Desktop Management Interface (DMI) Access Interface

Well, I should make an article about this later because it doesn't make it to my first edition book. First, let me emphasize that we're looking at the DMI Access Interface from the BIOS execution context, not from within an OS context. The DMI v2.0 specification (www-pc.uni-regensburg.de/hardware/TECHDOK/BIOS_DMI_20.PDF) "vaguely" states that the interface to the DMI from the BIOS execution context as follows:

To prevent the proliferation of interfaces for accessing information embedded in the System BIOS, the Desktop Management BIOS Specification will follow the System Device Node model used by Plug and Play, and use Plug and Play BIOS functions to access DMI information. Plug and Play functions 50h-5Fh have been assigned to the DMI BIOS Interface.

Well, it's not immediately clear what does it mean by "Plug and Play functions 50h-5Fh". A closer look into the PnP BIOS spec v1.0A (www.osdever.net/documents/PNPBIOSSpecification-v1.0a.pdf) reveals the crux of the matter. When you read through the PnP BIOS spec v1.0A, what you will find in section 4.4 is a description to the PnP BIOS entry point. Furthermore, try to find function "number" higher than PnP function 43h and you're out of luck. Now, from the description in the DMI v2.0 spec snippet above it's now clear that the higher function "number" (above 43h) is relegated to another spec (presumably after the PnP BIOS spec was ratified). One of them is the DMI spec. PnP BIOS spec was published in 1994, while the DMI spec v2.0 was published in 1996. Therefore, accessing the DMI "services" in BIOS code (or ring-0 code in an OS) is carried-out via PnP BIOS interface at function 50h to 5Fh. It seems all of this past effort was part of the DMTF standardization (I'm not 100% sure).

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