TCP/IP Offload Overview

To increase its performance, the Microsoft TCP/IP transport can offload tasks or connections to a NIC that has the appropriate TCP/IP-offload capabilities.

Beginning with Windows Vista, the Windows operating system supports the following TCP/IP offload services:

• Checksum tasks

• Applications Internet protocol security (IPsec) offload version 1

• IPsec offload version 2

  • [The IPsec Task Offload feature is deprecated and should not be used.]

• Large send offload version 1

• Large send offload version 2

• Connection offload

Starting in Windows 10, version 2004, Windows also supports UDP Segmentation Offload (USO).

The TCP/IP transport that is provided beginning with Windows Vista supports TCP/IP offload services for both IPv4 and IPv6 packets.

NDIS 6.0 and later miniport drivers support TCP/IP offload services in a multiple-protocol driver environment. Multiple NDIS 6.0 and later protocol drivers that are bound to a TCP/IP offload-capable miniport adapter can configure TCP/IP offload services.

This section includes:

• Accessing TCP/IP Offload NET_BUFFER_LIST Information
• Using the TCP/IP Offload Administrator Interface
• Security Guidelines for Offload-Capable Miniport Drivers
• TCP/IP Task Offload
• Connection Offload