

- FIERY XF OS BACKUP SOFTWARE INSTALL
- FIERY XF OS BACKUP SOFTWARE UPDATE
- FIERY XF OS BACKUP SOFTWARE UPGRADE
Updating microcode through BIOS might be the only approach on certain systems.
FIERY XF OS BACKUP SOFTWARE UPDATE
However, a BIOS update requires a reboot. Loading the microcode package as early as possible during boot time (via FIT or Early BIOS) increases the potential to effectively apply the mitigations implemented in the microcode and helps prevent later BIOS issues (for example, BIOS Memory Reference Code).
FIERY XF OS BACKUP SOFTWARE UPGRADE
The same update should be loaded on all cores.īy updating the BIOS to include a newer (or older) MCU, the system administrator can upgrade (or downgrade) the MCU that is loaded when the system boots. Runtime microcode update refers to loading an update while the system is fully operational and running workloads, possibly including user-space applications and virtual machines. This can be done by UEFI driver, a bootloader, the OS, or an early startup script.

If a higher update revision exists in that folder, the OS should load that MCU right after BIOS hands off control to the operation system. The OS will check the /lib/firmware/intel-ucode folder for a more recent microcode (higher update revision) than the microcode used by the BIOS. If the reload fails, the architectural features enabled by the late BIOS MCU might not be available on the system. If that happens, late BIOS must reload the same update that was loaded previously. To enable these architectural features, all logical processors must execute a late BIOS MCU, even if the same microcode has already been loaded from the FIT or during early BIOS. Sometimes, enabling certain architectural components require a late BIOS microcode update. If an update has already been loaded via the FIT, BIOS may skip this microcode update. Early BIOS MCU occurs when a microcode update is loaded by the BIOS before memory initialization. FIT MCU is the preferred method to load MCUs for Intel platforms, because it helps to ensure the update components are loaded at the earliest point in the boot process. If a suitable update is found (an MCU that matches the CPU’s processor signature and platform ID), then the processor loads the MCU before the first instruction of the BIOS firmware is fetched. FIT is a data structure placed in the platform BIOS SPI flash that can hold pointers to MCUs.

The system can load MCUs from multiple points. Instructions provided here should not be used in a production setup, as use in a production setup could result in a system being unmaintainable at scale and more vulnerable than before.
FIERY XF OS BACKUP SOFTWARE INSTALL
You should follow the instructions provided by your OS vendor to install MCUs. To learn more, refer to the Guidance for System Administrators to Mitigate Transient Execution Side Channel Issues.īefore installing critical files from the internet, such files should pass checksum match and identity verification. The packages are signed with OS vendor identity to help ensure integrity and authority of origin of the MCU. OS vendors distribute microcode update in a form of packages. Many operating system (OS) vendors provide automatic MCUs. Some of the uses of microcode updates (MCUs) are to mitigate potential CPU security vulnerabilities and improve system security. Comments next to the example commands will start with a // (double forward slash symbol). The Linux command line examples in this article start with either the $ (dollar symbol) to indicate the command can be run as a normal, non-privileged user, or the # (hash symbol) to indicate that the command must be run as a privileged user (root). We discuss details about these methods and provide multiple examples to help you choose the best option for your environment. Linux* administrators have several different options and methods to update their Intel systems’ microcode.
