Developing OS-Independent Network Bridging Functionality via Internal Windows APIs

The client’s existing product heavily relied on programmatically created network bridges via Windows OS APIs. However, starting with Windows 8, support for such functionalities was removed, threatening the product’s core capabilities. This required urgent architectural rework, but no official interfaces for network bridge creation in newer Windows versions were available, hindering compatibility and support timelines.

A mid-sized telecommunications company specializing in network infrastructure and software solutions, facing challenges in maintaining network bridging capabilities with evolving Windows OS platforms.

• Implement reliable functionality for creating and managing network bridges directly through internal Windows APIs, bypassing deprecated or unsupported OS interfaces.
• Achieve support for Windows versions starting from Windows 8 and onwards within a tight development timeframe of weeks.
• Prevent the need for extensive architecture rework by leveraging reverse engineering techniques to identify internal Windows APIs.
• Enhance product stability and reduce development costs associated with OS upgrades.
• Ensure the solution supports rapid deployment and integration within the existing product architecture.

• Reverse engineering of internal Windows APIs responsible for network bridging functionalities.
• A hardware and OS version-agnostic interface for creating, deleting, and managing network bridges.
• Automatic detection and adaptation to different Windows OS versions starting from Windows 8.
• Robust error handling, logging, and reporting mechanisms for network bridge operations.
• Seamless integration with existing network configuration modules.

• Windows OS network configuration subsystems
• Existing network management modules within the product
• System logging and monitoring tools

• Operation performance within milliseconds for bridge creation/deletion
• High reliability with 99.9% uptime for network bridging functions
• Security—minimal impact on system security and integrity during API manipulations
• Scalability to support multiple concurrent network bridges
• Compatibility across multiple Windows versions starting from Windows 8

By leveraging internal Windows APIs obtained through reverse engineering, the client aims to maintain and extend core network bridging capabilities across modern Windows platforms within weeks, avoiding extensive architecture rework. This approach will enable rapid deployment, reduce development costs, improve product stability, and ensure continued support for changing OS environments, ultimately enhancing competitiveness and customer satisfaction.