Placeholder Boot Option for UEFI Server Preboot Configuration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional information handling systems, particularly those using the UEFI specification, face challenges in modifying boot options for server devices in data centers with Preboot Execution Environments (PXEs), as they cannot set predetermined boot orders before an operating system is installed, leading to issues with RAID storage systems not having a boot option prior to installation.
Innovation Solution
An Information Handling System (IHS) with a UEFI engine creates a device placeholder boot option that includes a device path terminating at a storage controller, moves it to a desired location in the boot sequence during the first boot, and replaces it with an operating system boot option after installation, allowing manipulation of fixed disk boot options before virtual disk creation on a RAID storage system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional UEFI boot option management is used, then boot options are automatically created after operating system installation, but predetermined boot orders cannot be set before operating system installation in PXE environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates placeholder boot options during the pre-boot phase (before operating system installation) that represent future boot targets. These placeholders are positioned in the boot sequence in advance, allowing the system to have predetermined boot orders configured before the actual boot target is available. The placeholder approach enables boot sequence configuration to occur earlier than conventional methods allow.
2Reliability
If boot options are created after operating system installation, then accurate boot targets are available, but additional reboots are required during installation process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces placeholder boot options as intermediary objects that temporarily represent the boot target before the actual operating system boot option is available. These placeholders serve as mediators between the boot sequence requirements and the unavailable boot target, allowing the boot sequence to be configured and executed without requiring additional reboots during installation.
3Ease of operation
If device placeholder boot option is created before operating system installation, then boot sequence can be manipulated, but the placeholder must be replaced with actual operating system boot option
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by creating placeholder boot options with the correct device paths and positioning them in the desired locations within the boot sequence before operating system installation. This preliminary configuration eliminates the need for complex post-installation boot sequence adjustments, as the placeholders are already in their final positions and simply need to be replaced with the actual boot options.
Data Source
AI summary
A boot option system includes a pre-boot execution environment system coupled to a server device through a network. The server device creates a device placeholder boot option including a device path terminating at a storage controller in the server device. During a first boot and based on first boot instructions received from the pre-boot execution environment system, the server device moves the device placeholder boot option to a desired location within a boot sequence for the server device. During a second boot and based on second boot instructions received from the pre-boot execution environment system, the server device provides an operating system on the server device. The server device then replaces, at the desired location within the boot sequence, the device placeholder boot option with an operating system boot option that was provided on the server device in response to the provisioning of the operating system on the server device.