UEFI or Legacy Bios? Find out which product is perfect for your needs!

Endian offers a wide range of Software and Virtual solutions designed to provide maximum protection for corporate networks. Below you'll find an insight into the differences between UEFI and Legacy BIOS, to help you choose the perfect product for your network security needs faster and easier.

Endian Software and Virtual appliances

ProductUEFILegacy BIOS
UTM Software
UTM Virtual
4i Edge Software
4i Edge VirtualNo
Switchboard SoftwareNo
Switchboard VirtualNo

Note: Products with "No" are not available as UEFI.

Glossary:

  • BIOS: Basic Input Output System
  • UEFI: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
  • SSD: Solid State Disk
  • TB: Terabyte (1024 Gigabyte)
  • EB: Exabyte (1024 TB)

UEFI or Legacy BIOS? Which is the right product for you?

UEFI
  • Current state of the art (supported since 2002)
  • Ready for the future
  • You use modern hardware
  • You need large storage (up to 18EB)
  • You use high speed SSD (including NVMe.M2)
  • Your network traffic is heavy
  • Performance is very important
  • Evolving and modernizing the system to keep it up with needs is important
  • Dual booting is not relevant
  • You appreciate advanced security that prevents booting of an unauthorized/unsigned software (Endian will enable full support in 2025)
Legacy BIOS
  • Supported from 1975 to 2020
  • You want to give a second life to old hardware that you already have (prior to 2020)
  • You use legacy storage devices (up to 2.2TB)
  • SSD support is not needed
  • Your network traffic is low
  • Performance is not the dominant factor
  • Scaling the system is not relevant
  • You appreciate a flexible dual booting option on your system
  • BIOS and boot password protection is a sufficient security measure for you

General technical differences

UEFI standard technical properties
  • Currently state of the art (started 2002)
  • Legacy BIOS compatibility no longer supported (since 2020)
  • Modern Hardware
    • Large hard disks (> 2TB)
    • NVMe SSD (Solid State Disks) without moving parts
  • Performance
    • Fast boot time
    • Native 32/64bit mode
    • Evolved partitioning
  • Enhanced Boot
    • “Secure Boot” capability which prevents the computer from booting from an unauthorized OS different than EOS ** coming 2025 ** At the moment it needs to be disabled.
    • Protected EFI System Partition (ESP) which stores the data about device initialization and startup, and the bootloader
Legacy BIOS standard technical properties
  • Compatibility with old Hardware (prior 2020)
    • Small (slow) hard disks (< 2.2TB)
    • No SSD 
  • Performance
    • Acceptable slow boot time
    • Legacy 16bit mode (The EOS embeds 32/64bit to 16bit mode translation)
  • Boot
    • System initialization  information stored on an Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM) chip, which allows only the manufacturer to update the information.
  • Security
    • Password protection

Comparison of technical properties

UEFILegacy BIOS

Lifecycle

Since 2002

1975 to 2020

Operating Mode

32/64bit

16bit

User Interface

Enhanced GUI navigation with mouse

Textual UI navigation with keyboard

Partitions

Up to 128 partitions

Up to 4 partitions

Partition Size

< 18EB

< 2.2TB

Performance

Fast boot

Slow boot

Storage

ESP protected partition with device information on an .efi file and Bootloader

System initialization information on EPROM, Bootloader in the first hard disk sector (512 bytes)

Security

Secure Boot

Password protection

In conclusion, whether you're looking for flexibility, high performance, or advanced security features, Endian has the right solution for you. Our UEFI-compatible products are designed for modern hardware, offering fast boot times and the ability to handle high network traffic. For older systems, our Legacy BIOS products provide reliable performance and security.

Explore our security solutions and find the perfect match for your business needs. 

For more information get in touch with us!