Windows 2000 I/O Model
The I/O subsystem, a part of the Windows 2000 Executive, handles the flow of bits between the system and hardware. The general features of the I/O model are the following:
The I/O subsystem provides a consistent interface to all drivers.
I/O operations are layered. A request for I/O might be routed through several drivers before being filled.
Drivers are object-based, just like everything else in the system.
I/O is packet-based. The I/O Request Packet, or IRP, is the consistent "work order" for requesting I/O from all devices.
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