Windows NT kernel

computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device

operating system kernel architecture that attempts to combine aspects and benefits of microkernel and monolithic kernel architectures used in computer operating systems

used in all Windows NT systems

ntoskrnl.exe (short for "Windows NT operating system kernel executable"), also known as the kernel image, is an executable file that contains the kernel and executive layers of the Microsoft Windows NT kernel, and is responsible for hardware abstraction, process handling, and memory management. In addition to the kernel and executive layers, it contains the cache manager, security reference monitor, memory manager, scheduler (Dispatcher), and blue screen of death (the prose and portions of the code).

lightweight API used by Windows NT and user mode applications

security feature of Microsoft Windows