Firmware protection that refuses to run unsigned boot code. ESX uses it to validate its kernel and every installed VIB, and VMs with EFI firmware can turn it on too.
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Each book explains UEFI Secure Boot in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- ESX
VMware's bare-metal hypervisor, installed on each host in a VCF fleet. Up to version 9.0 it was known as ESXi.
- VALIDATE
A dry run for
COPY INTO: nothing is written, but parsing, schema match, nullability and check constraints are tested.VALIDATE 15 ROWSshows how to restrict it; otherwise every row is checked. - VIB
ESX's software package format, used for items such as drivers and agents. Before installation the host checks each package's acceptance level and signature.
- Virtual machines
Infrastructure-as-a-service compute giving complete control of the operating system, making it a fit for lift-and-shift moves and for software relying on OS-level pieces like COM.
- TURN
If a direct link can't be made, RDP Shortpath for Windows 365 relays UDP traffic via Microsoft servers on port 3478 instead.
Related terms
- MOK
On a UEFI Secure Boot machine, this has to be enrolled in firmware before the Linux agent's kernel module will load. Cloud UEFI machines with Secure Boot offer no access to that menu, so Linux agents cannot be installed on them.
- secure boot validation script
A script for testing whether an ESX host is able to use UEFI secure boot. In recovery, run it once the host has rebooted with secure boot turned off, and then look in /var/log/esxupdate.log.