Initial Evaluation of a User-Level Device Driver Framework

Device drivers are a significant source of system instability. In this paper, we make the case for running device drivers at user-level to improve robustness and resource management. We present a framework for running drivers at user-level whose goal is to provide similar performance when compared to in-kernel drivers. We also present initial promising performance results for the framework.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: APCSAC
• Authors: Kevin Elphinstone, Stefan Götz
• Keywords: APCSAC 2004, Computer Architecture, Device Drivers, In-kernel Drivers, Initial Promising Performance