mars-nwe/REDESIGN.md

mars-nwe NCP dispatch redesign notes

This file collects design notes for a possible cleanup of the internal NCP handoff path. It is intentionally separate from TODO.md: the TODO file should track concrete bugs and endpoint audit follow-ups, while this file describes a larger architecture direction that can be implemented gradually.

The goal is not to rewrite MARS-NWE at once. The goal is to make the current handoff behavior explicit, reduce ambiguity around magic return values, and make future endpoint work easier to audit against the Novell/Micro Focus SDK, WebSDK, and NDK Core Protocols PDF.

Current problem

The current NCP path grew around several cooperating processes and handlers:

• nwconn.c owns the connection/session side and receives most packets first.
• nwbind.c handles bindery, queue, some server-management, and some final reply construction.
• Other modules such as semaphore, message, namespace, AFP, file, salvage, and queue code implement individual protocol families or backend actions.
• Some calls are handled completely in nwconn.c.
• Some calls are forwarded to nwbind.c by returning -1 from the nwconn.c dispatcher.
• Some calls are forwarded with saved request state by returning -2, so that nwconn.c can do post-processing after nwbind.c has replied.
• Some forwarded paths mutate request payloads before handoff.
• Some code paths build responses locally, while other paths rely on the target process to build the final completion code and payload.

This works, but it is hard to reason about while auditing endpoint layouts. The same looking value can mean different things depending on which file it appears in. For example, return(-1) in the relevant nwconn.c dispatcher path means "forward this request to nwbind". A disabled return(-1) inside a #if 0 block in nwbind.c does not have that forwarding meaning and should not be copied into active code.

The visible symptoms are:

• endpoint documentation must follow a handoff across files before it can say the request or reply layout is known;
• missing endpoints are difficult to distinguish from forwarded endpoints;
• request parsing, backend behavior, reply encoding, and process routing are often mixed in one switch block;
• byte order differences are easy to miss because parsing and reply writing are open-coded in different places;
• disabled future stubs can look like active dispatch behavior;
• TODO.md can become a dumping ground for architectural observations that are not immediate endpoint bugs.

Desired shape

A cleaner long-term structure would have one small internal NCP dispatch layer:

wire packet
  -> NCP envelope parser
  -> NcpContext
  -> endpoint lookup
  -> endpoint handler / provider
  -> reply encoder
  -> central reply sender

This does not need to be a general-purpose message bus. A full message bus would probably be too large and too abstract for this code base. A typed internal NCP context plus explicit dispatch results would be enough.

The important separation is:

1. decode the packet envelope;
2. identify the endpoint;
3. decode the endpoint request body;
4. execute the backend operation;
5. encode the endpoint reply body;
6. send the response from one well-defined place.

Proposed NCP context

Introduce, in a later functional cleanup, a small context object that represents one NCP request while it moves through the server. The exact field names should fit the existing code style, but the conceptual shape would be:

typedef struct {
  int connection;

  uint16_t request_type;        /* 0x2222, 0x3333, 0x5555, ... */
  uint8_t function;             /* top-level NCP function */

  /*
   * Some NCP families are only one level deep, but others are nested.
   * The selector path records the bytes/words that identify the logical
   * operation after the top-level function, without pretending that every
   * family has exactly one byte-sized subfunction.
   */
  int selector_count;
  uint32_t selector[4];         /* e.g. subfunction, level, verb, info type */

  const uint8_t *request;
  int request_len;

  uint8_t *reply;
  int reply_cap;
  int reply_len;

  uint8_t completion;
  uint8_t connection_status;

  uint32_t flags;
} NcpContext;

The context should not replace all old globals in one patch. It can start as a thin wrapper around the existing request and response buffers, then gradually become the preferred handler interface.

The useful property is that endpoint documentation can point to a stable model:

• function identifies the first NCP selector byte;
• selector[] identifies any nested selector path after that byte;
• request and request_len are the bytes after the already-decoded envelope;
• reply and reply_len are the bytes before the common NCP response envelope;
• completion is set once by the handler or by central error handling.

Do not assume that the logical endpoint key always stops at request_type/function/subfunction. The Novell documentation has several families where an endpoint has another selector inside the subfunction payload. Examples include NDS fragmented requests (0x2222/104/02) where the request contains a 32-bit NDS verb, statistical calls such as 0x2222/123/34 where an InfoLevelNumber selects the returned structure, NCP extension calls where the extension number is dynamic, and reply formats that vary by information type. The audit notation for such cases should make the nesting explicit, for example 0x2222/104/02 verb=... or 0x2222/123/34 level=2, instead of flattening it into an invented one-byte zz case.

Replace magic return values with named results

The current 0, -1, and -2 convention should be made explicit before any larger refactor. The first step can be documentation-only or macro-only:

#define NCP_LOCAL_DONE             0
#define NCP_FORWARD_NWBIND        -1
#define NCP_FORWARD_NWBIND_POST   -2

A later cleanup can replace those with an enum:

typedef enum {
  NCP_DISPATCH_DONE,
  NCP_DISPATCH_FORWARD_BIND,
  NCP_DISPATCH_FORWARD_BIND_POST,
  NCP_DISPATCH_NOT_IMPLEMENTED,
  NCP_DISPATCH_BAD_REQUEST,
  NCP_DISPATCH_INTERNAL_ERROR
} NcpDispatchResult;

The important rule is that the meaning must be scoped. A named result returned from a nwconn.c dispatcher may request process handoff. A return statement in nwbind.c should not silently inherit that meaning unless the function is explicitly part of the same dispatch interface.

Endpoint table as audit index first

Before replacing switch statements, add an endpoint inventory table as a non-invasive audit aid. It can be compiled only for debug builds or kept as a source-level documentation table.

Conceptual form:

typedef struct {
  uint16_t request_type;
  uint8_t function;
  int selector_count;
  uint32_t selector[4];
  const char *selector_note;
  const char *name;
  const char *provider;
  uint32_t flags;
} NcpEndpointDoc;

Example entries:

{ 0x2222, 23, 1, { 109 }, "subfunction", "Change Queue Job Entry old", "nwbind/queue", NCPDOC_FORWARDED },
{ 0x2222, 32, 1, {   0 }, "subfunction", "Open Semaphore old",         "sema",         NCPDOC_LOCAL },
{ 0x2222, 33, 0, {   0 }, NULL,          "Negotiate Buffer Size",      "nwconn",       NCPDOC_LOCAL },

/* Later NetWare 4.x examples that need more than one logical selector. */
{ 0x2222, 104, 2, { 2, 0 }, "subfunction + NDS verb", "Send NDS Fragmented Request/Reply", "nwnds", NCPDOC_FUTURE },
{ 0x2222, 123, 2, { 34, 2 }, "subfunction + info level", "Get Volume Information by Level", "servermgmt", NCPDOC_FUTURE },

This table would help with the ongoing endpoint audit:

• SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed and implemented;
• SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed and forwarded;
• SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed but disabled as a future stub;
• SDK/PDF/WebSDK listed but absent from the current compatibility target;
• later NetWare 4.x/OES/MOAB endpoint, not part of the default NetWare 3.x compatibility target.

The first version should not drive runtime dispatch. It should only make review and missing-endpoint checks less error-prone.

The table should be able to represent a selector path rather than only a single subfunction. This matters for later NetWare 4.x families and for extension mechanisms. The first selector element is usually the documented subfunction byte, but later elements may be 16-bit or 32-bit fields from the request body, not dispatch bytes in the classic switch sense. Treat them as layout selectors, not as automatic nested switch cases unless the code actually dispatches on them.

Handler structure

For newly touched endpoint families, prefer the following logical split even if it remains in one C function at first:

request decode
  -> validation
  -> backend operation
  -> reply encode

For complex endpoints this could become explicit helper functions:

static int decode_foo(NcpContext *ctx, FooRequest *out);
static int exec_foo(NcpContext *ctx, const FooRequest *req, FooReply *reply);
static void encode_foo(NcpContext *ctx, const FooReply *reply);

This is especially useful for endpoint families where the audit has already found old/new layout differences:

• 16-bit old queue job numbers versus newer 32-bit job numbers;
• big-endian versus little-endian SDK notation;
• old short replies versus newer long replies;
• connection-side prehandling that inserts or rewrites fields;
• bindery or queue paths that build final replies in a different process.

Small endpoints do not need three separate helper functions if that would make the code noisier. The rule is that request bytes and reply bytes should be easy to identify and compare with the SDK documents.

Make handoff explicit

Forwarded calls should say exactly what is handed off. A good comment should answer:

• which bytes are forwarded;
• whether the subfunction byte is preserved or stripped;
• whether nwconn.c mutates the request before forwarding;
• whether nwbind.c or another provider builds the final reply;
• whether nwconn.c expects post-processing after the provider reply.

Examples of handoff cases that need this clarity:

• Queue calls where nwconn.c expands paths or inserts job file handles before nwbind.c sees the request.
• Quota/bindery prehandling where the destination handler receives an already transformed request.
• Semaphore and message groups that are grouped in the SDK but routed through local helper modules.
• Direct lifecycle calls such as End Of Job and Logout where local cleanup and final success reply are split across files.

The preferred future style is not "nwbind must do the rest" but something like:

Forward to nwbind with the original subfunction byte and payload unchanged.
No nwconn post-processing is expected; nwbind builds the completion-only reply.

or:

Forward to nwbind after saving the original request.  nwbind validates bindery
state and returns the bindery result; nwconn then performs the file-handle
post-processing in handle_after_bind().

Response building rule

Every endpoint audit should identify the reply builder, not only the request parser. A handler is not fully documented until the response path is known.

For each endpoint family, record:

• completion-only reply;
• fixed-size payload reply;
• variable-length payload reply;
• provider-built reply;
• nwconn.c post-processed reply;
• intentionally unsupported reply status.

Long-term, response sending should become centralized enough that endpoint code only encodes payload bytes and a completion code. This reduces off-by-one reply length bugs and makes the logs easier to normalize.

Provider boundaries

A clean design would treat the existing modules as providers instead of hidden fallback paths:

nwconn       connection/session, packet IO, top-level envelope
ncpdispatch  endpoint lookup, handoff policy, common errors
nwbind       bindery database and bindery-backed services
queue        queue metadata and print/backend adapter
sema         semaphore state
message      station/message/broadcast state
namespace    path, directory handle, name-space operations
file         file handle and read/write/open/close operations
salvage      deleted-file scan/recover/purge backend
AFP          AFP metadata and AFP namespace adapter

This is a design target, not a demand to move files immediately. The important part is that future code should avoid making nwbind a catch-all sink for unrelated NCPs just because it already has an IPC path.

Provider boundary versus process boundary

A provider boundary is not the same thing as a Unix process boundary. This is an important distinction because splitting every NCP family into a separate process would make the server harder to debug and could introduce new ordering, locking, and reply-ownership bugs.

The preferred rule is:

first define logical providers;
only later promote the few large stateful providers to separate processes.

A logical provider can start as an ordinary C module called from the existing process path. It becomes valuable as soon as the dispatch table can say "this endpoint belongs to the queue provider" or "this endpoint belongs to the connection-local provider", even if no new process exists yet. A process split should be treated as an implementation detail that is only justified when the provider has enough independent state and lifecycle to benefit from isolation.

This keeps the redesign incremental:

now:
  nwconn switch -> existing local code or nwbind handoff

first cleanup:
  nwconn switch -> provider-named helper/module

later, only where useful:
  nwconn/dispatcher -> IPC -> provider process

Good process candidates

Bindery

Bindery is already a natural service boundary. It owns long-lived server state: objects, properties, sets, security, password/login/key handling, and object lookup. Keeping bindery behind a clear provider boundary is appropriate, and the existing nwbind process can remain that boundary while the dispatch layer is cleaned up.

The main cleanup is not to remove nwbind, but to stop treating it as a generic catch-all for unrelated forwarded requests. A future endpoint table should mark true bindery calls as bindery, and queue or management calls should not be classified as bindery merely because their current implementation lives in nwbind.c.

Queue / possible nwqueue

Queue management is the strongest candidate for a future separate process after bindery. Queue handling has its own domain state:

• queue objects and queue metadata;
• queue job lifecycle;
• queue server attach/detach state;
• service, finish, and abort state;
• job position and priority;
• client-rights transitions during job servicing;
• queue directories and spool/job files.

That is large enough to deserve a logical queue provider even before any runtime split. A future nwqueue process can be considered once request/reply ownership and bindery access are explicit.

The first step should only be a provider split:

0x2222/23 queue subfunctions -> queue provider
queue provider -> bindery provider/library for object/security/property checks
queue provider -> file/path helpers for queue job files

A real nwqueue process should not be created by simply moving the current queue cases out of nwbind.c. It needs an explicit contract for:

• which process owns the final NCP reply;
• how queue calls read bindery objects and properties;
• how queue job files are opened and handed back to the connection process;
• how connection cleanup affects attached queue servers and in-service jobs;
• how old 16-bit job-number calls and newer 32-bit job-number calls are kept compatible.

Until those contracts are clear, nwqueue should remain a design target, not an immediate functional change.

Possible but risky process candidates

File and volume subsystem

The file/volume/name-space area is large and stateful, so it can look like a candidate for a separate process. It owns or touches directory handles, file handles, locks, trustee evaluation, volume information, name spaces, salvage and purge operations, and Unix filesystem mapping.

However, this area is also tightly coupled to connection state and existing file descriptor ownership. Moving it behind IPC too early could create more problems than it solves. The safer path is:

first:  file/volume/name-space provider modules inside the current process model
later:  consider a process split only after handle ownership is explicit

A file provider boundary is useful for documentation and dispatch cleanup. A separate file process is optional and should be considered high-risk.

Accounting

Accounting is a maybe. It has a separate protocol domain, but in many setups it may be small enough to stay as an in-process provider. A process boundary only makes sense if accounting grows into a real persistent service with charges, holds, notes, audit records, and recovery behavior that should be isolated from connection handlers.

Poor process candidates

Semaphore

Semaphore calls should have a clean provider boundary, but a dedicated process is probably overkill. The old semaphore group is small: open, examine, wait, signal, and close. It needs shared state, but not necessarily a standalone process. A sema provider module with clear request/reply ownership should be enough unless later testing shows that cross-connection semaphore state cannot be managed safely in the existing process model.

Connection lifecycle and session-local calls

Connection lifecycle operations should stay with nwconn or a connection-local provider. Calls such as Logout, End Of Job, watchdog handling, buffer negotiation, and connection-state cleanup are fundamentally tied to the session that received the packet. Moving them into another process would make cleanup ordering and error handling harder.

Simple server-management calls

Simple management and information calls should not become their own process. Examples include login-status queries, server description strings, server time, console-privilege checks, and small broadcast/control helpers. These can be represented as a servermgmt provider for dispatch clarity, but they should stay in-process unless a specific call requires an existing backend service.

Suggested provider map

The endpoint audit table should be able to use provider names like these:

local          packet/session-local handling in nwconn
bindery        object/property/security/login backend
queue          queue objects, jobs, queue servers, spool/job lifecycle
filesystem     file, directory, volume, namespace, trustee, salvage helpers
semaphore      semaphore state and old 0x2222/32 calls
message        station messaging and broadcast helpers
servermgmt     small server-management and information calls
accounting     account status, charges, holds, notes
AFP            AFP namespace and metadata helpers
unknown        documented but not yet mapped

Only some providers should ever become processes:

already process-like:  bindery / nwbind
likely future process: queue / possible nwqueue
maybe, high risk:     filesystem
usually in-process:   semaphore, message, servermgmt, accounting, AFP helpers

The practical design rule is:

Use provider names everywhere in documentation and endpoint tables.
Use new processes only where shared state, isolation, and lifecycle justify the
extra IPC complexity.

Future NetWare 4.x directory, LDAP, and storage direction

NetWare 4.x support should not be added by letting nwbind grow into a second large catch-all service. The long-term directory design should keep the legacy Bindery, the future NDS compatibility layer, and the LDAP protocol frontend as separate logical layers above one shared directory store.

The intended naming model is:

libflaim
  persistent embedded database engine

libdirectory
  shared internal directory API/library used by nwbind, nwnds, nwdirectory,
  and setup/provisioning tools
  owns the mars-nwe object model, schema helpers, indexes, ACL/auth
  primitives, and persistence glue above libflaim

directory core/store
  the data model and persistent store exposed through libdirectory
  persists its data through libflaim

nwdirectory
  mars-nwe service name for the integrated tinyldap-derived LDAP service
  owns LDAP/LDAPS/StartTLS protocol handling
  uses wolfSSL only at the LDAP network/TLS edge
  calls the directory core/store, not Bindery or NDS packet handlers

nwnds
  future NetWare 4.x/NDS compatibility layer
  owns NDS/NCP directory semantics, contexts, tree-oriented operations,
  NetWare-specific rights/auth behavior, and later compatibility glue
  calls the directory core/store directly

nwbind
  legacy NetWare 2.x/3.x Bindery compatibility layer
  maps Bindery objects, properties, sets, security, and login-visible behavior
  onto the shared directory core/store where possible

In this model, nwdirectory is not a separate design from tinyldap. It is the mars-nwe integration name for the tinyldap-derived LDAP directory service, so that the installed binary/module follows the existing nw* naming scheme. The upstream tinyldap code can provide the LDAP protocol implementation, but the project-facing component should be named nwdirectory.

libdirectory is the important internal boundary. It should be a real shared API/library, not just a documentation label, because both nwbind and future nwnds need directory data without speaking LDAP to each other. The library can start small, but it should provide the common operations that legacy Bindery, NDS compatibility, LDAP, and setup code all need:

dir_open_store();
dir_close_store();
dir_txn_begin();
dir_txn_commit();
dir_txn_abort();
dir_object_create();
dir_object_delete();
dir_object_lookup_by_id();
dir_object_lookup_by_name();
dir_object_search();
dir_attr_get();
dir_attr_set();
dir_attr_delete();
dir_acl_check();
dir_auth_verify();
dir_schema_get();

The exact function names are placeholders, but the ownership rule is important: NetWare protocol handlers should call a directory API, not encode LDAP requests to reach local server state. If nwdirectory later runs as a separate process, libdirectory can either remain the shared embedded store library or define the internal IPC contract. In both cases the protocol layers still depend on the directory API, not on LDAP text/protocol behavior.

nwnds should remain a separate layer because LDAP is only one protocol view of the directory. NDS has NetWare-specific semantics that should not be forced into the LDAP frontend. Conversely, LDAP clients should not be required to pass through the NDS/NCP compatibility handler just to reach the directory database. The preferred relationship is sibling frontends above one core:

                         +----------------------+
                         | directory core/store |
                         | backed by libflaim   |
                         +----------+-----------+
                                    ^
                    +---------------+---------------+
                    |                               |
              nwdirectory                         nwnds
       tinyldap-based LDAP/LDAPS          NetWare 4.x/NDS semantics
       frontend, wolfSSL TLS edge         NCP/NDS compatibility layer
                    ^                               ^
                    |                               |
              LDAP clients                 NetWare/NDS clients

The legacy Bindery service should also move toward this shared store over time:

NetWare 3.x client -> Bindery NCP -> nwbind -> directory core/store -> libflaim
LDAP client        -> LDAP/LDAPS -> nwdirectory -> directory core/store -> libflaim
NetWare 4.x client -> NDS/NCP    -> nwnds -> directory core/store -> libflaim

That means nwbind should become a compatibility mapping over directory objects and attributes instead of maintaining a completely separate long-term identity truth. This is especially important once NetWare 4.x/NDS support exists, because Bindery compatibility can then be implemented as a legacy view of the same underlying users, groups, properties, and rights data.

The internal path should not be:

nwbind -> LDAP protocol -> nwdirectory -> directory store
nwnds  -> LDAP protocol -> nwdirectory -> directory store

Using LDAP as the mandatory internal storage API would mix protocol concerns into server internals, make old Bindery behavior harder to preserve, and add needless encoding/search semantics between tightly coupled modules. LDAP should remain an external protocol frontend. nwbind, nwnds, and nwdirectory should all use libdirectory, or a clearly defined IPC protocol modeled after the same directory API, to reach the directory store.

FLAIM should therefore be treated as the long-term persistent storage engine for the directory core, not as an LDAP-only database. libdirectory owns the schema, object model, indexes, transactions, ACL checks, and authentication primitives that the protocol/provider layers need. nwdirectory exposes those objects through LDAP; nwnds exposes them through NDS semantics; nwbind exposes them through legacy Bindery calls.

A separate setup/provisioning tool should own initial population of this store. The proposed project-facing name is nwsetup, matching the nw* naming scheme. Its job is not to be another protocol server. It should create or migrate the initial directory database through libdirectory directly:

nwsetup -> libdirectory -> libflaim

Examples of setup-owned work:

• create an empty directory store;
• initialize the base tree, root/container objects, and default schema;
• create initial admin/server/service objects;
• create Bindery compatibility objects and properties needed by NetWare 2.x/3.x clients;
• import or migrate an existing mars-nwe Bindery database when that becomes practical;
• set initial passwords/secrets using the same authentication primitives that nwbind, nwnds, and nwdirectory will use at runtime;
• validate or repair indexes before the server starts.

nwsetup should not fill the database by acting as an LDAP client to nwdirectory. LDAP import/export can be useful for interoperability later, but the local bootstrap path should avoid requiring a running LDAP server and should not make LDAP the canonical internal representation.

Kerberos should not be part of this initial design. Classic NetWare 4.x/NDS compatibility should focus on native NDS-style authentication and directory semantics. If a later eDirectory/NMAS compatibility effort ever needs Kerberos, it should be considered a separate future authentication-provider topic, not a requirement for the nwdirectory/nwnds/nwbind split.

The migration path should be conservative:

1. add the design boundary and naming notes first;
2. import or integrate tinyldap under the project-facing nwdirectory name;
3. keep wolfSSL confined to the LDAP/LDAPS/StartTLS network edge;
4. introduce libdirectory before making Bindery depend on it;
5. add nwsetup as the direct bootstrap/provisioning tool for the initial libflaim-backed directory store;
6. map selected nwbind objects/properties to libdirectory only after the legacy behavior is documented;
7. add nwnds later as an NDS semantic layer, not as an LDAP wrapper;
8. only then consider replacing private Bindery persistence with libflaim-backed directory storage.

This keeps the future NetWare 4.x work aligned with the provider/process split: nwdirectory, nwnds, and nwbind may be separate processes or modules, but they should not be separate sources of truth for identity and directory data.

Transport split for future TCP/IP support

Future TCP/IP support should be introduced as a transport code/library split, not as a new daemon. The transport layer is below the NCP dispatcher: it owns wire IO, peer addressing, framing, and transport-specific discovery or watchdog behavior. It does not own Bindery, Queue, Directory, File, Semaphore, or other NCP provider semantics.

The intended source-level split is:

src/nwtransport.c
  common transport API and helpers
  transport-neutral peer/session descriptors
  dispatch to the selected transport implementation

src/nwipx.c
  existing IPX-specific implementation
  ipxAddr_t conversion and compatibility helpers
  IPX socket send/receive
  SAP/RIP, IPX watchdog, and IPX broadcast behavior where applicable

src/nwtcp.c
  later TCP/IP implementation
  TCP listener/session/framing code
  IPv4/IPv6 peer address handling
  no SAP/RIP assumptions

src/nwconn.c
  NCP session logic
  request decode, dispatch handoff, reply construction
  should gradually use transport-neutral peer/session data

src/nwserv.c
  process supervision and connection lifecycle
  uses the transport layer for listener and peer management

These files should be linked into the existing nwserv/nwconn process model. nwtransport is a boundary in the code, not an nwtransport process. Creating a separate transport daemon would add an IPC hop for every NCP packet, complicate disconnect/error handling, and make TCP stream ownership harder without adding a clear NetWare service boundary.

The long-term direction is to remove raw IPX assumptions from higher layers. Today, the connection path still exposes ipxAddr_t in important places. A future cleanup should introduce a transport-neutral peer descriptor, for example conceptually:

typedef enum {
  NW_TRANSPORT_IPX,
  NW_TRANSPORT_TCP
} NwTransportKind;

typedef struct {
  NwTransportKind kind;
  union {
    ipxAddr_t ipx;
    struct {
      unsigned char addr[16];
      unsigned short port;
      unsigned char family;
    } tcp;
  } u;
} NwTransportPeer;

The exact structure should follow the existing mars-nwe style, but the ownership rule is the important part: NCP providers should not care whether a request came from IPX or TCP/IP. They should see a connection/session and an NCP request, not a raw network address type.

The transport API can start small. Useful conceptual operations are:

nwtransport_peer_equal();
nwtransport_peer_to_string();
nwtransport_recv();
nwtransport_send();
nwtransport_close_peer();
nwtransport_peer_kind();

As with the NCP context design, these names are placeholders. The first implementation can wrap the existing IPX behavior and leave TCP stubs out until there is a real TCP/IP target. The goal is to stop new code from spreading ipxAddr_t into providers that should remain transport-independent.

IPX-specific behavior must remain isolated. SAP/RIP, IPX broadcast, and the existing IPX watchdog behavior are compatibility details of the IPX transport or its immediate nwserv integration. TCP/IP should not be forced to emulate IPX SAP/RIP internally. If TCP/IP later needs discovery or service advertisement, that should be designed as a TCP/IP-specific mechanism rather than hidden behind old IPX-only assumptions.

The intended relationship is therefore:

IPX client  -> nwipx  -> nwtransport -> nwconn -> NCP dispatcher -> providers
TCP client  -> nwtcp  -> nwtransport -> nwconn -> NCP dispatcher -> providers

The provider/process rule still applies:

Provider boundary does not imply process boundary.
Transport boundary does not imply process boundary either.

Good future cleanup sequence:

1. document the current IPX ownership in nwserv.c and nwconn.c;
2. add nwtransport.c/transport headers as wrappers around existing IPX paths;
3. move IPX-only helpers into nwipx.c without behavior changes;
4. gradually replace raw ipxAddr_t use in session-neutral code with a transport-neutral peer/session descriptor;
5. keep NCP providers and the endpoint audit table transport-independent;
6. add nwtcp.c only after the IPX wrapper boundary is stable.

This keeps TCP/IP support compatible with the broader redesign: transport IO is separated from NCP semantics, but the existing nwserv/nwconn process model remains intact.

Logging connection

The dispatch redesign also supports the desired log cleanup. If every request has a context, logs can consistently include:

INFO NCP 23/109 DISPATCH type=0x2222 fn=0x17 sub=0x6d provider=nwbind/queue
INFO NCP 32/0 REPLY type=0x2222 fn=0x20 sub=0x00 result=0x00 len=4
WARN NCP 23/130 LAYOUT-MISMATCH sdk="32-bit JobNumber" code="16-bit parser"

The logging cleanup should still reuse existing mars-nwe logging functions. Do not add a second logging subsystem just to support the dispatch cleanup.

Migration plan

Phase 1: Name the existing conventions

Low risk. No behavior change.

• Add named constants or comments for the current 0, -1, and -2 dispatcher results.
• Keep existing control flow unchanged.
• Update comments so return(-1) is never described ambiguously outside the exact dispatcher where it is meaningful.

Phase 2: Add an endpoint audit table

Low risk. Mostly documentation/debug.

• Add a table of known endpoints by request type, function, and subfunction.
• Mark provider, generation bucket, and implementation state.
• Use it to compare SDK/PDF/WebSDK coverage against actual handlers.
• Do not switch runtime dispatch to the table yet.

Phase 3: Introduce a thin NcpContext

Moderate risk if kept small.

• Wrap existing request and reply buffers without changing ownership.
• Use the context only in newly audited or newly implemented handlers.
• Keep old handlers callable until they are touched for another reason.

Phase 4: Convert small endpoint families first

Moderate risk, easy to test.

Good candidates:

• 0x2222/32 old Semaphore calls;
• direct calls such as End Of Job, Logout, and Negotiate Buffer Size;
• small message/station groups once their handoff has been audited.

Avoid converting queue and bindery first because they have more process coupling and more old/new layout variants.

Phase 5: Move runtime dispatch to tables gradually

Higher risk. Do this only after enough endpoint families have stable audit coverage and tests.

• Keep switch wrappers during the transition.
• Convert one family at a time.
• Preserve exact completion codes and reply lengths.
• Add targeted smoke tests for any family whose dispatch path changes.

Non-goals

This redesign should not:

• change protocol behavior merely to match a cleaner abstraction;
• remove NetWare 1.x/2.x/3.x compatibility paths;
• enable NetWare 4.x/OES/MOAB-only endpoints by default;
• replace existing mars-nwe path, bindery, queue, AFP, trustee, or salvage backends with parallel databases;
• add a large external message bus dependency;
• rewrite all handlers in one patch;
• turn documentation-only endpoint audit patches into functional refactors.

Practical rule for future patches

For the ongoing endpoint documentation pass, keep doing the conservative thing:

1. enumerate SDK/PDF/WebSDK/include endpoints for the family;
2. compare them with actual case labels and forwarded destination handlers;
3. document missing, disabled, implemented, and later-generation slots;
4. document request parser/handoff and response builder;
5. record real layout differences, but do not change behavior in the same patch.

Functional cleanup should come later in small patches with tests.