IBM 88553RX, Installation Manual

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Chapter 1. Technical description
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added to the platform and the firmware is modified to recognize it, the operating
system can immediately boot.
Although EFI was originally introduced with the Itanium architecture, it is not
restricted to 64-bit platforms. The EFI architecture is modular, extensible, and
offers backward compatibility for the older systems by default. This means that it
is possible for non-EFI-aware operating systems to communicate directly with
system BIOS/firmware; however, this depends on how a particular manufacturer
implements the EFI on its products. The x455 has a small portion of legacy BIOS
code used only for running the IA-32 video driver; however, it will only support
EFI-aware operating systems. From a long-term perspective, for IA-32 systems
there is expected to be a gradual transition from BIOS to the EFI.
EFI does offer an extensive development interface that enables it to be
customized to load additional drivers, provide corporate identity, or provide
authentication and security features. Tools are available from Intel’s Web site to
assist with this.
If you have not used an EFI system before you will come across a number of new
acronyms. These are listed in the table below with a brief description.
Table 1-7 EFI acronyms and descriptions
1.10.1 GUID Partition Table disk
The GUID Partition Table (GPT) was introduced as part of the EFI initiative.
Every disk is assigned a global unique identifier (GUID) to allow self-identification
Acronym Description
ACPI Advanced Configuration and Power Interface - This is an industry
standard interface for OS-directed configuration and power
management for servers, desktops, and laptops.
EFI Extensible Firmware Interface - A new interface between the system
firmware and operating system.
PAL Processor Abstraction Layer - This provides various processor
functions that vary between different implementations of a particular
platform.
SAL System Abstraction Layer - This is a firmware layer and provides
various system functions that vary between different implementations of
a particular platform.
SMBIOS Systems Management BIOS - A specification that defines how systems
management information is presented in a standard format on Intel
architecture systems.