Kernel-Mode Driver Framework
Driver framework by Microsoft
The Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF) is a driver framework developed by Microsoft as a tool to aid driver developers create and maintain kernel mode device drivers for Windows 2000 and later releases. It is one of the frameworks included in the Windows Driver Frameworks.
01Relationship to WDM
In general, KMDF supports drivers that were written for the Windows Driver Model, and it runs on WDM. WDM is the driver model used since the advent of Windows 98, whereas KMDF is the driver framework Microsoft advocates and uses for Windows 2000 and beyond.
In general, since more features like power management and plug and play are handled by the KMDF framework, a KMDF driver is less complicated and has less code than an equivalent WDM driver.
KMDF is object-based and built on top of WDM. It provides an object-based perspective to WDM, following the architectural mandate of its superset, WDF. The functionality is contained in different types of objects. KMDF implementation consists of:
- plug and play and power management
- I/O queues
- Direct memory access (DMA)
- Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)
- Synchronization
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Kernel-Mode Driver Framework”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.