The next-generation driver model, the Microsoft Windows Driver Foundation (WDF), contains a framework for the creation of user-mode drivers. The User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF) provides a unified model that can work across device classes. This framework integrates the installation and management of the devices with standard operating system facilities, such as Plug and Play (PnP) and power management.

The UMDF is designed to support protocol device classes such as cameras and portable music players. Moving drivers for such devices into user mode can simplify the drivers and improve the overall stability of the operating system.

The UMDF is based on the same conceptual driver programming model as the Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF), which is also part of WDF. However, the two frameworks implement the model with different components, device driver interfaces (DDIs), and data structures.

The framework's library is included in the Windows Vista and later versions of the Windows Driver Kit (WDK). You can use the library, and the driver kits that include it, to develop drivers that run on Windows XP SP2 and later versions of the Windows operating system. For more information about UMDF versions, see UMDF Version Information.

The following topics introduce the UMDF: