You could be using 1982 software

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This is no so much a question as a rant and a warning.
You could be using software from 1982 without knowing it. That's right, in the firmware of most PC hardware.
We recently developed a replication and rollout process for our linux workstations (desktop and rack servers) which worked for Lenovo P300 but failed mysteriously for the "HP ProLiant DL320e Gen8 v2 Server". The error involved a GPT (versus the MBR that was created for us on the HP server). You can look up these terms on the internet, but I can tell you briefly that the "Master Boot Record" technology dates from the early 80s and is implemented by BIOS firmware, while "GUID Partition Table" is more modern and associated with the newer UEFI firmware standard. Actually, there are even later firmware standards which are open-source.
We just obtained Lenovo P310 that has both but defaults to BIOS. The HP only had BIOS. Not sure how hard they would be to flash, but we sent them back for Gen 9 servers. One limitation of BIOS is a 2T max hard drive, there are kludge workarounds to this as with most limits.
It was almost funny: investigating, I went into the BIOS. Then I called over a few people to try and guess what I had on the screen: TRS-80, Commodore-65, IBM-XT and so forth from the older guys. The young guys were miffed. So am I. Why would a computer company sell this garbage? And Redhat certified it.

Responses

Hi there!

As you probably know, BIOS manufacturers are constantly updating and rewriting their code to support new hardware and new technologies. Therefore, your statement is probably better put as "You could be using software based on a standard from 1982", which is hardly surprising. The HP server you mention was one of the last to be manufactured without the UEFI standard, which as you know is more modern and supports newer partition table systems.

However, I'm not sure what the point of your rant is. Red Hat certified that system when it was new and the UEFI standard was still being discussed. Red Hat also certifies newer UEFI-based systems as they are released. This is not surprising - this is merely the advance of technology over time.

If you have a problem with the capability of your hardware we would suggest taking this up with the manufacturer.

Hope this helps,

Paul

Or I could have said "based on software from 1975" since BIOS started under CP/M! Anyway, the 80s-style screens in the HP server BIOS say "copywrite 1982". I appreciate your answer Paul, but EFI was initiated in 2000 and UEFI in 2005. PCs shipping after 2014 are supposed to have it. BIOS is a show stopper when you are rolling out dozens of machines of different ilk. I don't expect RedHat to correct the laziness of manufacturers and yes, I am complaining on HP's board too, so, more accurately, on this board my post is a (hopefully helpful) warning to others. The procurement process in my company is long and brutal, so it is no joke to return servers.

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