1–Product Overview Hardware Components

Figure 1-5. Driver Model

Boot Code

Boot code resides in the Flash memory on the adapter. The primary function of the boot code is to communicate with an external boot device before the operating system takes control when booting from a storage device or a pre-eXecution environment (PXE) boot server attached to the QLogic Converged Network Adapter. This type of configuration is called PXE boot (LAN) or boot from SAN. QLogic Converged Network Adapters support PXE boot for servers with BIOS and unified extensible firmware interface (UEFI) capabilities, and boot from SAN for servers with BIOS, UEFI, and FCode capabilities.

Operating System Driver

The driver allows the operating system to interface with the adapter. QLogic provides operating system drivers for most enterprise-class operating systems. Most operating system vendors (OSVs) bundle QLogic adapter drivers with the operating system, in which case, no separate driver installation is required.

Drivers for all supported operating systems are available in the following ways:

Bundled with the operating system (inbox drivers)

QLogic Web site http://driverdownloads.qlogic.com/

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Q-Logic 8100 SERIES manual Boot Code, Operating System Driver