American Megatrends Develops Aptio®V UEFI BIOS Firmware for ARM 64-bit Devices in Joint Collaboration with AppliedMicro™

Tuesday: October 30, 2012

Editorial Summary:

• American Megatrends Inc. has developed Aptio®V UEFI BIOS for ARM 64-bit devices targeted mainly at the server market in joint collaboration with Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ: AMCC)
• AMI’s Aptio V and the AppliedMicro X-Gene™ Server on a Chip™ platform provide significant building blocks for enabling server innovation that will drive down Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) in data center and enterprise applications
• AMI’s Aptio V UEFI BIOS firmware features full support for the latest UEFI specification, version 2.3.1
• Aptio V also features full compatibility for AMI’s complete tools and utilities, including AMI’s Integrated Development Environment and debug toolset to exhaustively test and debug UEFI drivers and applications
• A smooth development experience is assured as all experience and learning developing for x86 will ensure a smooth and seamless transition to ARM
• A working prototype of Aptio V for 64-bit ARM processors will be completed by the upcoming ARM®2012 TechCon™conference from Tuesday, October 30 through Thursday, November 1, 2012

NORCROSS, GEORGIA - American Megatrends Inc. (AMI), a leader in BIOS, remote management, network storage and computing innovations, is pleased to announce that it has successfully developed its Aptio®V UEFI BIOS firmware for 64-bit ARM applications. This development was done in joint collaboration with Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ:AMCC), using the AppliedMicro X-Gene™ Server on a Chip™ platform, the world’s first silicon implementation of the ARM 64-bit v8 architecture.

Traditional server architectures were not designed to meet the evolving workloads of the cloud and enterprise data centers. These performance-driven hardware architectures are driving up energy costs and TCO, requiring a new approach to how servers are designed. The combination of an open processor design, such as the ARM 64-bit architecture, with open software and the AppliedMicro purpose-built X-Gene Server on a Chip platform, promises to solve the energy and TCO challenges faced by data center and enterprise administrators.

Aptio V is the pinnacle of a strong legacy of innovation, both inside the BIOS itself and from related areas within AMI. AMI brings its legacy of over 25 years as a leading BIOS vendor – with a significant global install base in desktop, notebook, Ultrabook™, server and mobile systems - to the creation of this BIOS. AMI’s related expertise in server and remote management, system utilities, storage solutions and mobile application development informs its BIOS development. As the only BIOS vendor to offer a complete array of end-to-end products to support the entire computing infrastructure, AMI is uniquely positioned to provide innovative computing solutions like UEFI BIOS for ARM 64-bit applications.

Beyond this, Aptio V solves the lingering problems that exist despite the advances of UEFI, such as optimizing boot time, security, common code layout irrespective of the market segment of the platform and providing customers with the tools and capability to add value and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

Vinay Ravuri, vice president and GM, processor products, at AppliedMicro remarked, “As the first company to implement the ARM 64-bit architecture in silicon, AppliedMicro enables companies like AMI to deliver critical software solutions for a new era of server innovation. Our close work with AMI and the entire ARM community will result in an open hardware and software solution that brings unprecedented TCO savings to data center and enterprise applications.”

A key value add about the Aptio V experience on ARM 64-bit is that experience gained in developing Aptio for x86 systems, especially for servers, translates seamlessly to ARM projects, as the development environment and tools are almost identical. Aptio V also features full compatibility for AMI’s complete tools and utilities, including AMI’s Visual eBIOS™ Integrated Development Environment and debug toolset - AMI Debug™ for UEFI and AMI Debug™ Rx – to exhaustively test and debug UEFI drivers and applications.

In the words of Subramonian Shankar, President and CEO of American Megatrends, “AMI’s decision to bring Aptio V into the ARM ecosystem reflects our vision that the demand for ARM will grow as new uses and applications seem to emerge almost on a daily basis. One of the key drivers that motivated AMI to undertake this project was to provide developers with UEFI development experience for x86 systems an easy and seamless transition to ARM projects. We feel we have been very successful in this regard and thank AppliedMicro for their partnership in bringing this initiative to light. Together we are looking forward to a high level of interest in the days to come.”

For more information about the ARM® 2012 TechCon™, please see the event website at http://e.ubmelectronics.com/armtechcon/index.html.

Interested parties should contact an AMI Sales Representative at 1-800-U-BUY-AMI (1-800-828-9264) for more information on Aptio V for ARM 64-bit platforms.

About AMI : Founded in 1985 and known worldwide for AMIBIOS®, American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) supplies state-of-the-art hardware, software, and utilities to top-tier manufacturers of desktop, server, mobile and embedded systems. AMI’s industry leading Aptio® V UEFI BIOS firmware, innovative StorTrends® Network Storage hardware and software products and MegaRAC® remote server management solutions continue to garner industry acclaim and awards around the world. In line with the diversity of its technology and product line, AMI is a member of a number of industry associations and standards groups, such as the Unified EFI Forum (UEFI), the Intel® Intelligent Systems Alliance and the Trusted Computing Group (TCG). Headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, AMI has locations in the U.S., China, Germany, India, Japan, Korea and Taiwan to better serve its customers.

For more information on AMI, its products or services, call 1-800-U-BUY-AMI or visit www.ami.com.

Statement of Liability: © 2013 American Megatrends Inc. Product specifications are subject to change without notice. Products mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. All rights reserved. No warranties are made, either express or implied, with regard to the contents of this work, its merchantability or fitness for a particular use. This publication contains proprietary information, which is protected by copyright. American Megatrends reserves the right to update, change and/or modify this product at anytime.

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