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Server System Firmware in Open-Source Solution

Samba Chi

Principle Engineer of MiTAC Computing

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Agenda

  • Introduce Open-Source System Firmware
  • MiTAC Progress in Open-Source System Firmware

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INTRODUCE OPEN-SOURCE SYSTEM FIRMWARE

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Open-Source System Firmware

  • What is Open-Source System Firmware
  • Why do we need Open-Source System Firmware
  • How to adopt Open-Source System Firmware

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What is BIOS

  • Basic Input/Output System
  • Key Features
    • Power-On Self Test (POST)
    • Hardware Initialization
    • Boot Loader
    • BIOS Setup Utility

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What is Open-Source System Firmware

  • Open-Source System Firmware refers to firmware that is developed, released, and maintained as open source, allowing anyone to view, modify, and contribute to the code.
  • Like a traditional BIOS/UEFI firmware, Open-Source System Firmware:
    • Initializes hardware during system
    • Provides runtime services to the OS
    • Loads and transfers control to the OS
  • Unlike a traditional BIOS/UEFI firmware provided by IBV(Independent BIOS Vendor), Open-Source System Firmware is developed with publicly available source code.
  • Open Platform Firmware (OPF) is a subproject of Open Compute Project (OCP) defines guidelines of Open-Source System Firmware

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Why do we need Open-Source System Firmware

  • Increased Flexibility and Customization
    • Enable or disable features depending on the platform
  • No Vendor Lock-in
    • No need to wait for IBV’s release schedule for new features
  • Community Support and Development
    • New common features
    • Security fix

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Heap Buffer Overflow in Tcg2MeasureGptTable() · Advisory · tianocore/edk2 · GitHub

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SECURITY PATCH 4117/4118 symbol r… · tianocore/edk2@40adbb7 · GitHub

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How to adopt Open-Source System Firmware

  • Popular Open-Source System Firmware
    • TianoCore (EDK II)
    • coreboot
  • Generic Boot Flow
    • SoC/Chipset initialization
    • DRAM initialization
    • Main device initialization, PCI device/On-chip device/ACPI table/SMBIOS table
    • Boot device selection
    • Bootloader
    • Boot to OS

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Open-Source System Firmware

  • TianoCore - EDK II
    • EDK II (UEFI Development Kit II) is an Open-Source System Firmware development framework for building UEFI-compliant firmware.
    • It’s maintained by the TianoCore community, which was originally started by Intel.
    • Project License: BSD-2-Clause Plus Patent License
  • coreboot
    • coreboot is an Open-Source System Firmware platform that initializes hardware and launches an OS or payload, typically used as a replacement for proprietary BIOS/UEFI firmware.
    • It is lightweight, fast, and modular - designed for speed, transparency, and security.
    • Project License: GPLv2

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coreboot architecture — coreboot 25.03-453-g64fe6fd94a documentation

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Open-Source System Firmware Selection

  • EDK II
    • Greater support for features
    • Framework is more complicated
    • Treated as part of the Windows ecosystem
  • coreboot
    • Support essential features
    • Lightweight framework and easy to learn

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Silicon Initialization Firmware

  • Intel
    • Firmware Support Package (FSP)
      • https://github.com/intel/FSP
  • AMD
    • AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA)
    • openSIL

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Intel FSP Modules in EDK II (API Mode)

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Intel Universal Scalable Firmware Architecture

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AMD Silicon Initialization Firmware - from Close to Open

  • AGESA: Not Open-Source
  • openSIL: https://github.com/openSIL

Empowering The Industry with Open System Firmware – AMD openSIL

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Open Silicon Firmware Interface

  • Unsustainable solution:
    • Vertical Teams to support Host FW for various SoC Vendors
    • Disparate Interfaces result in vertical development teams
    • Unsustainable due to inefficient resource utilization, SoC specific FW dev, maintenance & validation

2025 OCP EMEA Summit » Open Compute Project

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Open Silicon Firmware Interface

  • openSFI solution:
    • Standardizes x86 silicon initialization
    • Bridges AMD openSIL and Intel FSP
    • Reduces firmware integration complexity
    • Lowers development and maintenance costs
    • Cuts redundant engineering efforts
    • Minimizes carbon footprint
    • Accelerates firmware standardization
    • Focused on API convergence

2025 OCP EMEA Summit » Open Compute Project

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MITAC PROGRESS IN OPEN-SOURCE SYSTEM FIRMWARE

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MiTAC Open-Source System Firmware

  • EDK II, coreboot
  • AMD AGESA/openSIL
  • Intel FSP
  • OpenBMC Integration
  • BIOS Setup App

https://github.com/coreboot/coreboot

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MiTAC BIOS Setup App

  • Open-Source Graphic Library
    • Project License: MIT License
  • EDK II, coreboot
  • Static, animated images
  • Keyboard, mouse input methods

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THANK YOU

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