Which term describes a driver that sits between hardware and software and has kernel access, sometimes called a VxD?

• A. Virtual Device Driver (VDD)
• B. User-space Driver
• C. Kernel Module
• D. Hardware Abstraction Layer

Answer: (A)

A driver that sits between hardware and software with kernel access is best described as a Virtual Device Driver. In Windows environments, these components were specifically called VxDs, running in kernel space to talk directly to hardware and provide services to software through the kernel. A user-space driver runs in user mode and cannot access hardware directly, so it doesn’t fit. A kernel module is the Unix/Linux term for a kernel- resident driver, but the Windows-specific designation here is Virtual Device Driver. The Hardware Abstraction Layer, meanwhile, sits between the OS and hardware to standardize access—not as a direct driver that interfaces with hardware.