Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 User manual

Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515
BIOS and UEFI Reference Guide
Part Number: E45S Series
Regulatory Type: E45S003
August 2022
Rev. A08

Notes, cautions, and warnings
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid
the problem.
WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.
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Chapter 1: Pre-operating system management applications...........................................................4
System Setup....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
System BIOS................................................................................................................................................................... 5
iDRAC Settings utility................................................................................................................................................. 22
Device Settings............................................................................................................................................................ 22
Dell Lifecycle Controller................................................................................................................................................... 22
Embedded system management..............................................................................................................................22
Boot Manager.....................................................................................................................................................................23
PXE boot............................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Contents
Contents 3

Pre-operating system management
applications
You can manage basic settings and features of a system without booting to the operating system by using the system firmware.
Options to manage the pre-operating system applications
You can use any one of the following options to manage the pre-operating system applications:
●System Setup
●Dell Lifecycle Controller
●Boot Manager
●Preboot Execution Environment (PXE)
Topics:
•System Setup
•Dell Lifecycle Controller
•Boot Manager
•PXE boot
System Setup
Using the System Setup option, you can configure the BIOS settings, iDRAC settings, and device settings of the system.
You can access system setup by using any one of the following interfaces:
●Graphical User interface — To access go to iDRAC Dashboard, click Configuration, and click BIOS Settings.
●Text browser — The browser is enabled by using Console Redirection.
To view System Setup, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu.
NOTE: If the operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then restart
the system and try again.
The System Setup Main Menu screen details are described as follows:
Table 1. System Setup Main Menu
Option Description
System BIOS Enables you to configure the BIOS settings.
iDRAC Settings Enables you to configure the iDRAC settings. The iDRAC
settings utility is an interface to set up and configure
the iDRAC parameters by using UEFI (Unified Extensible
Firmware Interface). You can enable or disable various
iDRAC parameters by using the iDRAC settings utility. For
more information about this utility, see Integrated Dell
Remote Access Controller User’s Guide at www.dell.com/
poweredgemanuals.
Device Settings Enabled you to configure device settings for devices such as
storage controllers or network cards.
1
4 Pre-operating system management applications

System BIOS
To view the System BIOS screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System BIOS.
Table 2. System BIOS details
Option Description
System Information Provides information about the system such as the system model name, BIOS
version, and Service Tag.
Memory Settings Specifies information and options related to the installed memory.
Processor Settings Specifies information and options related to the processor such as speed and
cache size.
SATA Settings Specifies options to enable or disable the integrated SATA controller and ports.
NVMe Settings Specifies options to change the NVMe settings. If the system contains the
NVMe drives that you want to configure in a RAID array, you must set both
this field and the Embedded SATA field on the SATA Settings menu to
RAID mode. You might also need to change the Boot Mode setting to UEFI.
Otherwise, you should set this field to Non-RAID mode.
Boot Settings Specifies options to specify the Boot mode (BIOS or UEFI). Enables you to
modify UEFI and BIOS boot settings.
Network Settings Specifies options to manage the UEFI network settings and boot protocols.
Legacy network settings are managed
from the Device Settings menu.
NOTE: Network Settings are not supported in BIOS boot mode.
Integrated Devices Specifies options to manage integrated device controllers and ports, specifies
related features, and options.
Serial Communication Specifies options to manage the serial ports, its related features, and options.
System Profile Settings Specifies options to change the processor power management settings, memory
frequency.
System Security Specifies options to configure the system security settings, such as system
password, setup password, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security, and UEFI
secure boot. It also manages the power button on the system
Redundant OS Control Sets the redundant OS information for redundant OS control.
Miscellaneous Settings Specifies options to change the system date and time.
System Information
To view the System Information screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System
BIOS > System Information.
Table 3. System Information details
Option Description
System Model Name Specifies the system model name.
System BIOS Version Specifies the BIOS version installed on the system.
System Service Tag Specifies the system Service Tag.
System Manufacturer Specifies the name of the system manufacturer.
System Manufacturer Contact Information Specifies the contact information of the system manufacturer.
Pre-operating system management applications 5

Table 3. System Information details (continued)
Option Description
System CPLD Version Specifies the current version of the system complex programmable
logic device (CPLD) firmware.
UEFI Compliance Version Specifies the UEFI compliance level of the system firmware.
AGESA Version Specifies the AGESA reference code version.
SMU Version Specifies the SMU firmware version.
DXIO Version Specifies the DXIO firmware version.
Memory Settings
To view the Memory Settings screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System BIOS
> Memory Settings.
Table 4. Memory Settings details
Option Description
System Memory Size Specifies the memory size in the system.
System Memory Type Specifies the type of memory installed in the system.
System Memory Speed Specifies the system memory speed.
System Memory Voltage Specifies the system memory voltage.
Video Memory Specifies the amount of video memory.
System Memory Testing Specifies whether the system memory tests are run during system boot.
The two options available are Enabled and Disabled. This option is set to
Disabled by default.
DRAM Refresh Delay By enabling the CPU memory controller to delay running the REFRESH
commands, you can improve the performance for some workloads. By
minimizing the delay time, it is ensured that the memory controller runs
the REFRESH command at regular intervals. For Intel-based servers, this
setting only affects systems configured with DIMMs which use 8 Gb
density DRAMs. This option is set to Minimum by default.
Memory Operating Mode Specifies the memory operating mode. The option is available and is set to
Optimizer Mode, by default.
Current State of Memory Operating Mode Specifies the mode selected in the memory operating mode.
Memory Interleaving Enables or disables the memory interleaving option. The two options
available are Auto and Disabled. This option is set to Auto by default.
Correctable Error Logging Enables or disables correctable error logging. This option is set to
Enabled by default.
DIMM Self healing (Post Package Repair) on
Uncorrectable Memory Error
Enables or disables Post Package Repair (PPR) on Uncorrectable Memory
Error. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Processor Settings
To view the Processor Settings screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System
BIOS > Processor Settings.
6Pre-operating system management applications

Table 5. Processor Settings details
Option Description
Logical Processor Each processor core supports up to two logical processors.
If this option is set to Enabled, the BIOS displays all the
logical processors. If this option is set to Disabled, the BIOS
displays only one logical processor per core. This option is set
to Enabled by default.
Virtualization Technology Enables or disables the virtualization technology for the
processor. This option is set to Enabled by default.
IOMMU Support Enable or Disable IOMMU support. It is required to create
IVRS ACPI table. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Kernel DMA Protection When this option is set to Enabled, using IOMMU, BIOS,
and the Operating System will enable direct memory access
protection for DMA capable peripheral devices. Enable
IOMMU Support to use this option. When this option is set
to Enabled, using Virtualization Technology, BIOS, and the
Operating System will enable direct memory access protection
for DMA capable peripheral devices. Enable Virtualization
Technology to use this option. This option is set to Disabled
by default.
L1 Stream HW Prefetcher Enables or disables the L1 stream hardware prefetcher. This
option is set to Enabled by default.
L2 Stream HW Prefetcher Enables or disables the L2 stream hardware prefetcher. This
option is set to Enabled by default.
L1 Stride Prefetcher Enables or disables the L1 stride prefetcher. This option is set
to Enabled by default, as it optimizes overall workload.
NOTE: This option is only available for 3rd Generation
AMD EPYC processors.
L1 Region Prefetcher Enables or disables the L1 region prefetcher. This option is set
to Enabled by default, as it optimizes overall workload.
NOTE: This option is only available for 3rd Generation
AMD EPYC processors.
L2 Up Down Prefetcher Enables or disables the L2 up down prefetcher. This option is
set to Enabled by default, as it optimizes overall workload.
NOTE: This option is only available for 3rd Generation
AMD EPYC processors.
MADT Core Enumeration Specifies the MADT Core Enumeration. This option is set to
Linear by default.
NUMA Nodes Per Socket Specifies the number of NUMA nodes per socket. This option
is set to 1by default.
L3 cache as NUMA Domain Enables or disables the CCX as NUMA Domain. This option is
set to Disabled by default.
Secure Memory Encryption (SME) Enables or disables the AMD secure encryption features such
as SME and Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV). It also
determines if other secure encryption features such as TSME
and SEV-SNP can be enabled. This option is set to Disabled
by default.
NOTE: This option is only available for 3rd Generation
AMD EPYC processors.
Minimum SEV non-ES ASID Determines the number of Secure Encrypted Virtualization ES
and non-ES available Address Space IDs. This option is set to
1by default.
Pre-operating system management applications 7

Table 5. Processor Settings details (continued)
Option Description
Secured Nested Paging (SNP) Enables or disables SEV-SNP, a set of additional security
protections. This option is set to Disabled by default.
NOTE: This option is only available for 3rd Generation
AMD EPYC processors.
SNP Memory Coverage This option selects the operating mode of the Nested Paging
(SNP) Memory and the reverse Map Table(RMP). The RMP
is used to ensure a one-to-one mapping between system
physical addresses and guest physical addresses.
NOTE: This option is only available for 3rd Generation
AMD EPYC processors.
Transparent Secure Memory Encryption (TSME) Enables or disables the TSME. TSME is always-on memory
encryption that does not require OS or hypervisor support.
This option is set to Disabled by default.
●If the OS supports SME, do not enable this field.
●If the hypervisor supports SEV, do not enable this field.
Enabling
TSME affects the system memory performance.
Enhanced REP MOVSB/STOSB Enables or disables Enhanced REP MOVSB/STOSB support.
This setting can affect performance, depending on the
application running on the server. This option is set to
Disabled by default.
NOTE: This option is only available for the AMD EPYC
7003 processor.
Fast Short REP MOVSB Enables or disables Fast Short REP MOVSB support. This
setting can affect performance, depending on the application
running on the server. This option is set to Disabled by
default.
NOTE: This option is only available for the AMD EPYC
7003 processor.
REP-MOV/STOS Streaming Enables or disables REP MOVISTOS Streaming support. This
setting can affect performance, depending on the application
running on the server. This option is set to Disabled by
default.
NOTE: This option is only available for the AMD EPYC
7003 processor.
Configurable TDP Allows the reconfiguration of the processor Thermal Design
Power (TDP) levels based on the power and thermal delivery
capabilities of the system. TDP refers to the maximum amount
of power the cooling system is required to dissipate. This
option is set to Maximum by default.
NOTE: This option is only available on certain SKUs of the
processors, and the number of alternative levels varies as
well.
x2APIC Mode Enables or disables x2APIC mode. This option is set to
Enabled by default.
NOTE: For two CPU 64 cores configuration, x2APIC
mode is not switchable if 256 threads are enabled (BIOS
settings: All CCD, cores, and logical processors enabled).
Number of CCDs per Processor Controls the number of enabled CCDs in each processor. This
option is set to All by default.
8 Pre-operating system management applications

Table 5. Processor Settings details (continued)
Option Description
Number of Cores per CCD Specifies the number of cores per CCD. This option is set to
All by default.
Processor Core Speed Specifies the maximum core frequency of the processor.
Processor n NOTE: Depending on the number of CPUs, there might be
up to n processors listed.
The following settings are displayed for each processor that is
installed in the
system:
Table 6. Processor n details
Option Description
Family-Model-Stepping Specifies the family, model, and stepping of the processor as
defined by AMD.
Brand Specifies the brand name.
Level 2 Cache Specifies the total L2 cache.
Level 3 Cache Specifies the total L3 cache.
Number of Cores Specifies the number of cores per processor.
Microcode Specifies the processor microcode version.
SATA Settings
To view the SATA Settings screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System BIOS >
SATA Settings.
Table 7. SATA Settings details
Option Description
Embedded SATA Enables the embedded SATA option to be set to Off, AHCI mode , or RAID modes.
This option is set to AHCI Mode by default.
NOTE:
1. You might also need to change the Boot Mode setting to UEFI. Otherwise, you
should set the field to Non-RAID mode.
2. No ESXi and Ubuntu OS support under RAID mode.
Security Freeze Lock Sends Security Freeze Lock command to the embedded SATA drives during POST.
This option is applicable only for AHCI Mode. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Write Cache Enables or disables the command for the embedded SATA drives during POST. This
option is set to Disabled by default.
Port n Sets the drive type of the selected device.
For AHCI Mode or RAID Mode, BIOS support is always enabled.
Table 8. Port n
Options Descriptions
Model Specifies the drive model of the selected
device.
Drive Type Specifies the type of drive attached to
the SATA port.
Pre-operating system management applications 9

Table 7. SATA Settings details
Option Description
Table 8. Port n (continued)
Options Descriptions
Capacity Specifies the total capacity of the drive.
This field is undefined for removable
media devices such as optical drives.
NVMe Settings
To view the NVMe Settings screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System BIOS >
NVMe Settings
Table 9. NVMe Settings details
Option Description
NVMe Mode This option sets the NVMe drive mode. If the system contains NVMe drives that you
want to configure in a RAID array, you must set both this field and the Embedded
SATA field on the SATA settings menu to RAID Mode. You may also need to change
the Boot Mode setting to UEFI. The option is set to Non-RAID mode by default.
BIOS NVMe Driver Dell Qualified NVMe drives always use the UEFI NVMe driver built into the Dell BIOS.
When this option is set to 'All Drives', the BIOS driver will also be used with any NVMe
drives in the system that has not been qualified by Dell. The option is set to Dell
Qualified Drives by default.
NOTE: When this option is set to 'All Drives' and non-Dell qualified NVMe drives
are present, you have a configuration that has not been validated which may lead
to unexpected behavior.
Boot Settings
You can use the Boot Settings screen to set the boot mode to either BIOS or UEFI. It also enables you to specify the boot
order.
●UEFI: The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a new interface between operating systems and platform
firmware. The interface consists of data tables with platform related information, boot and runtime service calls that are
available to the operating system and its loader. The following benefits are available when the Boot Mode is set to UEFI:
○Support for drive partitions larger than 2 TB.
○Enhanced security (e.g., UEFI Secure Boot).
○Faster boot time.
NOTE: You must use only the UEFI boot mode in order to boot from NVMe drives.
●BIOS: The BIOS Boot Mode is the legacy boot mode. It is maintained for backward compatibility.
To view the Boot Settings screen, power on the system, press F2, and click System Setup Main Menu > System BIOS >
Boot Settings.
Table 10. Boot Settings details
Option Description
Boot Mode Enables you to set the boot mode of the system. If the operating system supports
UEFI, you can set this option to UEFI. Setting this field to BIOS allows compatibility
with non-UEFI operating systems. This option is set to UEFI by default.
CAUTION: Switching the boot mode may prevent the system from
booting if the operating system is not installed in the same boot mode.
NOTE: Setting this field to UEFI disables the BIOS Boot Settings menu.
10 Pre-operating system management applications