Intel pushes UEFI framework

Support grows for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification

Support for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification has proved better than expected so far, says Intel, which today encouraged Asian silicon vendors and firmware developers to lead the charge in promoting the technology.

UEFI replaces the Bios that gives a computer its first instructions when it is turned on, and which allows an operating system to be loaded. It provides faster boot times and is available in both 32bit and 64bit versions, whereas Bios is limited to 16bits and the x86 processor architecture.

Though the first UEFI specification was launched in 2005, its merits have so far failed to excite the majority of firmware developers or OS vendors. John Du, general manager of Intel's China research centre, argues that it was always going to take a long time for IT companies to ditch something that has been in use for over two decades.

"It takes a few years to replace legacy technology [like Bios], which has been around for 22 years, but the value proposition is so high that it is not a question of if but when [it will be replaced]," Du said.

Support for UEFI in the next version of Windows Server (codenamed Longhorn) and a future Windows Vista service pack, both due later this year, should tip the balance in the technology's favour.

"Microsoft has worked with us in some things, but it will take a few years to have [UEFI] support in every single product line platform," added Du.

The number of IT professionals who understand the original Bios specification is now limited, says Intel, while UEFI offers much better certification and a clear division of the interface for each of the compiler's functions, allowing high level languages like C++ to scale. It is also modular, added Du.

"The old [Bios] code is like a whole pile of spaghetti, all stacked together and very messy and it is hard to find the space to squeeze anything else into it. What UEFI allows you to do is clearly define a framework to go with other devices, or virtual software or hardware devices," Du said.

The UEFI Forum released a new specification, dubbed the Platform Initialization (PI) v1.0 on 6 April, designed to address ongoing concerns about interoperability issues between different vendors’ firmware components.