RAS Connection Operations

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Windows NT and later versions provide the RasPhonebookDlg and RasDialDlg functions that display the built-in user interface for starting a RAS connection operation. For most applications, this is the preferred way to start a RAS connection operation. Windows 95 does not currently support these functions.

The remainder of this section describes the low-level functions for starting a RAS connection. These functions are available on bothWindows NT 4.0 (and later versions), and Windows 95.

A RAS client application uses the RasDial function to establish a connection to a RAS server. The RasDial function starts the connection operation, which is then carried out by the Remote Access Connection Manager.

The Remote Access Connection Manager is a service that handles the details of establishing the connection to the remote server. This service also provides the client with status information during the connection operation. The Remote Access Connection Manager starts automatically when an application loads the RASAPI32.DLL.

The RasDial call specifies the following information when it starts a connection operation:

  • The connection information that the Remote Access Connection Manager needs to establish the connection.
  • An optional notification handler that receives progress notifications during the connection operation. If the RasDial call specifies a notification handler, the call is asynchronous; otherwise, it is synchronous.
  • An optional RASDIALEXTENSIONS structure to enable or disable extensions to the RasDial operation. The extensions permit a RAS client to directly enable some modem settings, to control whether RAS uses the prefixes and suffixes in a phone-book entry, and to support paused states during the connection operation.