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Installing a Multiprotocol WAN NIC

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A multiprotocol WAN NIC provides more than one WAN protocol. For example, such a NIC might allow the user to select ISDN, Frame Relay, or channelized T1. The user selects the WAN protocol during installation of the NIC or when configuring the NIC.

Note

ISDN capabilities have been deprecated in Windows 10 and later.

A vendor of a multiprotocol WAN NIC must provide a co-installer that installs a wizard page. (For more information about co-installers, see Writing a Co-installer). The wizard page prompts the user to select a WAN protocol:

  • If the user selects ISDN, the ISDN Wizard is displayed. The ISDN Wizard prompts the user for the ISDN switch type and, depending on the selected switch type, other ISDN parameter values. For more information, see Specifying ISDN Keys and Values for an ISDN Adapter.

  • If the user selects a WAN protocol other than ISDN, the Wizard adds the ShowIsdnPages registry value to the WAN NIC's instance key. The Wizard, in this case, sets ShowIsdnPages to zero to suppress the display of the ISDN Wizard. As long as ShowIsdnPages is zero, the ISDN Wizard is suppressed.

After the WAN NIC has been installed, the user can reconfigure the NIC, using the NIC's property page:

  • If the user changes the protocol from ISDN to another WAN protocol, the property page adds the ShowIsdnPages registry value to the WAN NIC's instance key, if necessary. The property page sets ShowIsdnPages to zero to suppress the display of the ISDN Wizard.

  • If the user changes the protocol to ISDN, the property page for the WAN NIC displays a dialog box that prompts the user to apply the change. When the user applies the change, the property page sets ShowIsdnPages to 1. When the user again opens the NIC's property page, the ISDN Wizard is displayed.

Note that the LowerRange binding interface for a multiprotocol WAN NIC that supports ISDN must be set to isdn. For more information, see Specifying Binding Interfaces. If the ShowIsdnPages registry value is not present and if the NIC's LowerRange is set to isdn, the ISDN Wizard is displayed during installation and configuration of the NIC. If ShowIsdnPages is set to zero, the ISDN Wizard is not displayed. If ShowIsdnPages is set to 1, the ISDN Wizard is displayed during configuration of the NIC.