AE2

[NWLINK]
BINDINGS=MS$AE2

[MS$NDISHLP]
DriverName=ndishlp$
BINDINGS=MS$AE2

[NETBEUI]
DriverName=netbeui$
SESSIONS=10
NCBS=12
BINDINGS=MS$AE2
LANABASE=1

[PKTDRV]
DriverName=PKTDRV$
BINDINGS=MS$AE2
INTVEC=0x60

After modifying your PROTOCOL.INI file, you'll need to add a section for
your NDIS drivers to your CONFIG.SYS file. (Unlike Artisoft Lantastic,
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups loads it's *.DOS drivers on the fly, but
because WFW doesn't know about packet drivers, you'll have to load it and
the other NDIS *.DOS device drivers in the CONFIG.SYS file.)

You can get the NDIS packet driver, dis_pkt9.dos, from the archive
watsun.cc.columbia.edu in the directory /packet-drivers/new/. Look for the
files dis_pkt9.dos and dis_pkt9.doc.

Sample CONFIG.SYS Commands For Loading The NDIS Packet Driver

device=c:\windows\protman.dos /i:c:\windows
device=c:\windows\ne2000.dos
device=c:\inet\dis_pkt9.dos

The last modification you need to make is to load WINPKT.COM. WINPKT.COM
needs to be loaded right after the NET START command, which is probably in
your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (the WFW SETUP program puts it there).

You can get WINPKT.COM from the archive watsun.cc.columbia.edu in the
directory /packet- drivers/new/. Look for the files winpkt.com, and
winpkt.doc.

DOS Batch Commands To Load Microsoft Windows for Workgroups NDIS Drivers

C:\WINDOWS\NET START
C:\INET\WINPKT 0x60

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   * The Internet Direct Connect Kit: Reader's Page
   * The Internet Direct Connect Kit -- Home Page
   * Direct Connect Books -- Home Page
   * PHAP Home Page
   * Peter John Harrison's Home Page

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(C) Copyright 1995 by Peter John Harrison. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced or distributed by any means without the
consent of the author. Permission to incorporate hypertext links from other
online resources to this publication is granted and encouraged.

peterh@well.sf.ca.us