1.1 Glossary

This document uses the following terms:

DirectPlay: A network communication library included with the Microsoft DirectX application programming interfaces. DirectPlay is a high-level software interface between applications and communication services that makes it easy to connect games over the Internet, a modem link, or a network.

DPNID: A 32-bit identification value assigned to a DirectPlay player as part of its participation in a DirectPlay game session.

game session: The metadata associated with the collection of computers participating in a single instance of a computer game.

globally unique identifier (GUID): A term used interchangeably with universally unique identifier (UUID) in Microsoft protocol technical documents (TDs). Interchanging the usage of these terms does not imply or require a specific algorithm or mechanism to generate the value. Specifically, the use of this term does not imply or require that the algorithms described in [RFC4122] or [C706] must be used for generating the GUID. See also universally unique identifier (UUID).

host: In DirectPlay, the computer responsible for responding to DirectPlay game session enumeration requests and maintaining the master copy of all the player and group lists for the game. One computer is designated as the host of the DirectPlay game session. All other participants in the DirectPlay game session are called peers. However, in peer-to-peer mode the name table entry representing the host of the session is also marked as a peer.

Internet Protocol security (IPsec): A framework of open standards for ensuring private, secure communications over Internet Protocol (IP) networks through the use of cryptographic security services. IPsec supports network-level peer authentication, data origin authentication, data integrity, data confidentiality (encryption), and replay protection.

Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4): An Internet protocol that has 32-bit source and destination addresses. IPv4 is the predecessor of IPv6.

little-endian: Multiple-byte values that are byte-ordered with the least significant byte stored in the memory location with the lowest address.

network address translation (NAT): The process of converting between IP addresses used within an intranet, or other private network, and Internet IP addresses.

network byte order: The order in which the bytes of a multiple-byte number are transmitted on a network, most significant byte first (in big-endian storage). This may or may not match the order in which numbers are normally stored in memory for a particular processor.

payload: The data that is transported to and from the application that is using either the DirectPlay 4 protocol or DirectPlay 8 protocol.

peer: In DirectPlay, a player within a DirectPlay game session that has an established connection with every other peer in the game session, and which is not performing game session management duties. The participant that is managing the game session is called the host.

player: A person who is playing a computer game. There can be multiple players on a computer participating in any given game session. See also name table.

private address: An Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) address that is not globally routable, but is part of the private address space specified in [RFC1918] section 3.

public address: An external global address used by a network address translation (NAT).

User Datagram Protocol (UDP): The connectionless protocol within TCP/IP that corresponds to the transport layer in the ISO/OSI reference model.

MAY, SHOULD, MUST, SHOULD NOT, MUST NOT: These terms (in all caps) are used as defined in [RFC2119]. All statements of optional behavior use either MAY, SHOULD, or SHOULD NOT.