This section provides information about standardized keywords that appear in the registry and are specified in INF files. Windows Vista supports standardized keywords for Ethernet devices.

Standardized keywords provide:

• Standardized user interface properties for end users.
• The ability for both home network users and large scale enterprises to easily configure networks that include devices from multiple hardware manufacturers.
• The ability to programmatically test for all advanced network device features.

The following standard INF keywords are mandatory for connectionless NDIS 6.0 and later miniport drivers:

• *IfType
• *MediaType
• *PhysicalMediaType

If the mandatory keywords are missing from the driver’s INF file, NDIS does not call the miniport driver’s MiniportInitializeEx function.

Standardized keywords are required for NDIS 6.0 Ethernet device drivers if both of the following are true:

• You want an INF setting to be exposed in the Advanced Properties tab of the user interface.
• The device fully supports the specified properties.

Standardized keywords are optional but recommended for NDIS 5.1 or earlier NDIS Ethernet device drivers.

This section specifies the INF keywords that are exposed in the user interface. However, miniport drivers must read the registry settings during initialization to determine the current configuration settings.

Within an INF file, definitions for these keywords are placed with the other definitions for the advanced properties page. For more information about advanced properties, see Specifying Configuration Parameters for the Advanced Properties Page.

All standardized keyword names start with an asterisk (*). This naming convention enables you to easily distinguish standardized names from non-standard names.

There are three types of standardized keyword data that are exposed in the user interface:

Enum

Values that can be selected from a list that appears in a drop down menu in the advanced properties user interface.

Int

Numerical values that you can edit.

Edit

Text values that you can edit.

The following topics include descriptions for all of the standardized keywords: