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Standard Driver Routine Requirements

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Keep the following points in mind when designing a kernel-mode driver:

  • Each driver must have a DriverEntry routine, which initializes driver-wide data structures and resources. The I/O manager calls the DriverEntry routine when it loads the driver.

  • Every driver must have at least one dispatch routine that receives and processes I/O request packets (IRPs). Each driver must place a dispatch routine's entry point in its DRIVER_OBJECT structure, for each IRP major function code that the driver can receive. A driver can have a separate dispatch routine for each IRP major function code, or it can have one or more dispatch routines that handle several function codes.

  • Every WDM driver must have an Unload routine. The driver must place the Unload routine's entry point in the driver's driver object. The responsibilities of a PnP driver's Unload routine are minimal, but a non-PnP driver's unload routine is responsible for releasing any system resources that the driver is using.

  • Every WDM driver must have an AddDevice routine and define its entry point in the driver extension of the driver object. An AddDevice routine is responsible for creating and initializing device objects for each PnP device the driver controls.

  • A driver can have a StartIo routine, which the I/O manager calls to start I/O operations for IRPs the driver has queued to a system-supplied IRP queue. Any driver that does not have a StartIo routine must either set up and manage internal queues for the IRPs it receives, or it must complete every IRP within its dispatch routines. Higher-level drivers might not have a StartIo routine, if they simply pass IRPs to lower-level drivers directly from their dispatch routines.

  • Certain miniport drivers are exceptions to the preceding requirements. See the device-type-specific documentation in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) for information about the requirements for miniport drivers.

  • Whether a driver has any other kind of standard routine depends on its functionality and on how that driver fits into the system (for example, whether it interoperates with system-supplied drivers). See the device-type specific documentation in the WDK for details.