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Framework Overview

Intel has been investing in technology to improve the firmware for Intel® Architectures for several years. The first fruit of that investment was the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI). EFI provides a clean interface between operating systems and the platform at boot time and supports an architecture-independent mechanism for initializing add-in cards.

OEMs, BIOS vendors and Intel have all believed for some time that the technical foundation of the PC's firmware warrants improvement. Intel believes that EFI, by providing a stable interface between the platform and the OS, paved the way for a next generation firmware implementation that reaches beyond BIOS.

The Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI, is the product-strength implementation of the EFI specification recommended across all Intel Architectures. This starts with EFI 1.10 and progresses to UEFI 2.0 and higher.

An EFI Developer Kit that includes the Foundation code for the Framework is available at www.tianocore.org.

The Intel Platform Innovation Framework for EFI is a set of robust architectural interfaces, implemented in C that have been purpose-built to enable the BIOS industry and our customers to accelerate the evolution of innovative, differentiated, platform designs.

Customers who wish to obtain complete products based on the Framework should contact a participating vendor. Announced participating vendors include American Megatrends, Inc.*, Insyde Software Corp.*, Phoenix Technologies, LTD. Participating vendors offer products and services based on the Framework, for both Intel® and non-Intel silicon. Hardware support modules and drivers are not generally available directly from Intel. Intel has licensed participating vendors to provide the Framework integrated with hardware support to the industry. Framework products are being deployed on both Intel and non-Intel silicon. Hardware drivers and modules for Intel silicon are being created by Intel and by participating vendors. Participating vendors offer drivers for non-Intel silicon as well as working with suppliers of non-Intel silicon to provide OEM support for the Framework on non-Intel systems.

Intel designed the Framework with modularity and practicality in mind. The Framework allows OEMs and ODMs to use modules from different vendors and to share those modules between projects and platforms. In addition, developers will be able to move from one project or platform to another while working on Intel XScale® microarchitecture, 32- and 64-bit Intel® architectures, with a reduced learning curve.

The Framework is designed to easily accept new firmware driver modules from silicon vendors for component support. Silicon vendors can provide detailed initialization algorithms just in time for power on by OEMs. The modules can be validated by the vendor on the latest silicon steppings prior to OEM sampling. Adding complex product workarounds can be accomplished effectively either through binary or reference modules even late in the motherboard design cycle. BIOS vendors can assist the silicon vendors in development, test, release and distribution of silicon support modules, or silicon vendors can work directly with key customers to isolate sensitive issues.

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