Security
The Server Board SE7500CW2 BIOS provides the ability to secure itself. Table 2 summarizes the security options available in the BIOS.
Table 2.
Security Operation Summary
Mode
User Password on boot (AT style)
Entry Method/ Event
Power On/Reset
Entry
Criteria
User password set and password on boot enabled
Behavior
System halts for User Password before booting. The system is not in secure mode. Except for the password, no mouse or keyboard input is accepted.
Exit Criteria
User password followed by [Enter]
After Exit
Power and Reset switches are enabled. Keyboard and mouse inputs are accepted. The system boots normally. Boot sequence is determined by setup options.
Password Protection
The BIOS uses passwords to prevent unauthorized tampering with the system. Once secure mode is entered, access to the system is allowed only after the correct password(s) has been entered. Both user and supervisor passwords are supported by the BIOS. The user password cannot be set unless a supervisor password has been set.
When set, a password can be cleared by changing it to a null string. Clearing the supervisor password also clears the user password. Entering the user password permits modification of the time, date, language, user password, and password on boot setup fields; other setup fields can be modified only if the supervisor password is entered. The user password also allows the system to boot, if secure boot is enabled.
If a wrong password is entered three times in a row, the BIOS stops validating passwords and the BIOS security engine returns a failure for any further password validation attempt. If the user enters three wrong passwords in a row during the boot sequence (i.e., when entering Setup), the system is placed into a halt state. This feature makes is difficult to break the password by the “trial and error” method.
18 | Intel Server Board SE7500CW2 Product Guide |