Configuring the BIOS

Purpose

Configure advanced BIOS settings to improve server performance.

• The system memory management unit (SMMU) on the server translates device addresses and isolates devices, playing an important part in virtualization. However, the SMMU may compromise performance in a physical machine test scenario, especially in a small-packet data transmission scenario. Therefore, you are advised to disable the SMMU function for higher server performance. In the VM scenario, enable this function to use the PCI passthrough function.
• In this test scenario, prefetching causes cache pollution and increases cache misses. Therefore, you are advised to disable the prefetching function.

Procedure

1. Disable the SMMU.
   

   Disable the SMMU feature only in non-virtualization scenarios. In virtualization scenarios, enable it.

   1. During the server restart, press Delete to access the BIOS. Choose Advanced > MISC Config, and press Enter.
   2. Set Support Smmu to Disable.
2. Disable CPU prefetching.
   1. In the BIOS, choose Advanced > MISC Config and press Enter.
   2. Set CPU Prefetching Configuration to Disabled.