[flashrom] DMI matching patch

[Luc Verhaegen]

On Thu, Jan 07, 2010 at 11:29:32AM +0100, Michael Karcher wrote:
> Am Donnerstag, den 07.01.2010, 10:30 +0100 schrieb Luc Verhaegen:
> > I am just warning that dmi might not be as tight and enduring as many 
> > people think it is, and that therefor it should be used with some care.
> 
> For the tightness, I completely agree: DMI/SMBIOS matching is only as
> good as the strings the vendor provide. That's the same problem we have
> with subsystem IDs. And of course if the vendor just ignores susbsystem
> IDs, it is quite probable that it also doesn't care about DMI/SMBIOS
> strings, see your Jetway example below.
> 
> For the endurance, I think there will be no problem: The SMBIOS table
> interface will be as enduring as non-EFI PC Biosses. There is no
> end-of-life announcement for SMBIOS, and Windows (still in Windows 7)
> uses SMBIOS to retrieve the system information presented WMI. BIOS
> vendors will provide SMBIOS stuff because the brand customers need this
> feature (they can't explain the business customers why their board name
> doesn't appear in the WMI database), which means that even no-name
> boards will get the SMBIOS table, but perhaps with useless entries, see
> the tightness issue above.
> 
> > Also, i own Jetway mini-itx boards for which dmi will not change a 
> > thing (but luckily, they do not require a board enable).
> 
> Regards,
>   Michael Karcher
> 

Would have to fire up the jetways and verify whether it really us that 
empty.

Luc Verhaegen.