Windows Kernel-Mode DMA Library

To enhance performance, a device may need direct access to memory in a way that bypasses the central processing unit (CPU). This technology is called direct memory access (DMA). Windows provides a DMA library for device driver developers.

For more information about DMA for drivers, see DMA Programming Techniques.

For a listing of DMA routines, see Direct Memory Access (DMA) Library Routines.

Note that DMA is a technology for communicating directly between device and memory and is not the same as Device Memory Access, which is a set of macros provided to read and write to I/O ports and CPU registers.