Case 6:21-cv-00735-ADA Document 23-16 Filed 11/23/21 Page 1 of 9
`
`Exhibit P
`
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`American Megatrends - Wikipedia
`Case 6:21-cv-00735-ADA Document 23-16 Filed 11/23/21 Page 2 of 9
`
`American Megatrends
`
`AMI (American Megatrends International LLC,
`formerly American Megatrends Inc.) is an international
`hardware and software company, specializing
`in PC
`hardware and firmware.[3] The company was founded in
`1985 by Pat Sarma and Subramonian Shankar.[4] It is
`headquartered in Building 800 at 3095 Satellite Boulevard
`in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States,
`near the city of Duluth, and in the Atlanta metropolitan
`area.[5]
`
`The company started as a manufacturer of complete
`motherboards, positioning itself in the high-end segment.
`Its first customer was PCs Limited,[4] later known as Dell
`Computer.[6]
`
`As hardware activity moved progressively to Taiwan-based
`original design manufacturers,[7] AMI continued to develop
`BIOS firmware for major motherboard manufacturers.[8]
`The company produced BIOS software for motherboards
`(1986), server motherboards (1992), storage controllers
`(1995) and remote-management cards (1998).[8]
`
`In 1993, AMI produced MegaRAID, a storage controller
`card. AMI sold its RAID assets to LSI Corporation[4] in
`2001,[9] with only one employee from the RAID-division
`remaining with the AMI core team.
`
`American Megatrends
`International LLC
`
`Formerly
`Type
`Industry
`
`Founded
`Founders
`
`Key people
`Products
`
`Brands
`
`American Megatrends Inc.
`Private
`Computer hardware
`Computer software
`1985
`S. Shankar[1][2]
`Pat Sarma
`Headquarters Gwinnett County, Georgia,
`U.S.
`Sanjoy Maity (CEO)
`Diagnostic software
`Out-of-band management
`Motherboards
`Firmware
`Storage systems
`AMIBIOS
`Aptio
`AMIDIAG
`MegaRAC
`>1000 worldwide
`
`AMI continued to focus on OEM and ODM business and
`technology.[3] Its product line includes AMIBIOS[10] (a
`BIOS), Aptio (a successor to AMIBIOS8 based on the UEFI
`standard), diagnostic software, AMI EC
`(embedded
`controller
`firmware), MG-Series SGPIO backplane
`controllers (for SATA, SAS and NVMe storage devices), driver/firmware development, and MegaRAC
`(BMC firmware).[3][4]
`
`Number of
`employees
`Website
`
`ami.com (https://ami.com)
`
`Contents
`Founding
`Products
`AMIBIOS
`AMIDiag
`Aptio
`MegaRAC
`
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`Former products
`StorTrends/ManageTrends
`DuOS-M
`Technical problems
`Worldwide offices
`See also
`References
`Further reading
`External links
`
`Founding
`
`American Megatrends Inc. (AMI) was founded in 1985 by
`Subramonian Shankar and Pat Sarma with funds from a previous
`consulting venture, Access Methods Inc. (also AMI).[4] Access
`Methods was a company run by Pat Sarma and his partner. After
`Access Methods successfully launched the AMIBIOS, there were
`legal issues among the owners of the company, resulting in Sarma
`buying out his partners. Access Methods still owned the rights to
`the AMIBIOS. Sarma had already started a company called Quintessential Consultants Inc. (QCI), and
`later set up an equal partnership with Shankar.[12]
`
`Old American Megatrends logo
`(1985–2020)[11]
`
`By this time the AMIBIOS had become established and there was a need to keep the initials AMI. The
`partners renamed QCI as American Megatrends Inc., with the same initials as Access Methods Inc.;
`the renamed company then purchased AMIBIOS from Access Methods. Shankar became the
`president and Sarma the executive vice-president of this company.[12] This partnership continued
`until 2001, when LSI Logic purchased the RAID Division of American Megatrends; American
`Megatrends then purchased all shares of the company owned by Sarma, making Shankar the majority
`owner.[4]
`Products
`
`AMIBIOS
`
`AMIBIOS (also written as AMI BIOS) is the IBM PC-compatible
`BIOS developed and sold by American Megatrends since 1986.[10]
`In 1994, the company claimed that 75% of PC clones used the
`AMIBIOS.[15] It is used on motherboards made by AMI and by
`other companies.[3]
`
`American Megatrends has a strict OEM business model for
`AMIBIOS: it sells source code to motherboard manufacturers or
`customizes AMIBIOS for each OEM individually, whichever
`business model they require.[10] AMI does not sell to end users,
`and itself produces no end-user documentation or technical
`
`A chip containing AMI ROM BIOS
`firmware on a Gigabyte GA-486TA
`Baby AT motherboard from 1992
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`Case 6:21-cv-00735-ADA Document 23-16 Filed 11/23/21 Page 4 of 9
`support for its BIOS firmware,
`licensees.[10]
`leaving
`that
`to
`However, the company published
`two books on its BIOS in 1993 and
`1994, (listed in further reading),
`written by its engineers.[16]
`
`Table of diagnostic beep codes
`compiled by AMI BIOS during
`power-on self test[13][14]
`Number
`of
`beeps
`
`Meaning
`
`the BIOS
`powerup,
`During
`firmware displays an ID string in
`the lower-left-hand corner of the
`screen.[17] This ID string comprises
`various pieces of
`information
`about
`the
`firmware,
`including
`when
`it was compiled, what
`configuration
`options
`were
`selected, the OEM license code,
`and
`the
`targeted chipset and
`motherboard.[17] There are 3 ID
`string formats, the first for older
`AMIBIOS, and the second and third for the newer AMI Hi-Flex ("high
`flexibility") BIOS.[16] These latter are displayed when the Insert key is
`pressed during power-on self-test.[16]
`
`A chip containing an old version
`AMIBIOS image, pulled from an
`ECS motherboard
`
`The original AMI BIOS did not encrypt the machine startup password,
`which it stored in non-volatile RAM.[17] Therefore, any utility capable
`of reading a PC's NVRAM was able to read and to alter the
`password.[16] The AMI WinBIOS encrypts the stored password, using a
`simple substitution cipher.[18]
`
`By pressing the Delete key during power-on self-test when a prompt is
`displayed, the BIOS setup utility program is invoked.[16] Some earlier
`AMIBIOS versions also included a cut-down version of the AMIDIAG
`utility that AMI also sold separately, but most later AMI BIOSes do not
`include this program as the BIOS DMI already incorporates detailed
`diagnostics.[16]
`
`AMIBIOS is only sold through distributors, not directly available from
`the manufacturer or from eSupport.[19]
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`Power-on self test
`successful
`Parity error in the first
`64 KB of RAM
`Memory failure in the
`first 64 KB of RAM
`Same as 3, but also
`including a non-
`functional timer 1
`CPU error
`Error in the A20 line
`on the 8042 keyboard
`controller chip
`Generation of a CPU
`virtual mode
`exception signifying
`an error
`Read/write error
`when accessing
`system video RAM
`Mismatch between
`the calculated
`checksum of the
`ROM firmware and
`the expected value
`hardcoded into the
`firmware.
`Read/write error for
`the CMOS NVRAM
`shutdown register
`A fault in the L2
`cache
`
`AMI supplies both DOS and Windows firmware upgrade utilities for its own motherboards. eSupport
`only supplies a Windows upgrade utility.[16][19][20]
`
`AMIDiag
`
`AMIDiag is a family of PC diagnostic utilities sold to OEMs only.[21] The AMIDiag Suite was
`introduced in 1991 and made available for MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows and Unified Extensible
`Firmware Interface (UEFI) platforms.[21] It includes both the Windows and DOS PC diagnostics
`programs. Later versions of AMIDiag support UEFI, which allows diagnostics to be performed
`directly on the hardware components, without having to use operating system drivers or facilities.[21]
`
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`Aptio
`
`American Megatrends - Wikipedia
`Case 6:21-cv-00735-ADA Document 23-16 Filed 11/23/21 Page 5 of 9
`
`AMI's UEFI firmware solutions, including older Aptio 4 and newer Aptio V.
`
`MegaRAC
`
`Former products
`
`StorTrends/ManageTrends
`
`The StorTrends family of network-based backup and storage management software and hardware
`includes several NAS and iSCSI-based SAN servers with 4, 12, or 16 drive bays.[22]
`
`AMI couples off-the-shelf hardware with the StorTrends iTX storage management firmware
`platform.[23] StorTrends offers synchronous, asynchronous and snap-assisted replication, thin
`provisioning, high-availability grouping and advanced caching.[22]
`
`Reliability and performance is the key for any storage server. StorTrends iTX 2.8 is designed to
`support Storage Bridge Bay specification that provide Auto-Failover capability to ensure that any
`interruption is handled without affecting data.[22] It supports High-availability cluster, redundancy,
`scalability, replication, disaster recovery and multiple site backups.[24][23]
`
`Dual OS Environment for
`Microsoft Windows
`
`DuOS-M
`
`DuOS-M was commercial software developed by American
`for Intel x86-based computers[25] using
`Megatrends
`the
`Microsoft Windows operating system to provide a "dual operating
`system" environment in which the user can simultaneously
`deploy the Android operating system in tandem with Microsoft
`Windows.[26]
`
`Because DuOS-M has the capability to run both Windows and
`Android simultaneously, the user can switch[27] between the two
`operating systems without having to dual boot or suspend
`operation of one operating system in order to utilize the other.[26]
`
`DuOS-M supports key hardware peripherals[28] in Windows
`including cameras, audio, microphone and sensors such as
`ambient light sensor, accelerometer, gyrometer, compass and
`orientation sensors.[26] It also supports various screen sizes,
`resolutions, and screen orientation (portrait and landscape) along
`with 3D acceleration and HD video playback.[26]
`
`Developer(s)
`
`License
`Website
`
`American
`Megatrends
`Initial release
`July 2014
`Stable release
`1.0.4.5135
`Operating system Windows 7,
`Windows 8,
`Windows 8.1
`Trialware
`amiduos.com
`(http://amiduos.
`com)
`
`The first version of DuOS-M was released in June 2014.[26] The
`software is available for download for a free 30-day trial,[29] and is available for purchase for a
`complete license.
`
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`On March 7, 2018, American Megatrends officially announced that it ceased development of DuOS-
`M.[26][30] No further updates were being released at this time, including bug fixes and security
`patches.
`Technical problems
`
`On November 13, 1993, a number of PCs that used the AMIBIOS firmware started at boot-up to play
`the tune to Happy Birthday repeatedly while halting the computer until a key was pressed.[31] The
`problem was resolved with a Trojan-free firmware upgrade from most manufacturers.[31]
`
`The AMI WinBIOS was a 1994 update to AMIBIOS, with a graphical user interface setup screen that
`mimicked the appearance of Windows 3.1 and supported mouse navigation, unusual at the time.
`WinBIOS was viewed favourably by Anand Lal Shimpi at AnandTech,[32] but described by Thomas
`Pabst at Tom's Hardware as a "big disappointment", in part because of problems with distributing
`IRQ signals to every PCI and ISA expansion slot.[33]
`
`In July 2008 Linux developers discovered issues with ACPI tables on certain AMIBIOS BIOSes
`supplied by Foxconn, ASUS, and MSI.[34] The problem is related to the ACPI _OSI method, which is
`used by ACPI to determine the OS version (in case an ACPI patch only applies to one specific OS). In
`some cases, the OSI method caused problems on Linux systems, skipping code that was only executed
`on Windows systems. Foxconn and AMI worked together to develop a solution, which was included in
`later revisions of AMIBIOS.[34] The issue affected motherboards with Intel Socket 775. Actual system
`behavior differed based on BIOS version, system hardware and Linux distribution.[34]
`Worldwide offices
`
`United States
`Headquarters: Gwinnett County, Georgia
`Field offices: San Jose, California; Austin, Texas
`Beijing, People's Republic of China
`Kunshan, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China
`Shenzhen, Guangdong, People's Republic of China
`Taipei, Taiwan
`Munich, Germany
`Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
`Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
`Seoul, South Korea
`Formerly had an office in DuPont, Washington, United States[35]
`
`[36]
`
`See also
`
`BIOS features comparison
`Insyde Software
`Phoenix Technologies
`
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`Case 6:21-cv-00735-ADA Document 23-16 Filed 11/23/21 Page 7 of 9
`List of companies of Taiwan
`
`References
`1. Corporate Information (http://www.ami.com/about/corporate.cfm) Archived (https://web.archive.or
`g/web/20080512022148/http://www.ami.com/about/corporate.cfm) 2008-05-12 at the Wayback
`Machine. American Megatrends.
`2. "S. Shankar's Biography (http://www.iitmadras.org/oaa/daa/list/2000/). Archived (https://web.archiv
`e.org/web/20090307164138/http://www.iitmadras.org/oaa/daa/list/2000/) 2009-03-07 at the
`Wayback Machine. iiT.Madras.org. (scroll down).
`3. "About American Megatrends" (https://ami.com/en/). American Megatrends Inc. 2018. Retrieved
`2 April 2018.
`4. S. Shankar (https://twit.tv/shows/triangulation/episodes/226/) interviewed on the TV show
`Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network
`5. "International Offices (https://www.ami.com/contact-us/international-offices/)". American
`Megatrends. Retrieved on February 24, 2021. "AMI Corporate Headquarters 3095 Satellite
`Boulevard Building 800, Suite 425, Duluth, Georgia 30096" – The street address has "Duluth,
`Georgia" in it but the location is outside of the city limits.
`6. Jacobs, Daniel G. "Business revolutionary (https://archive.today/20130201180104/http://www.sbn
`online.com/Local/Article/6096/66/0/Business_revolutionary.aspx)". Smart Business. July 2004.
`Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
`7. Morris, Ricky. "Motherboard Industry Overview (http://www.digitimes.com/Backgrounders/Industry/
`overview.asp?datepublish=2008/6/9&pages=M1&seq=400)". Digitimes. Monday June 9, 2008
`(last update Wednesday July 9, 2008). Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
`8. "Corporate Profile: American Megatrends" (https://ami.com/en/company/corporate-profile/).
`American Megatrends Inc. 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`9. Compare: American Megatrends Inc. to Sell Industry-Leading RAID Business to LSI Logic (http://
`www.thefreelibrary.com/American+Megatrends+Inc.+to+Sell+Industry-Leading+RAID+Business+t
`o...-a075082868). Business Wire. May 29, 2001. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
`10. "AMIBIOS" (https://www.techopedia.com/definition/16352/amibios). Techopedia. 2018. Retrieved
`2 April 2018.
`11. "American Megatrends Announces Rebranding to AMI, Launch of New Brand Identity" (https://am
`i.com/en/news/press-releases/american-megatrends-announces-rebranding-to-ami-launch-of-new
`-brand-identity/#:~:text=The%20New%20AMI%20Tagline%3A%20Power,proportion%20of%20co
`mputing%20systems%20worldwide.). 15 January 2020.
`12. American Megatrends Inc India (14 August 2013). "Shankar S, Chairman -- AMI Keynote Speaker
`Transforming Healthcare with ICT 2012" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jYX3sL08Xs).
`Youtube. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`13. K. F. Ibrahim (2002). PC Operation and Repair. Pearson Education. p. 223. ISBN 0-582-45270-8.
`14. Jennifer Fulton (2002). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Upgrading and Repairing PCs (https://archiv
`e.org/details/completeidiotsgu00fult_543). Alpha Books. pp. 214 (https://archive.org/details/compl
`eteidiotsgu00fult_543/page/n238)–215. ISBN 0-02-864239-2.
`15. Schmidt, Robert (July 1994). "What Is The BIOS?" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120310002756/
`http://www.smartcomputing.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2F1994%2Fjuly94%2Fpcn0
`713%2Fpcn0713.asp). Computing Basics. Archived from the original (http://www.smartcomputing.
`com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2F1994%2Fjuly94%2Fpcn0713%2Fpcn0713.asp) on
`2012-03-10. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
`
`https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Megatrends
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`16. Scott Mueller (2002). Upgrading and Repairing PCs (https://archive.org/details/upgradingrepairi00
`muel_233). Indianapolis, Indiana: Que Publishing. pp. 368 (https://archive.org/details/upgradingre
`pairi00muel_233/page/n388)–372. ISBN 0-7897-2745-5.
`17. PC911 (2018). "Using the BIOS to identify a motherboard" (https://pcnineoneone.com/howto/mob
`oid2/). PC911. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`18. Phil Croucher (2001). "Advanced CMOS setup". The Bios Companion: The Book That Doesn't
`Come with Your Motherhood!. Lulu.com. p. 128. ISBN 0-9681928-0-7.
`19. American Megatrends. "AMIBIOS Support" (https://web.archive.org/web/20080115195836/http://w
`ww.ami.com/support/bios.cfm). Archived from the original (http://ami.com./support/bios.cfm) on
`2008-01-15.
`20. "Unsupported operating system" (http://scan.esupport.com./scan_step1.php?r=1). eSupport.com.
`TouchStone Software. 2007.
`21. American Megatrends (2018). "AMIDiag for UEFI" (https://ami.com/en/products/bios-uefi-tools-an
`d-utilities/amidiag-for-uefi/). American Megatrends Inc. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`22. American Megatrends (2018). "StorTrends Data Storage" (https://ami.com/en/products/stortrends-
`data-storage/). American Megatrends Inc. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`23. Storage Bridge Bay Working Group (2015). "Home page" (https://web.archive.org/web/201507250
`80053/http://www.sbbwg.org/home/). Archived from the original (http://www.sbbwg.org/home/) on
`25 July 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
`24. Storage Newsletter (11 April 2011). "StorTrends 3400i Dual Controller SAN From American
`Megatrends" (https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093616/http://www.storagenewsletter.com/rub
`riques/systems-raid-nas-san/stortrends-3400i-dual-controller-san-ami/).
`www.storagenewsletter.com. Archived from the original (http://www.storagenewsletter.com/rubriqu
`es/systems-raid-nas-san/stortrends-3400i-dual-controller-san-ami/) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved
`11 September 2016.
`25. "AMI DuOS. A closer look at a new DIY Dual-OS solution" (http://ultrabooknews.com/2014/03/14/
`ami-duos-a-closer-look-at-a-new-diy-dual-os-solution/) Ultrabooknews.com. Retrieved July 2014.
`26. American Megatrends (2018). "AMIDuOS" (http://www.amiduos.com/). American Megatrends Inc.
`Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`27. "Bringing Android to Intel® Atom™ Embedded Systems with DuOS" (http://embedded.communitie
`s.intel.com/community/en/software/blog/2012/05/03/roving-reporter-bringing-android-to-intel-atom
`-embedded-systems-with-duos) Embedded.communities.intel.com/. Retrieved July 2014.
`28. "Bringing Android to Intel® Atom™ Embedded Systems with DuOS" (http://embedded.communitie
`s.intel.com/community/en/software/blog/2012/05/03/roving-reporter-bringing-android-to-intel-atom
`-embedded-systems-with-duos) Embedded.communities.intel.com. Retrieved July 2014.
`29. "DuOS by American Megatrends. Run Android on Windows" (http://www.amiduos.com)
`AMIDUOS.com. Retrieved July 2014.
`30. Bigelow, T (7 March 2018). "FAREWELL AMIDUOS" (https://ami.com/en/tech-blog/farewell-amidu
`os/). American Megatrends Inc. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
`31. Mikko Hyppönen. "F-Secure Computer Virus Information Pages: Happy Birthday" (http://www.f-se
`cure.com/v-descs/birthday.shtml).
`32. Anand Lal Shimpi (1998-04-20). "Supermicro P6DBS/DBE BX Pentium II Board" (http://www.anan
`dtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=226). AnandTech.
`33. Thomas Pabst (1998-05-26). "Review of Slot 1 Motherboards with Intel 440BX Chipset — Spring
`1998" (http://tomshardware.com./1998/05/26/review_of_slot_1_motherboards_with_intel_440bx_c
`hipset_/). Tom's Hardware.
`
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`34. "Defective AMI BIOS on multiple Foxconn, MSI, and ASUS Intel LGA 775 motherboards breaks
`ACPI support" (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/251338). Ubuntu
`Launchpad bug tracking system. 2008.
`35. "American Megatrends Announces the Opening of a New Branch Office in DuPont, Washington (h
`ttp://www.ami.com/news/pressshow.cfm?PrID=172) Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/200803
`11034113/http://www.ami.com/news/pressshow.cfm?PrID=172) 2008-03-11 at the Wayback
`Machine." American Megatrends. Friday April 29, 2005. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
`36. "International Offices (http://www.ami.com/about/international.cfm) Archived (https://web.archive.o
`rg/web/20090410005920/http://www.ami.com/about/international.cfm) 2009-04-10 at the Wayback
`Machine." American Megatrends. Retrieved on May 6, 2009.
`
`Further reading
`
`American Megatrends, Inc. (1993). Programmer's Guide to the AMIBIOS. Windcrest/McGraw-Hill.
`ISBN 0-07-001562-7 (p) Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help).
`American Megatrends, Inc. (1993). Programmer's Guide to the AMIBIOS. Windcrest/McGraw-Hill.
`ISBN 0-07-001561-9 (h) Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help).
`
`External links
`
`American Megatrends (USA) (https://ami.com)
`Company Profile (https://ami.com/en/company/corporate-profile/)
`Introduction to AMIBIOS8: Overview of key features in the latest AMIBIOS (https://web.archive.or
`g/web/20140718041314/http://www.ami.com/support/doc/AMIBIOS8_Whitepaper_PUB.pdf)
`American Megatrends India Pvt Ltd. (http://www.amiindia.co.in/)
`
`Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Megatrends&oldid=1048004333"
`
`This page was last edited on 3 October 2021, at 19:01 (UTC).
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