BIOS Error Handling ESB2 BMC Core TPS
Revision 1.0
Intel order number E18291-001
224
When enabled, the BIOS enables the operating system Boot Timer in the BMC. It is the
responsibility of the operating system or an application to disable this timer once the operating
system has successfully loaded.
Warning: Enabling this option without having an operating system or server management
application installed that supports this feature causes the system to reboot when the timer
expires. See the application or operating system documentation to confirm this feature is
supported for your operating system environment.
19.1.3 Operating System Watchdog Failure
If an operating system device driver is using the watchdog timer to detect software or hardware
failures and that timer expires, an Asynchronous Reset (ASR) is generated, which is equivalent
to a hard reset. The POST portion of the BIOS can query the BMC for watchdog reset event as
the system reboots, and logs this event in the SEL.
19.1.4 Boot Event
The BIOS downloads the system date and time to the BMC during POST. The BIOS then logs a
boot event. Software that parses the event log should not treat the boot event as an error.
19.2 Error Handling and Logging
This section defines how errors are handled by the system BIOS. The role of the BIOS in error
handling and the interaction between the BIOS, platform hardware, and server management
firmware with regard to error handling is discussed. In addition, error-logging techniques are
described and beep codes for errors are defined.
In the case of fatal and non-recoverable errors, the continued execution of the asynchronous
SMI error handler cannot be guaranteed due to the possibility for either catastrophic data
corruption compromising the integrity of the handler and/or system hardware reliability issues.
The handler records the error to the system event log only if the system has not experienced a
catastrophic failure that compromises the integrity of the handler.
19.2.1 Runtime Error Handler
A System Management Mode (SMM) runtime handler is used during runtime to handle and log
system level events that are not visible to the server management firmware. The runtime
handler pre-processes all system errors, even those normally considered to generate an NMI.
The runtime handler sends a command to the BMC to log the event and provides the data to be
logged. For example, the BIOS programs the hardware to generate an SMI on a single-bit
memory error and logs the location of the failed FBDIMM in the system event log. System
events handled by the BIOS generate an SMI. After the BIOS finishes logging the error it
asserts the NMI if needed.
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