K-N

kernel address space

A block of virtual memory that is dedicated to the use of kernel-mode code.

kernel mode

The operating mode in which the Windows core operating system and many drivers run.

kernel subsystems

Components of the Windows kernel that support core features such as Plug and Play and expose the DDI routines that allow kernel-mode drivers to interact with the system.

KMDF

Kernel-Mode Driver Framework

locking constraint

See synchronization scope.

logical address space

See device bus logical address space.

lookaside list

A KMDF object that represents a driver-created, system-managed list of fixed-size buffers that can be allocated dynamically.

manual dispatch

A queue dispatching technique in which a driver retrieves requests from a queue at its own pace by calling a method on the queue.

map register

An internal structure used during DMA to alias a device-accessible logical page to a page of physical memory.

MDL

memory descriptor list

memory descriptor list (MDL)

An opaque structure, defined by the memory manager, that uses an array of physical page frame numbers to describe the pages that contain a virtual memory range.

MSI message

The information that is passed with a message-signaled interrupt.

MSI

message-signaled interrupt

mutex

A PASSIVE_LEVEL synchronization object that provides mutually exclusive access to a shared region of memory.

neither I/O

Neither buffered nor direct I/O.

NMI

nonmaskable interrupt

nonmaskable interrupt (NMI)

An interrupt that cannot be overruled by another service request. A hardware interrupt is called nonmaskable if it bypasses and takes priority over interrupt requests generated by software, the keyboard, and other devices.

nonpaged pool

A region of kernel-space memory that is always physically resident and is never paged out to disk.

noise

PREfast messages that might not represent actual errors in code, also referred to as "false positives."

non-power-managed queue

A queue that is not managed with the respect to the Plug and Play and power state of the parent device object. Such a queue continues to dispatch requests after the device leaves the working state.

NTSTATUS

A type used to return status information by many kernel-mode routines.