Multiple Transport Protocols (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)

1/6/2010

Winsock provides simultaneous access to multiple transport protocols. Winsock is version-agnostic and supports multiple versions of a transport protocol, such as TCP/IPv4 and TCP/IPv6. Winsock defines a standard service provider interface (SPI) between Ws2.dll and the protocol stacks. In this way, a single Ws2.dll can simultaneously access multiple stacks from different vendors.

Because a single Ws2.dll must work across all stacks, you do not need to supply your own implementation of Ws2.dll. A transport protocol must be properly installed on the system and registered with Winsock to be accessible to an application. Ws2.dll exports a set of functions that facilitate the registration process enabling you to create a new provider and remove an existing one.

When registering, your installation script must supply one or more completed WSAPROTOCOL_INFO structures containing a complete set of information about the protocol. Any transport stack installed in this manner is referred to as a "Winsock service provider". For more information about how to install a transport stack, see Winsock Service Provider Interface (SPI).

See Also

Concepts

Winsock Support in Windows Embedded CE
Windows Sockets Support for IPv6
Layered Protocols and Provider Chains
Determining the Status of One or More Sockets