Driver Performance: Best Practices

High quality implies good performance. A driver that runs slowly or slows the entire system cannot be considered high quality.

Creating drivers for Microsoft Windows that perform well requires effort throughout design and development, not merely a "tuning" step after code is complete. Some performance guidelines apply to drivers for all types of devices. However, because device requirements vary widely, many performance enhancement techniques are device-type specific.

Performance Tips
White PaperSix Tips for Efficient Memory Use

General Performance Testing
Microsoft.comWindows Reliability and Performance Monitor

Network Driver Performance
White PaperHigh Performance Network Adapters and Drivers
White PaperQoS: Assigning Priority in IEEE 802-style Networks
Microsoft Powerpoint (.ppt)Network Driver Performance [250 KB]

See Also
White PaperAudio Device Performance and Windows XP: Best Practices for Drivers
White PaperDisk Subsystem Performance Analysis for Windows
WHDC Portal/NodalArchived White Papers
WHDC Portal/NodalSystem Performance


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