The Salutation Manager presents an API set to the application developer and drives the Salutation Protocol on the network. A complete Salutation Manager implementation will have a API interface coupled with a command processor for processing the API requests. It will also have a protocol generator and processor to send and receive Salutation Protocol on the network. The Salutation implementation has a registry for storing, at a minimum, the capabilities of local Functional Units. Based on implantation, this registry might also be used to cashe the capability information of devices discovered in the network. Finally, the Architecture specifies a technique for generating a unique ID for the Salutation Manager, giving it a unique identity within a network.