System for enabling first computer to communicate over switched network with second computer located within LAN by using media access control driver in different modes

摘要

A plurality of media access control drivers are coupled to and provide a respective channel to connect a computer and the switched network. Each media access control driver has a first mode in which a connection is established in the switched network and a second mode in which the local area network protocol is passed over the switched network. The media access control drivers may also be placed in a third and fourth mode which allow communication in an unformatted and non-LAN based protocol. The architecture also includes at least one port connection manager which manages one of the channels when the respective media access control driver is in the first mode and a connection manager to manage a status of the connection. The media access control drivers are coupled to a protocol driver to send messages in the local area network protocol when the media access control drivers are in the second mode. Each of the media access control drivers include a table of parameters which describe the channel and a set of entry points to the channel. A protocol manager catalogs the tables for use by other modules.