Re: [Libusb-win32-devel] Can libusb-win32 move to WDF and UMDF forWindowsXP64 and Vista ?

[Dan E. <Dan...@ne...>]

Graeme Gill wrote:
> One of the challenges facing users of libusb-win32 in the future is
> Microsoft's insistence on approving and cryptographically signing
> kernel drivers for Windows XP 64 and Vista. =20
>=20
> If libusb-win32 is to continue to be useful, then some strategy is
> needed to address these changes.=20
>=20
> One solution would be for some entity with access to Microsoft's
> signing program to take libusb-win32 under its wing, and maintain a
> signed binary version of the kernel driver. =20

Signing the driver is a bit of a non-starter since you need to sign the
inf file which needs altering for each device which is attached. Unless
someone knows different.

> On poking about in Microsoft's USB documentation, I noticed another
> possible solution. Microsoft seems to have recognized the problems
> with it's current USB driver model, and is developing a new one that
> offers a new, more universal user mode driver architecture called WDF
> and UMDF:   =20
>=20
> <http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/wdf/wdf-intro.mspx>
>=20
> Is anyone tracking their WinUSB.sys/UMDF stuff, and is it possible to
> write a libus-win32 wrapper for their UMDF, or used WinUSB.sys
> instead of libusb0.sys, bypassing the need to install a kernel driver
> on Windows XP 64 and Vista, even if it only supports a subset of
> libusb-win32 features ?   =20

That seems like the best solution for Vista to me. I've briefly played
with the user mode wrappers when hunting down a bug in libusb.

Dan.