This document introduces the BIOS parameter configuration based on services running on the server, and describes the applicable scenarios and configuration instructions for related workloads.

Introduction to the BIOS

The Basic Input Output System (BIOS) is a firmware stored in the system ROM and acts as the most fundamental operating program loaded on the server hardware system. As shown in Figure 1, the BIOS interacts between the server hardware and the operating system (OS) to initialize hardware and prepare for OS operation.

The main functions of the BIOS include:

· Perform POST self-test.

· Detect input/output devices and bootable devices, including memory initialization, hardware scanning, boot device searching, and system boot.

· Provide advanced power management ACPI.

· Configure the RAID.

Figure 1 Location of the BIOS in the system

Applicable products

This guide is applicable to the following products:

· H3C UniServer R4300 G6

· H3C UniServer R4700 G6

· H3C UniServer R4700LE G6

· H3C UniServer R4900 G6

· H3C UniServer R4900LE G6

· H3C UniServer R4900 G6 Ultra

· H3C UniServer R5300 G6

· H3C UniServer R5500 G6 Intel

· H3C UniServer R6700 G6

· H3C UniServer R6900 G6

Applicable versions

This document is applicable to BIOS-6.00.XX.

Using this document

The information in this document is subject to change without notice due to product version upgrade or other reasons.

The information in this document might differ from your product if it contains custom configuration options or features.

Recommended BIOS configurations

Introduction

An application scenario configuration template is a collection of configuration options for deploying the BIOS settings to suit the expected application of the server. The BIOS provides multiple sets of configuration templates to help users deploy the most suitable BIOS settings according to different application scenarios. The configuration parameters in the template are recommended values for various application scenarios.

BIOS configurations recommended for various workload patterns

The recommended BIOS parameter configurations for various workload patterns are shown in Table 1 and Table 2. These tables display the dependencies associated with application scenario configuration templates. X indicates that the system does not have any requirements on the option in the template and you can edit the option as needed. The default value of X varies by device model. When the configuration template is reapplied, the X value in the template will be restored to the default value of the current model.

NOTE:

· The BIOS may not display all the options corresponding to the table below, but the corresponding option settings will default to the values displayed in the table when the configuration template is used.

· After you select a configuration template other than Custom, the corresponding options will be grayed out and cannot be modified.

For more information about the configuration instructions and applicable scenarios for various types of workload patterns, see "Introduction to workload patterns."

Table 1 Dependencies of power consumption performance and application scenario configuration templates (1)

Dependency	Virtualization-Power Efficient mode	Virtualization–Performance mode	Low Latency mode	Fixed Turbo Frequency mode	High Performance Computing mode	General Peak Frequency Compute mode
Link L0p Enable	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Link L1 Enable	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
SNC	Auto	Auto	Disabled	Disabled	Auto	Disabled
ADDDC Sparing	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Patrol Scrub	Disabled	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST
Page Policy	Adaptive	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed
SpeedStep (Pstates)	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Disabled
Energy Efficient Turbo	Enabled	Disabled	Enabled	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled
Hardware P-States	Out of Band Mode	Native Mode	Native Mode	Out of Band Mode	Native Mode	Native Mode
EPP profile	Power	Balanced Performance	Balanced Performance	Performance	Balanced Performance	Balanced Performance
Enable Monitor MWAIT	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Disabled	Enabled	Disabled
CPU C6 report	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Enhanced Halt State (C1E)	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
Package C State	C6(Retention) state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state
ENERGY_PERF_BIAS_CFG mode	Power	Performance	Performance	Performance	Performance	Performance
Enable LP [Global]	ALL LPs	ALL LPs	Single LP	ALL LPs	ALL LPs	ALL LPs
Hardware Prefetcher	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled
Adjacent Cache Prefetch	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled
DCU Streamer Prefetcher	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled
LLC Prefetch	Enabled	Disabled	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled
VMX	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled
When the SNC option is set to Auto, Auto represents SNC4 if the HBM CPU type is used. If the EMR XCC CPU type is used, Auto represents SNC2. In other cases, Auto represents Disabled.

Table 2 Dependencies of power consumption performance and application scenario configuration templates (2)

Dependency	General Power Efficient Compute mode	Transactional Application Processing mode	General Throughput Compute mode	Advanced Reliability mode	Graphic Processing mode	AI Optimized mode	Custom mode
Link L0p Enable	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
Link L1 Enable	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
SNC	Auto	Auto	Disabled	Disabled	Auto	Disabled	X
ADDDC Sparing	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
Patrol Scrub	Disabled	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	Enable at End of POST	X
Page Policy	Adaptive	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	Closed	X
SpeedStep (Pstates)	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	X
Energy Efficient Turbo	Enabled	Disabled	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
Hardware P-States	Out of Band Mode	Native Mode	Native Mode	Native Mode	Native Mode	Disabled	X
EPP profile	Power	Balanced Performance	Balanced Performance	Balanced Performance	Balanced Performance	Balanced Performance	X
Enable Monitor MWAIT	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Enabled	Disabled	X
CPU C6 report	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
Enhanced Halt State (C1E)	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
Package C State	C6(Retention) state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	C0/C1 state	X
ENERGY_PERF_BIAS_CFG mode	Power	Performance	Performance	Performance	Performance	Performance	X
Enable LP [Global]	ALL LPs	ALL LPs	Single LP	ALL LPs	ALL LPs	ALL LPs	X
Hardware Prefetcher	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	X
Adjacent Cache Prefetch	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	X
DCU Streamer Prefetcher	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	X
LLC Prefetch	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Disabled	Disabled	Disabled	X
VMX	Disabled	Enabled	Enabled	Enabled	Disabled	Enabled	X

Introduction to workload patterns

This chapter introduces the applicable scenarios and configuration instructions for each workload pattern.

NOTE:

In this document, the BIOS configuration schemes for different application scenarios are universal solutions. For special requirements, configure the BIOS parameters according to your actual needs.

The BIOS provides the following application scenario configuration templates.

Fixed Turbo Frequency mode

Application scenarios

Fixed Turbo Frequency is used for applications that lock to the turbo frequency.

Usage guidelines

The main implementation is achieved through out-of-band methods, and the operating system does not participate in frequency adjustment.

General Peak Frequency Compute mode

Application scenarios

General Peak Frequency Compute is used for application scenarios that do not require high overall system performance.

Usage guidelines

By turning off the turbo boost switch, the operating system takes control of frequency adjustment, allowing the system to run at the base frequency.

Low Latency mode

Application scenarios

Low Latency is suitable for applications with high requirements for computational latency, such as systems with large data volume, real-time monitoring of service data, and wide message transmission.

Usage guidelines

This scenario requires the system to respond quickly to maximize the real-time value of the data. By disabling power-saving options, turning off the delay-inducing hyper-threading technology, and allowing the operating system to control frequency adjustments, this mode enables the system CPUs to operate at the turbo frequency.

High Performance Computing mode

Application scenarios

High Performance Computing mode is used for applications that require intensive computation.

Usage guidelines

The High Performance Computing mode is similar to the low latency mode, but is often used in concurrent multitasking scenarios. As a best practice, enable hyper-threading when you use this mode. By disabling energy-saving options, the operating system takes control of frequency adjustment, allowing the system to run at turbo frequency.

General Power Efficient Compute mode

Application scenarios

General Power Efficient Compute is used for application scenarios with high energy consumption requirements.

Usage guidelines

The General Power Efficient Compute mode is similar to the Virtualization-Power Efficient mode, but does not require enabling virtualization options. Enabling energy-saving options allows the CPU cores to enter sleep state. When the system switch between different states, the latency may increase and performance degrade may occur.

Virtualization-Power Efficient mode

Application scenarios

Virtualization-Power Efficient is used in virtualized environments and for application scenarios with high energy consumption requirements.

Usage guidelines

This mode enables all options related to virtualization to support virtualization features. By enabling energy-saving options and sacrificing the maximum operating speed, the system can achieve lower power consumption in idle state.

Virtualization–Performance mode

Application scenarios

The Virtualization–Performance mode is used in virtualized environments and is suitable for applications that require high performance.

Usage guidelines

This mode enables all options related to virtualization to support virtualization features. By disabling energy-saving options, the system obtains a higher operating speed and better performance.

Advanced Reliability mode

Application scenarios

The Advanced Reliability mode is used for applications with high requirements for system stability and maintainability.

Usage guidelines

This mode enables advanced RAS options and disables power-saving options to reduce the system's response processing time for handling errors. As a best practice, use X4 memory modules.

Transactional Application Processing mode

Application scenarios

The Transactional Application Processing mode is used for upper-level service scenarios, such as database systems.

Usage guidelines

This mode has the same settings as the high performance computing template, which is suitable for most scenarios. If the service data being targeted has a certain degree of randomness and the dataset is large, disable prefetching and NUMA memory access as a best practice. This is beneficial for the application to execute actual service operations.

General Throughput Compute mode

Application scenarios

The General Throughput Compute mode is used in scenarios that require maximum sustainable throughput.

Usage guidelines

By disabling the prefetch option and turning off the turbo boost switch, this mode reduces the number of stalled cycles caused by CPU waiting, balances peak frequency and throughput requirements, and improves IO throughput.

Graphic Processing mode

Application scenarios

The Graphic Processing mode is used for application scenarios that utilize a graphics processing unit.

Usage guidelines

This mode has the same settings as the high performance computing template, which is suitable for most scenarios. This mode disables the virtual machine technology to boost processor core frequency for improved data processing and system performance level.

AI Optimized mode

Application scenarios

The AI Optimized mode is used for application scenarios that perform artificial intelligence inference or training on large-scale computational resources to meet performance requirements.

Usage guidelines

Similar to the high performance computing template, this mode boosts server performance in scenarios involving artificial intelligence inference or training by locking the CPU to its highest performance level.

Custom mode

Application scenarios

The Custom mode uses the default configurations of the BIOS.

Usage guidelines

Selecting this mode automatically loads template-related parameters as default options, and users can customize various parameters based on this template. For detailed instructions on the default configurations of BIOS options, see the BIOS user guide.

Setting a template

You can use the following methods to set the application scenario configuration template:

· BIOS Setup method: In the BIOS setup utility, access the Advanced > Advanced Power Management Configuration > Workload Profile Configuration page.

· HDM exports BIOS in JSON format: Export BIOS JSON configurations through the HDM page, find WorkloadProfileConfiguration, and modify the corresponding template function. For more information, see H3C Servers HDM2 User Guide.

· SCE tool method: After selecting the Custom configuration template, you can use the SCE tool to modify the option values of the configuration template.

NOTE:

If you select a configuration template other than Custom, the configuration result changes according to the template settings.

This document mainly introduces template setup through the BIOS Setup method.

Accessing the BIOS setup utility

1. Connect keyboard, mouse, and monitor on the server or start the remote console from the HDM Web interface. For more information about launching the remote console, see the HDM user guide.

2. Start or restart the server. As shown in Figure 2, access the BIOS boot interface, and then press Del or Esc.

Figure 2 BIOS boot interface

3. As shown in Figure 3, if the startup password dialog box appears, enter the startup password in the dialog box.

Figure 3 Enter the startup password.

4. (Optional.) As shown in Figure 4, if both the BIOS admin password and user password are set, you must first select the login role when accessing the BIOS setup utility.

Figure 4 Selecting the role to enter the BIOS setup utility