2.1 Transport

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DirectPlay 8 Protocol messages are nominally transported over UDP by using application-specific port numbers. They are also processed by receivers that are prepared to handle DirectPlay 8 Protocol: Host and Port Enumeration Protocol messages and are distinguished from such enumeration messages by their first UDP payload byte, which is nonzero.

The DirectPlay 8 Protocol does not require usage of UDP. It MAY be implemented on any connectionless, datagram-oriented protocol. It is not required, and it is not even recommended, that the underlying transport provider natively provide reliable messaging.

The DirectPlay 8 Protocol does not negotiate transport providers. If the transport provider to be used is ambiguous, the implementation MUST provide its own mechanism for distinguishing among providers. The DirectPlay 8 Protocol assumes that all remote partners are using the same or binary-compatible transport providers.