Firmware and Hardware Upgrades


The operation of I/O devices in a server can be greatly affected by the firmware used to control them. For built-in I/O devices such as USB ports, keyboard ports, and so forth, the firmware in question is the system BIOS. The system BIOS is used to configure and control these ports. If you have problems with built-in I/O ports and devices, you should check with your server or server motherboard vendor to see if a BIOS upgrade is available.

The performance of CD and DVD drives is also affected by a drive's built-in firmware. Although CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives generally don't have upgradeable firmware, rewritable CD and DVD drives do. Firmware upgrades for CD and DVD drives can improve a drive's compatibility with certain brands, types, and speeds of media, and they can improve mastering or drag-and-drop reliability.

Obtaining Firmware Upgrades

To obtain a system BIOS or optical drive firmware upgrade, you can visit the vendor's website. It's important that you review the technical notes carefully to determine which upgrade you need for your device and what problems it solves. Generally, you should not install a firmware upgrade if you are satisfied with your system or drive performance or stability.

Adding or Replacing Onboard Ports/Devices

With the high degree of integration available in today's servers, it's most desirable to use onboard I/O ports and devices when they are suitable to your purposes. However, it might be necessary to use add-on I/O cards to improve the operation of a particular server. For example, if you decide to use a USB 2.0 backup device such as an external hard disk or tape drive, but your server has only USB 1.1 ports, you should install a USB 2.0 PCI card to get maximum performance. If you need to free up system resources, you can disable the onboard USB 1.1 ports in the system BIOS if they are not in use. However, given the fact that both onboard and add-on USB ports are PCI devices that can share IRQs, this is typically not a significant problem.

Similarly, if you want to install a RAID array in a system that does not have an onboard RAID controller, you need to install a RAID-capable ATA/IDE (PATA), SATA, or SCSI host adapter. Again, you can disable no-longer-needed host adapters in the system BIOS if necessary.

Whether you add additional I/O ports or replace onboard ports with newer, faster devices, you should try to use add-on cards that are compatible with digitally signed device drivers. Unsigned device drivers can lead to system failures, which are unacceptable in a server. You should contact the vendor of a particular add-on card to determine whether the card uses a standard Windows Server driver or whether a vendor-provided driver must be used. If a vendor-provided driver must be used, you should favor cards whose vendors provide digitally signed drivers.




Upgrading and Repairing Servers
Upgrading and Repairing Servers
ISBN: 078972815X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 240

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