Artesyn MOTLoad Firmware Package User's Manual (February 2015) - Manual (Page 231)

Appendix A
MOTLoad Firmware Package User’s Manual (6806800C24D) 231
A
MOTLoad Non-Volatile Data
A.1 Introduction
Non-volatile data is stored data that remains in memory after power-down. Some of the data
is meant to be permanent and fixed, while other portions can be temporary and changed. Most
of the fixed or permanent data is entered by the factory, at the time the product is built, while
the temporary data or variable data is entered by the user, after the product is up and running.
There are three types of non-volatile data in MOTLoad:
 Vital Product Data (VPD): describes the unique characteristics of a specific board, such as
marketing product number, serial number, assembly number, processor family, hardware
clock frequencies, and component configuration information. Because most of the
information is unique to that board, it is considered permanent, and is not usually changed
by the user. Because the firmware uses certain VPD information during the boot process,
changing this information can prevent the firmware from coming on-line (that means no
firmware prompt) and render the board inoperable or unstable.
 Global Environment Variables (GEVs): any stored information that the user may want to
define on a board-by-board basis for use from one power-up to another. Boards can
operate without any GEV, but errors may occur. However, even if errors occur, or the GEV
is missing, the firmware should still come on-line and display a prompt.
 Device-specific parameters, such as Serial Presence Detect (SPD) information for memory
devices. This data is determined by the device itself and is stored in a private non-volatile
storage device. SPD information is not described in this section, but is usually listed in an
appendix in the board installation manual.
A.2 Vital Product Data (VPD) Use
This section briefly explains the purpose of VPD, and describes how to read, archive, and edit
that information.
A.2.1 Purpose
The purpose of the Vital Product Data (VPD) portion of non-volatile data is to store board-
specific information that is not easily retrievable from other software sources. It is considered
permanent and should not be changed by a non-technical person. The information is useful
during board initialization, configuration, and verification. The firmware (in this case
MOTLoad) uses some of this information during the boot process. This information can also be