Including a NetworkProvider Section

A NetworkProvider section specifies either a substitute device name for a NetClient component or a short name for use with the NetWare net view command, or both.

Note  NetClient components are deprecated in Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, and later.

To create a NetworkProvider section, add the NetworkProvider extension to the DDInstall section for the component, as shown in the following example:

[DDInstall] ; Install section
[DDInstall.NetworkProvider] ; NetworkProvider section

Specifying a Device Name

The network class installer usually creates the device name for a network provider by copying the Ndi\Service value for the component to the NetworkProvider key under the component's Service key. For more information, see Adding Service-Related Values to the Ndi Key. To specify a different device name for the component, include a DeviceName entry in the NetworkProvider section for the component, as shown in the following example:

[DDInstall-section.NetworkProvider]
DeviceName = "nwrdr"

The DeviceName is optional and should be specified only if the Ndi\Service value for the component is inadequate as a device name for the network provider.

Specifying a Short Name

To specify a short name for a network provider for use with the NetWare net view command, include a ShortName entry in the NetworkProvider section for the component, as shown in the following example:

[DDInstall-section.NetworkProvider]
ShortName = "nw"

The following is an example of a short name used with the net view command:

net view /n:nw

The ShortName is easier to remember and type than the entire name of the network provider.

The ShortName is optional and should only be specified if needed.