Intel Extensible Firmware Interface, Спецификация

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32/64-bit UNDI Specification
Version 1.02 12/12/00 377
Table G-3. Driver Types: Pros and Cons
Driver
Pro Con
Custom
•
Can be very fast and efficient.
NIC vendor tunes driver to OS
& device.
•
OS vendor does not have to
write NIC driver.
•
New driver for each OS/architecture must be
maintained by NIC vendor.
•
OS vendor must trust code supplied by third-party.
•
OS vendor cannot test all possible driver/NIC
versions.
•
Driver must be installed before NIC can be used.
•
Possible performance sink if driver is poorly written.
•
Possible security risk if driver has back door.
S/W UNDI
•
S/W UNDI driver is simpler
than a Custom driver. Easier
to test outside of the OS
environment.
•
OS vendor can tune the
universal protocol driver for
best OS performance.
•
NIC vendor only has to write
one driver per CPU
architecture.
•
Slightly slower than Custom or H/W UNDI because of
extra call layer between protocol stack and NIC.
•
S/W UNDI driver must be loaded before NIC can be
used.
•
OS vendor has to write the universal driver.
•
Possible performance sink if driver is poorly written.
•
Possible security risk if driver has back door.
H/W UNDI
•
H/W UNDI provides a
common architectural
interface to all network
devices.
•
OS vendor controls all security
and performance issues in
network stack.
•
NIC vendor does not have to
write any drivers.
•
NIC can be used without an
OS or driver installed (preboot
management).
•
OS vendor has to write the universal driver (this might
also be a Pro, depending on your point of view).