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-=============================================================
-Usage of the new open sourced rbu (Remote BIOS Update) driver
-=============================================================
-
-Purpose
-=======
-
-Document demonstrating the use of the Dell Remote BIOS Update driver.
-for updating BIOS images on Dell servers and desktops.
-
-Scope
-=====
-
-This document discusses the functionality of the rbu driver only.
-It does not cover the support needed from applications to enable the BIOS to
-update itself with the image downloaded in to the memory.
-
-Overview
-========
-
-This driver works with Dell OpenManage or Dell Update Packages for updating
-the BIOS on Dell servers (starting from servers sold since 1999), desktops
-and notebooks (starting from those sold in 2005).
-
-Please go to http://support.dell.com register and you can find info on
-OpenManage and Dell Update packages (DUP).
-
-Libsmbios can also be used to update BIOS on Dell systems go to
-http://linux.dell.com/libsmbios/ for details.
-
-Dell_RBU driver supports BIOS update using the monolithic image and packetized
-image methods. In case of monolithic the driver allocates a contiguous chunk
-of physical pages having the BIOS image. In case of packetized the app
-using the driver breaks the image in to packets of fixed sizes and the driver
-would place each packet in contiguous physical memory. The driver also
-maintains a link list of packets for reading them back.
-
-If the dell_rbu driver is unloaded all the allocated memory is freed.
-
-The rbu driver needs to have an application (as mentioned above)which will
-inform the BIOS to enable the update in the next system reboot.
-
-The user should not unload the rbu driver after downloading the BIOS image
-or updating.
-
-The driver load creates the following directories under the /sys file system::
-
- /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
- /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data
- /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type
- /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/data
- /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/packet_size
-
-The driver supports two types of update mechanism; monolithic and packetized.
-These update mechanism depends upon the BIOS currently running on the system.
-Most of the Dell systems support a monolithic update where the BIOS image is
-copied to a single contiguous block of physical memory.
-
-In case of packet mechanism the single memory can be broken in smaller chunks
-of contiguous memory and the BIOS image is scattered in these packets.
-
-By default the driver uses monolithic memory for the update type. This can be
-changed to packets during the driver load time by specifying the load
-parameter image_type=packet. This can also be changed later as below::
-
- echo packet > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type
-
-In packet update mode the packet size has to be given before any packets can
-be downloaded. It is done as below::
-
- echo XXXX > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/packet_size
-
-In the packet update mechanism, the user needs to create a new file having
-packets of data arranged back to back. It can be done as follows
-The user creates packets header, gets the chunk of the BIOS image and
-places it next to the packetheader; now, the packetheader + BIOS image chunk
-added together should match the specified packet_size. This makes one
-packet, the user needs to create more such packets out of the entire BIOS
-image file and then arrange all these packets back to back in to one single
-file.
-
-This file is then copied to /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data.
-Once this file gets to the driver, the driver extracts packet_size data from
-the file and spreads it across the physical memory in contiguous packet_sized
-space.
-
-This method makes sure that all the packets get to the driver in a single operation.
-
-In monolithic update the user simply get the BIOS image (.hdr file) and copies
-to the data file as is without any change to the BIOS image itself.
-
-Do the steps below to download the BIOS image.
-
-1) echo 1 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
-2) cp bios_image.hdr /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/data
-3) echo 0 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
-
-The /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/ entries will remain till the following is
-done.
-
-::
-
- echo -1 > /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/loading
-
-Until this step is completed the driver cannot be unloaded.
-
-Also echoing either mono, packet or init in to image_type will free up the
-memory allocated by the driver.
-
-If a user by accident executes steps 1 and 3 above without executing step 2;
-it will make the /sys/class/firmware/dell_rbu/ entries disappear.
-
-The entries can be recreated by doing the following::
-
- echo init > /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/image_type
-
-.. note:: echoing init in image_type does not change it original value.
-
-Also the driver provides /sys/devices/platform/dell_rbu/data readonly file to
-read back the image downloaded.
-
-.. note::
-
- After updating the BIOS image a user mode application needs to execute
- code which sends the BIOS update request to the BIOS. So on the next reboot
- the BIOS knows about the new image downloaded and it updates itself.
- Also don't unload the rbu driver if the image has to be updated.
-