Differences Between a Service and a Device Driver (101501)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
- Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0
This article was previously published under Q101501 SUMMARY
In Windows NT and Windows 2000, a service and a device driver have
different functions. A service is a user-mode process that implements
the Service Controller Specification. A device driver is a portion of
kernel-mode code that implements the Windows NT Driver Model
Specification.
MORE INFORMATION
There are some similarities between services and device drivers. The
Service Controller is the component of the system that controls
starting, pausing, stopping, and continuing services in the system. It
also starts and stops (loads and unloads) device drivers. The Service
Controller provides a common user interface and application programming
interface (API) for services and device drivers.
In some cases, a service is implemented as a front end for a driver. The
Workstation service, for example, is implemented as a service from the
perspective of the Service Controller. However, the service controls the
network redirector file system driver by translating the control codes
from the Service Controller into FSCTL (file system control codes) and
passing them to the redirector.
Note that the Service Controller can control services and device drivers
and it provides an API through which applications can perform the same
tasks.
| Modification Type: | Major | Last Reviewed: | 5/6/2003 |
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| Keywords: | kbinfo kbother KB101501 |
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