INFO: ARCNET is Not Supported in Versions of the Operating System Later than Windows XP (325887)

SUMMARY

Support for the Attached Resource Computer Network (ARCNET) has been removed from the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) interface, beginning with the first release after Windows XP. The mediums NdisMediumArcnetRaw and NdisMediumArcnet878_2 are no longer valid NDIS_MEDIUM mediums.

Therefore, Windows XP is the last version of the Windows operating system that supports ARCNET.

MORE INFORMATION

ARCNET (ANSI/ATA 878.1) is a high-speed token-based network technology that was developed more than twenty years ago (before 1980 as of publication of this article). Its principle application is in industrial control systems. The impact of removing support for ARCNET is expected to be negligible. The vast majority of ARCNET installations do not use the Microsoft stack (NDIS-based protocols like TCP/IP and IPX/SPX); they employ ARCNET outside the scope of the NDIS library. In those cases, it is preferable to not have NDIS detect the device.

This does not apply to ARCNET devices that utilize a WDM (non-NDIS) driver and a proprietary transport mechanism (non-NDIS protocol). Custom solutions that do not rely on NDIS will be unaffected by this change.

ARCNET miniports that require the NDIS library to bind to NDIS-compatible protocols must emulate and expose an Ethernet interface on its upper edge.

Removal of ARCNET support is necessary to reduce the complexity of network components and improve the robustness of the NDIS library.