The Microsoft Windows Driver Kit (WDK) supports several driver models, or sets of interfaces. A driver that is designed to use a particular driver model must use the model's interfaces. The WDK supports the following driver models:

Windows Driver Model

Most Windows drivers are kernel-mode drivers that conform to the Windows Driver Model (WDM). WDM drivers use a set of interfaces that enable the driver to communicate with kernel-mode Windows components, such as the I/O manager and the Plug and Play (PnP) manager. For more information about WDM, see Windows Driver Model.

Kernel-Mode Driver Framework

Kernel-Mode Driver Framework (KMDF) is a library that you can use to create WDM drivers. KMDF provides a set of interfaces that are easier to use than WDM interfaces. For more information about KMDF, see Getting Started with Kernel-Mode Driver Framework.

User-Mode Driver Framework

User-Mode Driver Framework (UMDF) enables you to write user-mode drivers for some types of devices. If UMDF supports your device type, you should write a user-mode driver instead of a kernel-mode driver. For more information about UMDF and the types of devices that UMDF supports, see Introduction to UMDF.

Device type–specific models

Drivers for some types of devices must use a driver model that is specific to the device type. These drivers communicate with Microsoft-supplied drivers (such as kernel-mode class or port drivers or user-mode drivers) that provide their own sets of interfaces. To find out if a type-specific driver model exists for your device, see the device-type specific documentation within the Device and Driver Technologies section of the WDK documentation.

In general, you should develop a user-mode driver or application, if user-mode interfaces provide the capabilities that your driver requires. User-mode interfaces include UMDF and some technology-specific, user-mode interfaces such as WinUSB for USB devices and Windows Portable Devices (WPD) for portable devices.

The next-best choice is a KMDF-based kernel-mode driver. If your device requires a kernel-mode, device type–specific model that KMDF does not support, use the device type–specific model instead of KMDF. Finally, if no other model works for your device, you can develop a WDM-based kernel-mode driver.

Regardless of the driver model that you decide to use, you must read the technology-specific section of the WDK documentation to understand how your driver must communicate with other drivers for your device.

The following table lists some common device types and the driver models that you should typically use for those device types. Use the links under More Information to find information about the driver interfaces for each device type.

Device or Driver type	Recommended Driver Model	More Information
1394 device	Depends on device setup class: KMDF or WDM	The IEEE 1394 Driver Stack
Audio devices	AVStream, PortCls	Roadmap for Developing WDM Audio Drivers
Auxiliary display (SideShow)	Windows Portable Devices (WPD)	See WPD documentation in the WDK.
Biometric (USB)	UMDF	Roadmap for Developing Biometric Drivers
Bluetooth L2CAP	Depends on device class: KMDF or device-class-specific model such as AVStream	Bluetooth Profile Drivers Overview
Bluetooth Radio Frequency Communications (RFCOMM)	UMDF	Bluetooth Profile Drivers Overview
Cell phone, PDA, portable media player	Windows Portable Devices (WPD)	See WPD documentation in the WDK.
Digital camera	Depends on device characteristics: Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)/UMDF or WIA	Windows Image Acquisition Drivers
Display adapter	Windows Display Driver Model	Roadmap for Developing Drivers for the Windows Vista Display Driver Model
Filter, file system	File system minifilter drivers	File System Minifilter Drivers
Filter, network	Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) callout driver	Roadmap for Developing WFP Callout Drivers
Filter, other	UMDF or KMDF	Filter Drivers
Human input device (HID)	UMDF (except for mouse and keyboard) or KMDF	Windows Touch Overview General Requirements on HIDClass Drivers
Keyboard/Mouse filter	KMDF	Non-HIDClass Keyboard and Mouse Devices
Location sensors	Sensor and Location Platform	Introduction to the Sensor and Location Platform in Windows
Modem	Microsoft-supplied	Overview of Modem INF Files
Cable modem	KMDF, WDM, or NDIS-WDM
Network-connected device	UMDF	Web Services for Devices
Network adapter, USB	Remote NDIS, NDIS-KMDF	Remote NDIS (RNDIS) Creating Framework-based Miniport Drivers
Network adapter	Depends on device setup class	Using the Network Driver Design Guide
Parallel port devices	UMDF or KMDF	Introduction to Parallel Ports and Devices
PC card	Microsoft-supplied or KMDF	PCMCIA Bus Design Guide
PCI devices	Microsoft-supplied or KMDF	PCI Bus Design Guide
Printer	UniDrv, PScript, XPS	Introduction to Printing
Scanner	WIA	Windows Image Acquisition Drivers
Secure digital (SD)	Depends on device setup class: KMDF or WDM	SD Bus Design Guide
Serial port devices	UMDF or KMDF	Serial Devices and Drivers
Smart card	UMDF if USB-connected. Otherwise, KMDF.	Vendor-Supplied Smart Card Reader Drivers
Storage devices on storage buses (SCSI, ATA)	Scsiport, Storport, ATA port	Storage Devices
Touch devices	Microsoft-supplied, or KMDF	Windows Touch Overview
USB device	Depends on device setup class: WinUSB, UMDF, KMDF, or WDM	WinUSB USB Design Guide
Video capture	AVStream	Roadmap for Developing Streaming Minidrivers