Intel Extensible Firmware Interface Benutzerhandbuch

10

12/12/00

Version 1.02

Figure 1-1 shows the principal components of EFI and their relationship to platform hardware and
OS software.

EFI BOOT SERVICES

EFI RUNTIME

SERVICES

EFI OS LOADER

OPERATING SYSTEM

INTERFACES

FROM

OTHER

REQUIRED

SPECS

ACPI

SMBIOS

[OTHER]

PLATFORM HARDWARE

EFI OS

LOADER

EFI SYSTEM PARTITION

This diagram illustrates the interactions of the various components of an EFI specification-
compliant system that are used to accomplish platform and OS boot.

The platform firmware is able to retrieve the OS loader image from the EFI System Partition.  The
specification provides for a variety of mass storage device types including disk, CD-ROM and
DVD as well as remote boot via a network.  Through the extensible protocol interfaces, it is
possible to envision other boot media types being added, although these may require OS loader
modifications if they require use of protocols other than those defined in this document

Once started, the OS loader continues to boot the complete operating system.  To do so, it may use
the EFI boot services and interfaces defined by this or other required specifications to survey,
comprehend and initialize the various platform components and the OS software that manages
them.  EFI runtime services are also available to the OS loader during the boot phase.