1. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of instructions for controlling communications between one or more network devices, which instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to carry out the steps of: transferring a communication through an upper protocol stack wherein the upper protocol stack is operable by application software, transferring the communication through an interchange layer between the upper protocol stack and a lower protocol stack, transferring the communication through the lower protocol stack wherein the lower protocol stack is operable by operating system software, wherein the upper protocol stack comprises one or more of a data transfer protocol, and wherein the data transfer protocol processes communications based upon values found in classification fields within the communication.