Glossary

This glossary provides contextual definitions for key technical terms used throughout the EnGenius ESN904 SmartNIC OS Installation Guide.

BIOS (Basic Input/Output System):

• The low-level firmware that initializes hardware components—such as CPU, memory, and storage—during system startup. In this guide, you access the BIOS to adjust critical settings like boot order, device priority, and security configuration before OS installation.

BMC (Baseboard Management Controller):

• An independent management microcontroller built into the ESN904 SmartNIC. It provides out-of-band management capabilities, allowing remote access through a dedicated RJ-45 management port even when the main CPU is powered off. Functions include power control, system monitoring, firmware management, and iKVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) console access for installation and troubleshooting.

Chassis:

• The physical enclosure that houses the hardware components of a server or computing node. Although the ESN904 is a SmartNIC card rather than a full chassis-based server, it may be installed within a larger system or rack chassis that provides power, cooling, and PCIe connectivity.

eMMC (Embedded MultiMediaCard):

• The onboard non-volatile storage integrated into the ESN904 SmartNIC, typically 116 GB in capacity. It serves as the default installation target for operating systems and can be resized using growpart and resize2fs utilities.

GRUB (GNU GRand Unified Bootloader)

• The bootloader software used by most Linux distributions. It determines how the system boots and allows users to specify kernel parameters—such as serial console settings (console=ttyS0,115200n8)—during installation.

iKVM (Integrated Keyboard, Video, Mouse):

• A virtual console feature accessible through the BMC web interface. It enables remote interaction with the ESN904 SmartNIC’s video output, keyboard, and mouse inputs directly from a web browser, allowing OS installation or troubleshooting without physical access.

Node:

• A self-contained computing unit with its own CPU, memory, and storage. In this guide, the SmartNIC is treated as a node that runs its own OS instance independently of the host system.

PSU (Power Supply Unit):

• The component that converts electrical AC input into stable DC power used by system components. While the ESN904 SmartNIC draws power from its host server’s PCIe slot, the term PSU may appear in reference to the host system’s power delivery.

Rack:

• A standardized metal frame used in data centers to organize servers, networking devices, and accessories. The ESN904 is typically installed in a rack-mounted server that houses PCIe expansion slots.

Virtual Media:

• A BMC feature that allows you to mount an ISO image remotely over a network connection as if it were a local USB device. Used extensively in this guide for OS installation without needing physical USB access.

Firmware:

• Low-level software embedded in hardware components such as the BIOS, BMC, or NIC controller. Firmware updates may include security patches, bug fixes, or new hardware support. Regularly updating firmware is recommended for stability and security.

Partition:

• A logically defined section of a storage device. In the ESN904 SmartNIC, partitions like /dev/mmcblk0p1 (boot) and /dev/mmcblk0p2 (system) define how the eMMC storage is allocated.