Event systems and methods are provided through which applications can manage input/output operations ("I/O") and inter-processor communications. An event system in conjunction with fast I/O is operable to discover, handle and distribute events. The system and method disclosed can be applied to combinations that include event-driven models and event-polling models. In some embodiments, I/O sources and application sources direct events and messages to the same destination queue. In some embodiments, the system and methods include configurable event distribution and event filtering mechanisms operable to effect and direct event distribution for multiple event types using multiple methods. In some embodiments, the system disclosed includes enhanced event handler API's. Some embodiments include a multicast API operable to allow applications to perform multicasting in a single API call. In addition, various mechanisms of the disclosed event system can be combined with traditional operating systems.