This page describes common terms that are used by the Pia library.
Station
A station is just a console. Note that one station may carry multiple players.
Constant ID
The constant id uniquely identifies a station, and never changes, even across sessions. The constant id depends on the network type:
- NEX: The constant id is the same as your principal id (pid).
- LAN: The constant id is generated from your local IP address and port:
ip << 32 | port. - LDN: The constant id is generated from your MAC address:
mac[2] << 56 | mac[4] << 48 | mac[5] << 40 | mac[3] << 32 | mac[1] << 24 | mac[0] << 16.
Variable ID
The variable id uniquely identifies a station in the current session. Unlike the constant id, it may change across sessions. The variable id is just a random number that is generated at the start of the session.
Service Variable ID
Like the variable id, the service variable id uniquely identifies a station in the current session but may change across sessions. The service variable id depends on the network type:
- NEX: The services variable id is your Rendez-Vous connection id (RVCID). This is received from the server when the client registers itself with the secure connection protocol.
- LAN: The service variable id generated from your local IP address and port:
(ip & 0xFFFF) << 16 | port. - LDN: The service variable id is the CRC32 hash of your MAC address.