Configuration Software And Utilities; Power-On Sequence And Power-On Self-Test (Post); The Extensible Firmware Interface (Efi) Boot Manager - MAXDATA PLATINUM 9000-4R Product Manual

3 Configuration Software and Utilities

Power-on Sequence and Power-on Self-Test (POST)

Turning on the system causes POST to run and control to pass to the Boot Manager. From the Boot
Manager, you can choose to invoke the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) Shell or you can choose
to go to the Boot Maintenance Menu. For information on the EFI Shell, refer to "The Extensible
Firmware Interface (EFI) Shell" .
Follow these steps to power up the MAXDATA PLATINUM 9000-4R Server:
1. Press the power button on the front control panel. Pressing this button causes the server fans
to start up and POST to begin running. You can monitor boot progress on the video display on a
monitor attached to the system.
2. POST, which is stored in flash memory, begins running. POST checks the drive carriers,
processors, memory, keyboard, and most installed peripheral devices. During the memory test,
POST displays the amount of memory it is able to access and test. The length of time needed
to test memory depends on the amount of memory installed.
3. Video appears on the monitor attached to the system and begins to display boot progress. The
AMI BIOS banner displays the loaded versions of the BIOS, PAL, SAL, and EFI.
4. POST concludes and passes control to the boot manager.
5. From the boot manager, you can use arrow keys to highlight the option that invokes the EFI
shell operating system (if installed), or you can highlight and select the boot maintenance
menu. Selecting the boot maintenance menu lets you configure boot options and other boot
environment variables. Booting to the EFI shell causes the following prompt to appear:
Shell>
6. When you see this prompt, you can load and start an operating system.

The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) Boot Manager

The EFI boot manager allows you to control the server's booting environment. Depending on how
you have configured the boot options, after the server is powered up the boot manager presents
you with different ways to bring up the system. For example, you can boot to the EFI Shell, to an
operating system located on the network or residing on media in the server, or to the Boot Maintenance
Menu.
• EFI Shell: A simple, interactive environment that allows EFI device drivers to be loaded, EFI
applications to be launched, and operating systems to be booted. The EFI shell also provides a
set of basic commands used to manage files and the system environment variables. For more
information on the EFI Shell, refer to "The Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) Shell" .
•
Boot Options: Files that you include as boot options. You add and delete boot options by using
the Boot Maintenance Menu. Each boot option specifies an EFI executable with possible
options. For information on the Boot Maintenance Menu options, refer to Table 7 .
•
Boot Maintenance Menu: A menu of items allowing you configure boot options and other boot
environment variables. Table 7 describes each menu item in the Boot Maintenance Menu.
MAXDATA PLATINUM 90004R Server System 41