1. Windows Graphics Architecture
4/20/2017 8:11 AM
Windows Graphics Architecture
Leonardo Blanco
Development Lead
Desktop and Graphics Team
Microsoft Corporation
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

2. Session Outline Windows graphics big picture
Windows Display Driver Model
Rendering APIs (D3D, OpenGL, GDI)
Device APIs (DXGI)
Media APIs (DirectX Video Acceleration)
Presentation APIs (WPF)
Desktop Window Manager

3. The Vision
Windows delivers unparalleled graphics and multimedia experience in all application areas
Games
Workstation (CAD, Content Creation, etc)
Presentation
Imaging
Video
Eagerly driving new technologies together with our hardware and software partners

4. Graphics/Gaming/Multimedia/ Presentation Stacks
Game
(e.g. Halo)
HEWS/DCC
(e.g. Maya)
Imaging
(e.g. DIS)
Video
(e.g., WMP)
Presentation
(e.g. Office)
User
Application
MCE
Desktop WM
Shell/UX
Control
Panels
Help
System
Application IE
3rd party
Game
Engine
WinForms
WPF
MFC/ATL
Application
Framework
Splash
DUser
User
WPF/E
Avalon
CoreUI
Common
Controls
High-Level
Abstraction
Trident
MS HTML
Managed
DirectX
MILCore
PIX/
DaVinci
Media
Foundation
CLR
Mid-Level
Abstraction
Windows Codecs
D3DX/
HLSL
WCS
DShow
GDI+
Low-Level
Abstraction
OpenGL
Direct3D
DXVA
DDraw
GDI
DDI/user-mode Driver
DDI/User Mode Driver
Memory Management, Scheduling, Device Management
Win32k
kstream
Kernel
Display
Controller
3D Engine
2D Engine/
De-interlace…
Video
Decode
Video
Encode
Print
Driver/
Hardware

5. Big Picture Simplified
Workstation (Inventor)
Games (Oblivion)
Imaging (PhotoViewer)
Video (MediaPlayer)
Presentation (Office) …
UI Frameworks
Windows Presentation Foundation
Windows Explorer
Desktop Window Manager
WIC
PIX
Media Foundation
DShow
MIL
Text Layout
Windows Color System
GDI+
OpenGL
Direct3D
DXVA
DXGI
User
GDI
XPDM
WDDM
Print Terminal Server Remote Assistance …

6. Graphics Core In Windows Vista
Microsoft- written code
IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

7. Windows Display Driver Model
Microsoft- written code
IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

8. Windows Display Driver Model
Bedrock upon which all graphics are built
Fundamental principle
Graphics Just Works
Re-architect entire driver stack
Consolidate 10 years of evolution
New driver model delivers
Stability
Security
Availability (application virtualization)
Performance

9. Windows Display Driver Model
Staged evolution of driver model
WDDM 1.0 model supports current hardware
E.g., pre-Windows Vista hardware
Advanced model (WDDM 2.x) utilizes new hardware features
Post Windows Vista
More efficient virtualization
Old Windows XP driver model still supported for compatibility
No new features

10. Rendering APIs Lots to choose from Break into categories GDI/GDI+
DirectDraw
Direct3D [3..10]
OpenGL
Windows Presentation Foundation
Break into categories
Legacy
Mainline (GDI, Direct3D 9/9Ex)
New (Direct3D 10, WPF)

11. GDI And GDI+ Microsoft- written code IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

12. GDI/GDI+ Workhorse for Windows
Presentation/UI, device control, etc
Reduced hardware acceleration in Windows Vista
Necessary to accomplish WDDM implementation
Continue to invest in GDI in future
Protect API investment
Enhance where feasible

13. Legacy Direct3D APIs Microsoft- written code IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

14. Legacy Direct3D APIs Older Direct3D immediate mode APIs supported
D3DRM (retained mode) API retired
Map older runtimes onto Direct3D 9 DDIs
E.g., runtimes ≤ Direct3D 8, DirectDraw
Fixed-function onto shaders, etc
Direct3D9 interface matches DirectX 9.0c
Same behavior as Direct3D 9 on Windows XP
Maintain application compatibility

15. Direct3D9Ex Microsoft- written code IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

16. Direct3D9Ex Enhanced version of Direct3D 9
Also known as “DX9.L”
Cross-process shared surfaces
“Unlimited memory”
All memory resources are “managed”
Resource management controls
Prioritization of resources
Antialiased text rendering support
Monochrome texture filter with large kernel size
No more “device lost”
Less frequent “device removed”

17. OpenGL Microsoft- written code IHV- written code Common pipeline (DDI)
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

18. OpenGL Three options for Windows Vista Developers
OpenGL 1.1 software implementation
Windows XP driver model OpenGL ICDs
Not DWM-compatible, DWM shuts off
3rd party WDDM OpenGL ICDs
DWM compliant
Limited inbox support for application compatibility
Using Direct3D 9

19. Direct3D 10 And DXGI Microsoft- written code IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

20. Direct3D 10 Latest version of Direct3D Supported in Windows Vista
Premium Logo requirement in ‘08
Major improvements in
Hardware consistency
Programmer expressiveness
WDDM + Direct3D 10 are fundamental improvement to the Windows gaming platform

21. DXGI Separate rendering from device management DXGI (eventually) does
Adapter management
Display mode management
Present to monitor
Output management
Gamma/Color
Improvements of GDI 256 entry table
Monitor controls
Long term, subsumes functionality from GDI
Currently only works with Direct3D 10

22. Media Integration Layer
Microsoft- written code
IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

23. Media Integration Layer
New for Windows Vista
Serves WPF and DWM
Integrates text, 2D, images, video, animation
Supports remote desktop
Composition model
Use Direct3D for HW acceleration
Software fallback
Text services (line services)
Paragraph, line layout
Font mapping
Rendering/Rasterization

24. Windows Presentation Foundation
Highly integrated stack
Layout, text, video, audio, imaging
Builds on other parts of stack
Media Integration Layer
Media Foundation
Imaging
Direct3D9Ex
Windows Color System

25. Media And Imaging Microsoft- written code IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

26. Video Acceleration Relies on more specialized hardware support
Decode: IDCT, motion compensation
Processing: Deinterlace, denoise, scale, mixing
Content protection of high value data
OPM, Protected Video Path
Supported through DirectX Video Acceleration (DXVA) APIs
Media Center and Media Player use same pipeline

27. Imaging Hardware accelerated photo experience Builds on Direct3D 9 API
60 fps
Builds on Direct3D 9 API
Uses texture mapping + shading for image processing
Rely on Shader Model 2.0 capabilities
Float16 processing
Lots of accelerator memory
Large texture images (> 2Kx2K)

28. Image Codecs Image I/O, parsing Metadata, thumbnails
Compress, Decompress
Popular formats built-in
Extension for others
Secure, Reliable
Central source (WIC)

29. Desktop Window Manager
Microsoft- written code
IHV- written code
WPF
DWM
GDI+
Media Foundation
PIX
WIC
MIL
OpenGL ICD
GDI
D3D <9
DX VA
D3D9
D3D9 Ex
D3D 10
DXGI
OpenGL
User-mode driver
Common pipeline (DDI)
User mode
Kernel mode
Kernel-mode driver
Win32 Kernel
DXG Kernel

30. Desktop Window Manager
New desktop experience using MIL and DirectX
Uses new D3D9Ex interfaces
Desktop Window Manager (DWM)
Composited desktop
Window movement without repainting underlying windows
No more dragging garbage
Client areas from applications
GDI, Direct3D, WPF
Video
Non-client areas from the Window Manager
Allows different views of application windows

31. Desktop Window Manager
WPF Application
Direct3D Application
GDI Application
surface
surface
surface
Desktop Window Manager

32. Desktop Window Manager
Supports high-DPI displays
Composition with magnification
Supports video playback
Takes advantage of Direct3D 9 shaders
Animated transitions, etc
New D3D9Ex cross-process shared surfaces
Allows DWM to access application back buffers
Turns off when certain application types running
Overlay planes, front buffer rendering,…

33. Full Screen Exclusive, Multimon, And DWM
Continue to allow apps to have exclusive monitor access
Control video mode, gamma, etc…
Desktop Window Manager disappears
Other applications can continue to run
May bump the priorities of the output-exclusive app
Applications should recognize case where client area is occluded
Background processing on the GPU
Multiple monitors independent
Composited desktop image per monitor
Exclusive output independent for each monitor

34. Future Technologies Warning: These are directions not commitments
4/20/2017 8:11 AM
Future Technologies
Warning: These are directions not commitments
Continue the vision
Rich graphics and media experience
Available all the time to all applications
Robust, efficient, applications don’t interfere
Scales across mobile, desktop,…
Seamless print, remote, Terminal Server
© 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

35. Windows Display Driver Model
Lots of areas to address
Move to preemptive context switching and page-level memory management ASAP WDDM 2.x
Flexible multi-GPU, linked adapters (LDA)
Graphics multiprocessing
Power management
Boot video, VGA, ACPI/BIOS
Virtual Machine support

36. Display/Device Technologies
Color managed desktop
Hi-def color (float16)
Consumer Electronics (TV) devices
Greater format coverage
Multimon
Improve the fullscreen/windowed experience
Multi-desktop support
Magnification
Monitor controls
DDC/CI
Rationalize GDI/DXGI device control

37. Rendering Technologies
Interoperability of rendering APIs
Game applications
Higher-def, procedural content
Surface tessellation, order-independent transparency
Shader expressiveness
Mainstream API
Native code access
Text, antialiasing, 2D rendering
Rendering quality
Multicore CPU investments
Process or move data faster

38. Media Technologies Imaging Video Direct3D 10 provides ideal base
Move to “HDR” (actually 16-bit MDR)
Minor improvements for additional image formats
16-bit fixed in addition to 16-bit float
Video
Content Protection (Protected Video Path)
Glitch-resilience
Preemptive context switching in WDDM 2.x is key
Hardware Encode/Analysis
Background transcoding
Processing
HD-DVD compositing scenarios

39. General Compute (GPGPU)
GPU rapidly generalizing
Good at high-bandwidth, data-parallel compute
Image processing, video processing, physics,…
100 GB/s, 300+ GFlops
Looking at more generalized infrastructure
Don’t draw triangles to trigger computations
Enabled by
Hardware implementation consistency
Fast CPU ↔ GPU data transfer
Multi-GPU support

40. Call To Action Windows Vista Next
Hardware-accelerated graphics all the time
WDDM 1.0
Direct3D 9/9Ex is everywhere – now
Rapid adoption of Direct3D 10 – it delivers the future
DXVA, content protection, glitch reduction
Next
WDDM 2.x – efficient GPU virtualization
Direct3D 10.1 – incremental changes to 10
Greater generalization of GPU capabilities
Hi-def color, HD-DVD

41. Directx @ microsoft.com
Additional Resources
microsoft.com
Related content
CLN-T359 – Windows Display Driver Model Drivers: Key Features
CLN-C364 – Direct3D Test Framework
CLN-C362 – Kernel Graphics Infrastructure for Display Devices and Mobiles
CLN-P365 – CPU and GPU Directions

42. Questions?

43. 4/20/2017 8:11 AM
FACT: 29 digital cameras carry the “Certified for Windows Vista” logo as of April 1
© 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

44. © 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.