Use OpenVPN/Tap-Adapter to replace Windows Network Bridge functionality?

feudalnate

I'm looking for a way to bridge two network adapters without using Windows built-in network bridge or ICS. This might be a strange question but my issue is, in Windows 8/8.1 there is a bug in the Windows networking driver (ndis.sys) that does not free memory after allocation for packet pass-through - it is a serious bug that can and will consume all system memory over time and cannot be freed without restarting the operating system. This bug existed in Windows 10 for a while as well until they finally patched it but it still has yet to be addressed in Windows 8/8.1

https://msfn.org/board/topic/178096-windows-81-network-bridge-file-sharing-memory-leak/

All I'm looking to do is bond two network adapters on my PC to behave as though they are bridged. I do not want to setup any sort of VPN, just simply routing my local adapters together. I have searched for a while for alternate drivers or software that can do this without the use of the ndis.sys Windows driver and haven't had any luck.

Any advice would be appreciated

TinCanTech

Thank you for the informative thread .. it is always nice to see Microsoft is crap :mrgreen:

With regard to your question: "Can TAP-Windows adapter replace a network bridge?"

The answer is no because the driver is a NIC emulator, it does not do what a bridge does.

For alternatives,

Use Linux instead ..
Give Microsoft even more money (which they do not deserve) and update Windows.

feudalnate

Thanks for the reply, I kind of figured the answer was no but wasn't 100% certain and I have yet to find any information on how to fix this, a way to work around it or a method of replacing the functionality altogether. It's an unfortunate bug that I'm sure is just a simple mistake of not calling free/delete on a handle and would be an easy fix for Microsoft but I assume it doesn't affect enough users to warrant a fix for Win8

Again, thanks for the reply - if a moderator is reading this, feel free to close the thread