In Windows, the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) is the software interface specification that allows networking components—including protocol drivers and network-device drivers—to interoperate. It is not a network card or a single driver file. In some Windows documentation, “NDIS network interface” refers more narrowly to an interface record managed by NDIS services.
What does NDIS mean?
NDIS stands for Network Driver Interface Specification. Microsoft defines it as a specification that lets different networking components of an operating system work together, including drivers for connected network devices. Microsoft’s RNDIS Protocol glossary gives that definition.
In the Windows driver context, NDIS provides common interfaces so protocol components do not need a separate interface for every adapter vendor. It is Windows-specific terminology in the documentation discussed here, not a universal networking implementation shared by all operating systems.
How NDIS relates to network adapters and drivers
A network adapter can be physical or virtual. Its miniport driver manages the adapter and reports its attributes to NDIS. Protocol drivers connect above miniport drivers, and NDIS uses information from both sides to establish a data-transfer binding. Microsoft’s miniport driver documentation describes this relationship.
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- Adapter: The physical or virtual network device.
- Miniport driver: The driver that manages the adapter and reports its capabilities.
- Protocol driver: A networking component that communicates with the adapter through NDIS.
- NDIS: The specification and driver architecture that enables these components to interoperate.
Calling NDIS “the network card” or “the network driver” can therefore be misleading: it describes the shared software interface and architecture, while a particular adapter is managed by its own driver.
What is an NDIS network interface?
In Microsoft’s NDISIF documentation, a network interface is a software-managed interface record, not the adapter hardware itself. NDIS services maintain local interface information, support interface identifiers and properties, and define how interfaces are ordered in a stack. Microsoft’s NDIS network interface overview explains this management role.
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Interface providers can register interfaces. NDIS also supplies a proxy provider for miniport adapters and filter modules, so those drivers do not have to register as separate interface providers. A driver may register when it exposes an interface the proxy does not cover; Microsoft gives a MUX intermediate driver’s internal interfaces as an example. Microsoft’s interface-provider documentation describes the distinction.
How NDIS bindings connect components
A binding connects compatible interfaces at the upper and lower edges of driver components. The declarations identify interface types, not particular component instances; NDIS’s binding engine matches the types. For a physical adapter, the lower interface identifies the network medium, such as Ethernet. Microsoft’s binding documentation explains this arrangement.
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This is why a binding is best understood as a compatible connection in the driver stack, rather than as another name for the adapter or its interface record.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What NDIS interface identifiers do
NDIS network interface services map among local interface indexes, NET_LUID values, and friendly names, and support access to interface properties and tables. Microsoft documents that a NET_LUID persists across restarts and corresponds one-to-one with an interface index, while the index is local and does not persist after a restart. These details matter mainly when developing or managing Windows networking software. Microsoft’s interface-services documentation covers the mappings and services.
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