IBM 88554RU Installation Guide - Page 44
have to be added to the firmware to support booting from a USB device,
![]() |
View all IBM 88554RU manuals
Add to My Manuals
Save this manual to your list of manuals |
Page 44 highlights
Operating system EFI operating system loader EFI boot & runtime services System abstraction layer (SAL) Processor abstraction layer (PAL) Platform hardware Figure 1-16 The EFI concept The primary goal of this specification is to provide an abstract model for both operating system and hardware developers. With such a model in a place, OS loader customizations are not required if there are changes in the platform hardware or firmware such as added new boot or input devices, for instance. The EFI breaks up a tight dependency between the operating system and the firmware, thus speeding up the process of releasing the new products and introducing the new features and functionality to the hardware and/or operating system. Consider, for example, the situation where a new type of boot device, say a USB key, is to be implemented. First the legacy BIOS would have to offer an option to choose this new device for booting, then new USB key-specific functions would have to be added to the firmware to support booting from a USB device, and finally, the OS loader would have to be modified to use these functions. The same situation with the EFI would be dramatically simplified. The OS loader calls unified (not vendor-specific) EFI API functions for booting. These functions are not dependent on the boot device used, so when a new boot device type is 30 IBM xSeries 455 Planning and Installation Guide Eserver
![](/manual_guide/products/ibm-88553rx-installation-guide-524df2c/44.png)