IPortWaveRTStream::AllocateContiguousPagesForMdl method (portcls.h)

Article
10/21/2021

The AllocateContiguousPagesForMdl method allocates a list of contiguous, nonpaged, physical memory pages and returns a pointer to a memory descriptor list (MDL) that describes them.

Syntax

PMDL AllocateContiguousPagesForMdl(
  [in] PHYSICAL_ADDRESS LowAddress,
  [in] PHYSICAL_ADDRESS HighAddress,
  [in] SIZE_T           TotalBytes
);

Parameters

[in] LowAddress

Specifies the low end of the address range from which the storage for the MDL can be allocated.

[in] HighAddress

Specifies the high end of the address range from which the storage for the MDL can be allocated.

[in] TotalBytes

Specifies the total number of bytes to allocate for the MDL. This method always allocates an integral number of memory pages.

Return value

AllocateContiguousPagesForMdl returns a pointer to an MDL (PMDL) that describes a list of physical memory pages. If the method is unable to allocate the requested buffer, it returns NULL.

Remarks

The driver calls this method to allocate a block of physically contiguous memory pages. All of the physical memory pages in the MDL fall within the address range specified by the LowAddress and HighAddress parameters. If sufficient memory is available, the memory allocation is the requested size rounded up to the next page; otherwise, the call fails.

After a system has been running for some time, the system's pool of nonpaged memory tends to become fragmented, which increases the probability that a request to allocate a large block of contiguous physical memory will fail. If the DMA controller of the audio device does not require the physical memory pages to be contiguous, the driver must call IPortWaveRTStream::AllocatePagesForMdl instead. Unlike AllocateContiguousPagesForMdl, the AllocatePagesForMdl method is not affected by memory fragmentation.

The AllocateContiguousPagesforMdl method allocates memory pages that are locked (nonpaged) but unmapped. If the miniport driver requires software access to this memory, the miniport driver must make a subsequent call to IPortWaveRTStream::MapAllocatedPages to map the pages into kernel-mode address space.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Available in Windows Vista and later Windows operating systems.
Target Platform	Universal
Header	portcls.h
IRQL	Passive level