Container IDs for PnP-X Devices

PnP extensions (PnP-X) extends Windows Plug and Play (PnP) to support devices that are connected to the computer through an IP-based network. For more information about PnP-X, refer to the PnP-X: Plug and Play Extensions for Windows.

PnP-X devices can specify a container ID as an XML element in their device metadata. Two protocols are supported:

• Device Profile for Web Services (DPWS).

  For more information about DPWS, refer to the DPWS specification.

  For more information about supporting container IDs through DPWS, see Container IDs for DPWS Devices.

• Universal PnP (UPnP).

  For more information, refer to the UPnP Device Architecture specification.

  For more information about supporting container IDs through UPnP, see Container IDs for UPnP Devices.

If a PnP-X device does not specify a container ID in the DPWS device metadata or the UPnP device description document, the PnP manager generates a container ID for the device through an algorithm specific to the protocol the device supports:

• For DPWS devices, the generated container ID is either created from the GUID in the device’s endpoint reference address (EPR) or is a SHA-1 hash of the device's EPR (if not a GUID).

• For UPnP devices, the generated container ID is the device's Unique Device Name (UDN).

  Note  In Windows 10, the PnP manager will always generate a container ID for DPWS devices by using the above algorithms, even if a container ID has been specified in the device metadata.

For devices which operate on a single bus or PnP-X protocol, the PnP-X generated container ID is sufficient.

Multiprotocol devices may want to specify a container ID. In a multiprotocol device, the same container ID would be shared on each protocol to allow Windows to group all instances of the device into one device container. In this manner, a container ID for the device can be specified through both DPWS and UPnP.