Patent ID: 6026454
Filing Date: 2000-02-15
Classification: G06F

Abstract:
An apparatus, comprising: a processor; a first hardware communication link; a first driver program executed by said processor to control communications with said first hardware communication link; a second hardware communication link; a second driver program executed by said processor to control communications with said second hardware communication link; network application program means executed by said processor and capable of outputting information for and receiving information from only a single driver program, said network application program means outputting outgoing information in a predetermined format and accepting incoming information in said predetermined format, said outgoing information including address information; and further program means executed by said processor for intercepting said outgoing information from said network application program means and for supplying said outgoing information respectively to said first and second driver programs for said first and second hardware communication links when said address information therein respectively has a first value and a second value different from said first value, and for intercepting incoming information from each of said first and second driver programs for said first and second hardware communication links and for supplying said incoming information from said first and second driver programs to said network application program means with respective different address values therein which respectively correspond to said first and second hardware communication links wherein at least one of said first and second hardware communication links has a format for information which is different from said predetermined format, and wherein said further program means includes means for reformatting information passing through said further program means between said network application means and said one of said first and second hardware communication links.