The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is rapidly replacing the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) as the basis for platform firmware, enabling current and next-generation x86 PCs, Servers, and high performance systems. UEFI is a specification describing an interface between Operating Systems, platform firmware, and add-on adapters/technologies. In this talk, I will introduce UEFI and give a brief overview of x86 computer architecture (as it relates to platform firmware). We will then focus on discussing some practical 'first steps' of authoring, compiling, and debugging pre-boot drivers, applications and boot loaders. Time permitting, we will explore the high-privilege Systems Management Interrupt, its modern uses, concerns and possible futures.

A white paper related to this talk can be found at: http://www-947.ibm.com/systems/support/supportsite.wss/docdisplay?lndocid=MIGR-5083207&brandind=5000008

Nathan Skalsky is a UEFI firmware engineer at IBM Corporation for System x Servers and Blades, represents IBM on the UEFI Platform Initialization Workgroup (PIWG), and serves in various educational & outreach roles. He has previously worked at IBM as a software engineer in System i Operating System development (i5/OS), DB2 Query Optimization and converged System i/p core technologies. He holds a BS degree in Computer Science from Michigan Technological University.