dlpid(1M)

dlpid -- DLPI daemon

Synopsis

/usr/sbin/dlpid

Description

NOTE: This description only applies to UnixWare^® up to Release 7.1.1. UnixWare 7 Release 7.2 uses the nddmdid daemon to replace dlpid as well as performing other functions.

The dlpid daemon is called from the nd(1M) network driver start/stop script to link an instance of the common DLPI (Data Link Provider Interface) module to each MDI (MAC Driver Interface) driver instance using I_LINK STREAMS ioctls.

The DLPI module provides common media-dependent services:

MAC (Media Access Control) frame multiplexing and de-multiplexing.
LLC Class 1, a common low-level networking protocol that is used by IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, and OSI. It is required by SNAP.
SNAP (Sub Network Access Protocol), a low-level networking protocol that enables Ethernet-oriented stacks (such as TCP/IP) to run on non-Ethernet networks.
source routing, a low-level networking protocol used by ring topology networks (such as Token Ring and FDDI) to enable frames to traverse multiple connected rings.

The MDI drivers are specific to network adapter types; they simply pass STREAMS message blocks between the DLPI module and the adapter, queuing frames before transmission if the hardware is busy.

The dlpid daemon is started in the background by /etc/nd start and remains active while the system is in multi user mode. dlpid opens the DLPI and MDI device files, and keeps them linked and ready for protocol stack use.

The dlpid pipe is /etc/inst/nd/dlpidPIPE.

References

mdi(7), nd(1M), streamio(7)