DMA Controllers

Direct memory access (DMA) is a feature of modern computing that allows certain hardware subsystems within the computer to access system memory for reading and/or writing independently of the CPU. Direct Memory Access (DMA) is one of several methods for coordinating the timing of data transfers between an input/output (I/O) device and the core processing unit or memory in a computer. An I/O device often operates at a much slower speed than the core. DMA allows the I/O device to access the memory directly, without using the core. DMA can lead to a significant improvement in performance because data movement is one of the most common operations performed in processing applications.