In
computing
Computing is any goal-oriented activity requiring, benefiting from, or creating computing machinery. It includes the study and experimentation of algorithmic processes, and development of both hardware and software. Computing has scientific, e ...
, the System Management BIOS (SMBIOS) specification defines
data structure
In computer science, a data structure is a data organization, management, and storage format that is usually chosen for efficient access to data. More precisely, a data structure is a collection of data values, the relationships among them, a ...
s (and access methods) that can be used to read management information produced by the
BIOS
In computing, BIOS (, ; Basic Input/Output System, also known as the System BIOS, ROM BIOS, BIOS ROM or PC BIOS) is firmware used to provide runtime services for operating systems and programs and to perform hardware initialization during the ...
of a
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
. This eliminates the need for the
operating system
An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs.
Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...
to probe hardware directly to discover what devices are present in the computer. The SMBIOS specification is produced by the
Distributed Management Task Force
Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry standards organization that creates open manageability standards spanning diverse emerging and traditional IT infrastructures including cloud, virtualization, network, s ...
(DMTF), a non-profit
standards development organization
A standards organization, standards body, standards developing organization (SDO), or standards setting organization (SSO) is an organization whose primary function is developing, coordinating, promulgating, revising, amending, reissuing, interpr ...
. The DMTF estimates that two billion client and server systems implement SMBIOS.
The DMTF released the version 3.6.0 of the specification on June 20, 2022.
SMBIOS was originally known as Desktop Management BIOS (DMIBIOS), since it interacted with the
Desktop Management Interface
The Desktop Management Interface (DMI) generates a standard framework for managing and tracking components in a desktop, notebook or server computer, by abstracting these components from the software that manages them. The development of DMI, 2.0 ...
(DMI).
History
Version 1 of the Desktop Management BIOS (DMIBIOS) specification was produced by
Phoenix Technologies
Phoenix Technologies Ltd is an American company that designs, develops and supports core system software for personal computers and other computing devices. The company's products commonly referred to as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or fir ...
in or before 1996.
Version 2.0 of the Desktop Management BIOS specification was released on March 6, 1996 by
American Megatrends
AMI (American Megatrends International LLC, formerly American Megatrends Inc.) is an international hardware and software company, specializing in PC hardware and firmware. The company was founded in 1985 by Pat Sarma and Subramonian Shankar. It ...
(AMI),
Award Software
Award Software International Inc. was a BIOS manufacturer founded in 1983, by Rene Vishney and Bob Stillman in San Jose, California. In 1984 the company moved its international headquarters to Los Gatos, California, United States.
History
In 1 ...
,
Dell
Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies.
Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...
,
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 seri ...
, Phoenix Technologies, and
SystemSoft Corporation
Insyde Software () is a company that specializes in UEFI system firmware and engineering support services, primarily for OEM and ODM computer and component device manufacturers. They are listed on the Gre Tai Market of Taiwan and headquartered i ...
. It introduced 16-bit plug-and-play functions used to access the structures from Windows 95.
The last version to be published directly by vendors was 2.3 on August 12, 1998. The authors were American Megatrends, Award Software,
Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...
, Dell,
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
, Intel,
International Business Machines (IBM), Phoenix Technologies, and SystemSoft Corporation.
Circa 1999, the
Distributed Management Task Force
Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit industry standards organization that creates open manageability standards spanning diverse emerging and traditional IT infrastructures including cloud, virtualization, network, s ...
(DMTF) took ownership of the specification. The first version published by the DMTF was 2.3.1 on March 16, 1999. At approximately the same time
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
started to require that
OEM
An original equipment manufacturer (OEM) is generally perceived as a company that produces non-aftermarket parts and equipment that may be marketed by another manufacturer. It is a common industry term recognized and used by many professional or ...
s and BIOS vendors support the interface/data-set in order to have Microsoft
certification
Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...
.
Version 3.0.0, introduced in February 2015, added a 64-bit entry point, which can coexist with the previously defined 32-bit entry point.
Version 3.4.0 was released in August 2020.
Version 3.5.0 was released in September 2021.
Version 3.6.0 was released in June 2022.
Contents
The SMBIOS table consists of an entry point (two types are defined, 32-bit and 64-bit), and a variable number of structures that describe platform components and features. These structures are occasionally referred to as "tables" or "records" in third-party documentation.
Structure types
As of version 3.3.0, the SMBIOS specification defines the following structure types:
Accessing SMBIOS data
The EFI configuration table (EFI_CONFIGURATION_TABLE) contains entries pointing to the SMBIOS 2 and/or SMBIOS 3 tables. There are several ways to access the data, depending on the platform and operating system.
From UEFI
In the
UEFI Shell, the command can retrieve and display the SMBIOS data. One can often enter the UEFI shell by entering the system firmware settings, and then selecting the shell as a boot option (as opposed to a DVD drive or hard drive).
From Unix
For
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
,
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free and open-source Unix-like operating system descended from the Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), which was based on Research Unix. The first version of FreeBSD was released in 1993. In 2005, FreeBSD was the most popular ...
, etc., the
dmidecode
dmidecode is a free software, free User space, userspace Command-line interface, command-line utility for Linux that can parse the SMBIOS data. The name dmidecode is derived from Desktop Management Interface, a related standard with which dmidec ...
utility can be used.
From Windows
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
specifies
WMI as the preferred mechanism for accessing SMBIOS information from
Microsoft Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
.
On Windows systems that support it (XP and later), some SMBIOS information can be viewed with either the
WMIC
WMIC (660 AM) is a full service radio station licensed to Sandusky, Michigan at 660 kHz on the AM dial, with an power output of 1,000 watts. WMIC covers Sanilac County, Michigan and The Thumb area of Michigan. The station is owned by Sanila ...
utility with 'BIOS'/'MEMORYCHIP'/'BASEBOARD' and similar parameters, or by looking in the Windows Registry under HKLM\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System.
Various software utilities can retrieve raw SMBIOS data, including FirmwareTablesView and
AIDA64 AIDA64 is a system information, diagnostics, and auditing application developed by FinalWire Ltd (a Hungarian company) that runs on Windows, Android, iOS, Windows Phone, Tizen, ChromeOS and Sailfish OS operating systems. It displays detailed inf ...
.
Generating SMBIOS data
Table and structure creation is normally up to the system firmware/BIOS. The
UEFI Platform Initialization
The Platform Initialization Specification (PI Specification) is a specification published by the Unified EFI Forum that describes the internal interfaces between different parts of computer platform firmware. This allows for more interoperability b ...
(PI) specification includes an SMBIOS protocol (EFI_SMBIOS_PROTOCOL) that allows components to submit SMBIOS structures for inclusion, and enables the producer to create the SMBIOS table for a platform.
Platform virtualization software
Platform virtualization software, specifically emulators and hypervisors, are software packages that emulate the whole physical computer machine, often providing multiple virtual machines on one physical platform. The table below compares basic i ...
can also generate SMBIOS tables for use inside VMs, for instance
QEMU
QEMU is a free and open-source emulator (Quick EMUlator). It emulates the machine's processor through dynamic binary translation and provides a set of different hardware and device models for the machine, enabling it to run a variety of guest ...
.
If the SMBIOS data is not generated and filled correctly then the machine may behave unexpectedly. For example, a
Mini PC that advertises ''Chassis Information , Type = Tablet'' may behave unexpectedly using Linux. A desktop manager like
GNOME
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
will attempt to monitor a non-existent battery and shut down the screen and network interfaces when the missing battery drops below a threshold. Additionally, if the ''Chassis Information , Manufacturer'' is not filled in correctly then work-arounds for the incorrect ''Type = Tablet'' problem cannot be applied.
See also
*
Web-Based Enterprise Management
In computing, Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) comprises a set of systems-management technologies developed to unify the management of distributed computing environments. The WBEM initiative, initially sponsored in 1996 by BMC Software, C ...
(WBEM)
References
External links
*
SMBIOS Demystified August 1, 2006, by Kiran Sanjeeva
{{DMTF Standards
DMTF standards
BIOS
Computer hardware standards