User`s guide

B – Glossary

B-2 FS0054603-00 C

Driver Driver refers to software that interfaces between the file

system and a physical data storage device or network

media.

The level structure for Windows 2000/Windows

Server 2003 drivers is as follows:

■ Class Driver. This is the highest driver level. There

is a separate class for disk, Ethernet, etc. This level

handles all generic aspects of operations for that

class.

■ Port Driver. This is the middle driver level, which

handles aspects of the operation specific to the port

type; for example, there is a port driver for SCSI.

■ Miniport Driver. This is the lowest driver level and

device specific. This level is usually supplied by the

manufacturer as a companion to a physical device.

■ Monolithic Driver. This level combines the functions

of different driver levels in the same driver to

increase performance.

■ Adjunct Driver. This level works along side a driver

at the same level to increase performance.

In NetWare, the required drivers include:

■ Host Adapter Module (HAM). HAM is the driver

component associated with the host adapter

hardware. It provides the functionality to route

requests to the bus where a specified device is

attached.

■ Custom Device Module (CDM). CDM is the drive

component associated with storage devices. It

provides the functionality to build device-specific

commands from I/O messages received from

NetWare’s Media Manager.