UEFI on ThinkServer TS430. Lenovo ThinkServer

Transcription

1 Lenovo ThinkServer December 14, 2011

2 Contents Overview... 3 What is UEFI... 3 The Benefits of UEFI... 3 UEFI Implementation on ThinkServer... 4 Boot Process... 4 Configuring Boot Options... 4 Option ROMs... 6 The UEFI shell... 6 Starting the UEFI Shell... 7 Installing a UEFI Aware Operating System... 8 Configuring the SATA Controller Mode... 9 Configuring the RAID Configuring RAID 500 in Legacy Mode Configuring RAID 500 in UEFI Mode Booting the EFI Installation Media and Installing the OS

3 Overview This paper Introduces and describes key features of the UEFI firmware implementation found on the ThinkServer TS430. It also describes the procedures for configuring the system to install UEFI aware Operating Systems that take advantage of the new features available in the UEFI standard. What is UEFI The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification describes an interface between an Operating System and the system firmware. UEFI firmware replaces the basic input/output system (BIOS), which has been in place for x86 personal computers and servers for decades, and provides advantages not possible with the older technology. At system power-on, BIOS identifies and initializes the system s hardware devices (such as the hard disk, video adapter, keyboard, and mouse). BIOS then loads the operating system from local storage (floppy, hard disk, CD-ROM, USB) or network, and passes control to it. BIOS is specific to the Intel x86 processor architecture, and it relies on the 16-bit "real mode" interface supported by x86 processors. UEFI defines a similar interface that operates between the operating system and the platform firmware, but is standards based, and not specific to any processor architecture. UEFI provides data tables that contain system information, plus boot and runtime services that are available to the operating system and its loader. The UEFI standard was preceded by Extensible Firmware Interface Specification (EFI), developed by Intel in the mid 1990s to support the Itanium class of processors. In 2005 the EFI standard was contributed to the UEFI Forum Inc. which now manages and evolves the UEFI specification. The UEFI Forum is an active standards body with many industry participants of which Lenovo is a contributing member, and a member of the Board of Directors. The Benefits of UEFI A significant benefit of UEFI is that it is designed to overcome limitations imposed by the older BIOS architecture. Because BIOS is limited to a 16-bit processor mode and 1 MB of addressable space, space for advanced BIOS functionality is limited. Space for PCI option ROMs is also limited, restricting the number of adapters that can be installed, and how much functionality each Option ROM can contain. UEFI in comparison supports either 32-bit or 64-bit processor modes. In 64-bit mode, UEFI applications in the pre-boot execution environment have direct access to all of the memory in the system using 64- bit addressing. BIOS systems also support only disks that use the master boot record (MBR) partitioning scheme, which limits the maximum size of a disk to approximately 2.2 terabytes (TB), and a maximum of 4 primary partitions. UEFI supports a more flexible partitioning scheme that uses a GUID Partition Table (GPT), which uses 64-bit values to describe partitions, allowing a maximum disk size of approximately 9.4 ZB, 3

4 and 128 primary hard disk partitions. UEFI GPT support is therefore required to use boot disks greater than 2.2 TB in size. In addition to providing standard boot services and support, UEFI provides a rich pre-boot environment that is independent of the operating system. With support for networking, USB, high resolution graphics, file system capabilities, and access to all devices, UEFI is capable enough to be called OS like. This environment enables UEFI applications to be executed, including the UEFI shell (a command-line environment) that supports both human interaction and scripting. UEFI Implementation on ThinkServer UEFI firmware on the ThinkServer TS430 conforms to the UEFI standard version 2.1. It includes a Compatibility Support Module (CSM) that emulates Legacy BIOS. This allows the server to boot operating systems that are UEFI-aware as well as older operating systems that support only 16-bit BIOS. Boot Process The Legacy BIOS boot process boots selected devices (e.g. a DVD drive or HDD). In contrast, UEFI boots specific files (targets) from physical or logical device paths, so boot media can contain virtually unlimited boot targets (operating-system instances). In UEFI bootable media, a special partition exists that contains the main UEFI boot loader located in the path \efi\boot\bootx64.efi. If the boot loader there is valid, the firmware will boot it automatically. Configuring Boot Options During POST, the Boot Manager will identify and enumerate any bootable device or UEFI boot target found on any device, and create boot options for these entries. When a UEFI aware OS is installed, boot options for that OS are also automatically entered into the Boot Manager that point to the OS boot loader file. During a normal boot, boot options for a device will auto select based on the boot record(s) found on the device. For example, if a CD or DVD contains a UEFI boot record, the CD/DVD boots using UEFI. If the CD or DVD does not contain a UEFI boot record but instead contains an x86 boot record, the CD/DVD uses BIOS to boot (via the CSM). If both UEFI and x86 boot records are found on the device, Legacy BIOS will boot by default. This automatic selection behavior can be overridden in the Boot Options screen (Figure 1) or the Boot Manager (Figure 3). Other devices that can contain two bootable partitions (MBR and GPT) include diskette drives and removable USB drives. Hard disk drives can contain either a MBR or GPT partition table; MBR partitions and GPT partitions cannot coexist on the same volume, so hard disk drives cannot be dual booted (legacy and UEFI). However, multiple bootable UEFI partitions can be created on the same hard drive, and the Boot Manager will list each GPT partition on the hard disk drive that also includes a UEFI boot record. 4

5 The Boot Options screen (Figure 1) displays a list of all bootable devices and UEFI targets discovered during POST. The Boot Options (#n) define the desired order in which boot devices are to be tried. The UEFI Boot Device Priority (Figure 2), and Drive and Device Priority settings allow configuring the order of precedence when one or more UEFI targets, or hardware devices exist within a category. UEFI Boot Device Priority lists the sequence that UEFI boot targets will be tried (regardless of device). Drive and Device Priority similarly specifies the boot device priority sequence from available hard drives, optical drives, etc. Figure 1 Boot Options Figure 2 UEFI Boot Device Priority The Boot Manager provides a single list of all boot options from which a one-time boot selection can be made. The Boot Manager is accessible from the BIOS Setup Utility (shown in Figure 3), or by pressing F12 at system startup. 5

6 Figure 3 Boot Manager Although ThinkServer UEFI firmware supports both UEFI and BIOS boot processes through the Boot Manager, once a BIOS device is booted and the UEFI CSM is invoked for the boot, the system cannot return to the UEFI Boot Manager. Option ROMs HBA s, Network adapters, and other PCI devices that support both UEFI and BIOS, will determine their mode of operation depending on which Option ROM is loaded at initialization. This is controlled in the BIOS PCI ROM Priority setting (see Installing a UEFI Aware Operating System on page 8 for more information). If PCI ROM Priority is set (in BIOS) to UEFI, the firmware will load the UEFI option ROM if one is available, otherwise it will load the legacy option ROM. The UEFI shell The UEFI shell is a UEFI application that provides a command-line interface, as well as a set of APIs, builtin commands, library support for external commands, and scripting capabilities. The shell is intended for advanced management and scripting of pre-boot functions and can be used to execute other UEFI applications. UEFI on ThinkServer complies with Shell Specification version 1.0, and supports Shell Level 3. Shell Levels describe the main features supported by the Shell: o o o o Level 0 Launching a single application Level 1 Adds scripting Level 2 Adds file manipulation Level 3 Adds UI and information retrieval ThinkServer UEFI firmware also supports the four standard Shell Profiles specified by the Shell Specification. Shell Profiles describe additional capabilities that are available: 6

7 o o o o Install Adds OS loader configuration Debug Adds debug capability Driver Adds driver manipulation Network Adds network configuration and test Commands supported by the Shell can be obtained by typing Help b at the Shell command prompt. Starting the UEFI Shell To start the shell, start the BIOS Setup Utility and select Boot Manager, or access the Boot Manager menu by pressing F12 at boot. Select the EFI Shell as the boot target. The system will boot the UEFI application startup.nsh and launch into the Shell. The following steps describe the process. 1. Power on the TS Press the F1 key to enter the BIOS Setup Utility. 3. Select Boot Manager from the menu. From the Boot manager, select Built-in EFI Shell and press ENTER. 7

8 4. The UEFI Shell is displayed. Installing a UEFI Aware Operating System As of this writing, only certain Operating Systems are UEFI aware and can take advantage of the benefits of UEFI, in particular GPT support for boot drives. The following Server OS s are UEFI aware: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (64-bit) Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 (64-bit) Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 11 (64-bit) RedHat Enterprise Linux 6.0 (64-bit) VMWare ESXi 5.0 ThinkServer TS430 UEFI support is available for systems that are configured with the SATA Controller in IDE or AHCI mode, or use the ThinkServer RAID 500 adapter to manage RAID arrays. Due to limitations in driver support, the ThinkServer Embedded RAID 100 does not support UEFI and GPT boot drives. When using the ThinkServer RAID 500 adapter, the UEFI option ROM must also be used. Table 1 summarizes the supported configurations. Storage Mode PCI ROM Priority UEFI / GPT Boot Drive Support SATA Controller = Any Legacy No SATA Controller = IDE Legacy or UEFI Yes SATA Controller = AHCI Legacy or UEFI Yes SATA Controller = RAID Legacy or UEFI No ThinkServer RAID 500 UEFI Yes Table 1 - Supported TS430 UEFI Configurations A BIOS-bootable operating system can only be installed to a master boot record (MBR) partition. An EFIbootable operating system can only be installed to a GPT partition. Therefore, if a selected partition is 8

9 MBR, it is BIOS-booted; if it is GPT, it is EFI-booted. Before installing a UEFI-aware operating system on a hard disk that is already formatted with an MBR, delete all partitions from the disk, or reformat the disk with GPT. The basic steps to configure UEFI firmware and install Windows or Linux UEFI aware Operating Systems include: 1. Configure SATA Controller mode 2. Set PCI Option ROM Priority to EFI compatible ROM and configure the RAID 500 RAID array if required 3. Boot to EFI installation media The following example describes the steps for installing Windows Server 2008 R2 into a GPT partition on ThinkServer TS430. These steps are similar for installing UEFI aware Linux distributions. Configuring the SATA Controller Mode If using Direct Connect or Hot Swappable SATA drives without a RAID 500 adapter, configure the SATA controller mode as follows: 1. Power on the TS Press the F1 key to enter the BIOS Setup Utility. 9

10 3. Select the Advanced tab from the Setup Utility menu and select SATA Configuration. 4. Set the SATA Mode from the drop down. Select either IDE or AHCI mode and press ENTER. Press F10 to save the settings and exit the BIOS Setup Utility. Configuring the RAID 500 If using a RAID 500 adapter to manage storage, configure the BIOS and RAID settings as follows. The RAID array can be configured either in Legacy (BIOS) mode or in UEFI mode, and both options are described. Configuring RAID 500 in Legacy Mode This procedure uses legacy BIOS to access the LSI WebBIOS Configuration Utility to configure the RAID array. Before the Operating System can be installed, however, BIOS must be reconfigured to use the UEFI option ROM. 10

11 1. From the BIOS Setup Utility, select the Advanced tab from the menu, and then select PCI Configuration. 2. Select PCI ROM Priority and choose Legacy ROM and press ENTER. Press F10 to save the settings and reboot the server. 3. At the prompt, type CTRL-H to launch the LSI WebBIOS Configuration Utility. The Adapter Selection screen will be displayed. 11

12 4. The Adapter Selection screen displays the RAID adapters installed in the ThinkServer. Select the Adapter No. to configure. Click Start to continue. The WebBIOS Configuration Utility main screen will be displayed. Complete configuration of the RAID array. 5. After completing the RAID array configuration, exit the Configuration Utility, and when prompted, press CTRL-ALT-DEL to reboot the system. Reenter the BIOS Setup Utility and reconfigure the PCI ROM Priority to EFI Compatible ROM. Press F10 to save the settings and exit the BIOS Setup Utility. Configuring RAID 500 in UEFI Mode This procedure uses the UEFI Shell to discover the RAID 500 adapter properties and access the LSI UEFI Configuration Utility to configure the RAID array. This procedure could be scripted for major deployments. 1. From the BIOS Setup Utility, select the Advanced tab from the menu, and then select PCI Configuration. 12

13 2. Select PCI ROM Priority and choose EFI Compatible ROM and press ENTER. Press F10 to save the settings and reboot the server. 3. Reboot the server into the UEFI Shell (the CTRL-H prompt will not be visible when booting in UEFI mode). Launch the Boot Manager from the BIOS Setup Utility, or by pressing F12 at boot. Select Built-in EFI Shell and press ENTER. The UEFI Shell will lauch. 4. From the Shell prompt, type drivers to determine the EFI SAS driver number. 13

14 In this instance, the response indicates the SAS driver number is F0. The SAS driver number can be different depending on the system. 5. Next, type dh d <SAS Driver Number> to determine the SAS controller number. In this example, type: dh d F0 In this instance the response indicates the SAS Controller number is F1. 6. If desired, information about the controller can be viewed. Type dh d <SAS Controller number> to view information about the controller. In this example, type: dh d F1 14

15 7. To access the LSI EFI RAID Setup Utility, type drvcfg s <SAS Driver number> <SAS controller number>. In this example, type: drvcfg s F0 F1 8. The LSI Configuration Menu is displayed. Choose either the EFI WebBIOS Configuration Utility (GUI), or EFI CLI (Command Line Interface) from the menu. In this example select the EFI WebBIOS entry. The Adapter Selection screen is displayed. 9. The Adapter Selection screen displays the RAID adapters installed in the ThinkServer. Select the Adapter No. to configure. Click Start to continue. The WebBIOS Configuration Utility main screen will be displayed. Complete configuration of the RAID array. 10. After completing the RAID array configuration, exit the Configuration Utility, and when prompted, press ENTER to return to the UEFI Shell. 15

16 11. The OS installation can be started by booting the installation media from within the EFI Shell, or from the Boot Manager. To launch the OS installer from within the EFI Shell, type the following shell commands: fs0: (In this example, file system 0, fs0, is the OS installation DVD. The file system can be determined from the UEFI Shell MAP command.) cd \efi\boot BOOTx64.efi (BOOTx64.efi is the boot loader found in the default location) The OS installation will begin. Otherwise, type EXIT to leave the UEFI Shell and return to the Boot Manager menu. Booting the EFI Installation Media and Installing the OS This section describes booting the Installation media using the Boot Manager. Installing a UEFI aware OS in a GPT partition requires a Boot Manager override since the default boot behavior will boot using Legacy BIOS resulting in an installation into an MBR partition. 1. Enter the Boot Manager menu either by returning from the UEFI Shell, or by rebooting the server and entering the BIOS Setup Utility, or pressing F12. Select the UEFI tagged device where the install media is located, in this case on: UEFI: PLDS DVDROM DH16D5S (NOTE: P5:PLDS DVDROM DH16D5S represents the x86 boot device) Press ENTER to begin the installation. 16

17 2. If the server is configured with the RAID 500 adapter, device drivers must be provided during the installation. When the Upgrade / Install screen is presented, select Custom install. Windows will not see the disk at this time. Click Load Driver to install the RAID 500 driver. Click Browse to locate the device driver. 17

18 Select the LSI MegaRAID SAS i device driver, and click Next. Disk 1 Unallocated Space will now be visible, and can be selected as the target for the installation. 3. At the completion of the Operating System installation, the UEFI firmware will insert a UEFI Boot entry into the Boot manager list as shown here. 18

19 4. The partitions created during the installation can be verified. For new installations, by default, Windows Setup creates a system partition (that is, an Extensible Firmware Interface System partition, also called EFI System Partition, or ESP), a Microsoft Reserved partition (MSR), and a Windows partition. Windows Setup creates a system partition when: a. There is no existing system partition. b. There is enough disk space to create a 100 MB partition. Windows Setup creates the MSR when: a. There is no existing MSR. b. There is enough disk space to create a 128 MB partition. Creating the system partition takes priority over the MSR because the system partition is required to boot the computer. 19