NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool function (ndis/nblapi.h)

Article
04/18/2022

Call the NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool function to allocate a pool of NET_BUFFER_LIST structures.

Syntax

NDIS_EXPORTED_ROUTINE NDIS_HANDLE NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool(
  [in, optional] NDIS_HANDLE                           NdisHandle,
  [in]           NET_BUFFER_LIST_POOL_PARAMETERS const *Parameters
);

Parameters

[in, optional] NdisHandle

An NDIS handle that was obtained during caller initialization.

[in] Parameters

A pointer to a NET_BUFFER_LIST_POOL_PARAMETERS structure that defines the parameters for the pool.

Return value

NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool returns a handle to the NET_BUFFER_LIST structure pool that NDIS allocates. If the allocation was unsuccessful, this handle is NULL. This handle is a required parameter in subsequent calls to NDIS functions that allocate and free NET_BUFFER_LIST structures from this pool.

Remarks

In most cases, a caller that allocates a NET_BUFFER_LIST structure will allocate and queue at least one NET_BUFFER structure on that NET_BUFFER_LIST structure. It is more efficient to preallocate NET_BUFFER structures when you allocate a pool of NET_BUFFER_LIST structures than allocating NET_BUFFER_LIST structures and NET_BUFFER structures separately.

You can call the NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool function with the fAllocateNetBuffer value set to TRUE when creating a NET_BUFFER_LIST structure pool. In this case, a NET_BUFFER structure is preallocated with each NET_BUFFER_LIST structure that the caller allocates from the pool. You can call the NdisAllocateNetBufferAndNetBufferList function or the NdisAllocateNetBufferList function to allocate NET_BUFFER_LIST structures from such a pool. Call NdisAllocateNetBufferAndNetBufferList only if fAllocateNetBuffer is TRUE and DataSize is zero.

You can also call NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool and set the DataSize member to a nonzero value when creating a NET_BUFFER_LIST structure pool. In this case, a NET_BUFFER structure, MDL, and data are preallocated with each NET_BUFFER_LIST structure that the caller allocates from the pool.

NET_BUFFER structures, MDLs, and data buffers that are allocated with NdisAllocateNetBufferAndNetBufferList or NdisAllocateNetBufferList should not be freed separate from the NET_BUFFER_LIST structure. Such structures are freed with the NET_BUFFER_LIST structure when you call the NdisFreeNetBufferList function.

Call the NdisFreeNetBufferListPool function to free a NET_BUFFER_LIST structure pool.

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Supported in NDIS 6.0 and later.
Target Platform	Universal
Header	ndis/nblapi.h (include ndis.h)
Library	Ndis.lib
DLL	Ndis.sys
IRQL	<= DISPATCH_LEVEL
DDI compliance rules	Irql_NetBuffer_Function(ndis), NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool(ndis), NdisAllocateNetBufferListPool_InitFail(ndis)