Computer Hardware Terms, Glossary and Dictionary

Open Data-link Interface (ODI) is an application programming interface (API) developed by Apple and Novell for writing network drivers. Like NDIS, ODI provides rules that establish a vendor-neutral interface between the protocol stack and the adapter driver. It resides in Layer 2, the Data Link layer, of the OSI model. This interface also enables one or more network drivers to support one or more protocol stacks. For example, ODI allows a computer with just one NIC to be simultaneously connected to both an IPX/SPX network and a TCP/IP network.

Related Terms

ODI: Open Data-link Interface