Term of the Moment
application suite
Redirected from: firm software
Definition: firmware
(FIRM softWARE) Software instructions residing in non-volatile storage that holds its content without power. Firmware is found on computer motherboards to hold hardware settings and boot data (see BIOS) and on myriad consumer electronics devices to hold the operating system and application.
Not So Firm Today
Today's firmware chips are mostly flash memory, which can be easily updated, especially in consumer electronics products (see firmware update and flash memory). Although still used, the first firmware chips (ROMs, PROMs and EPROMs) could not be updated by the user. Software changes required replacing the chip, hence the "firm" moniker (see ROM, PROM and EPROM).
NOR and NAND Flash Memory
NOR is the type of flash memory typically used for software because individual instructions can be executed in place. NAND flash, which is mainly used for storage, may also be used. However, a program in NAND cannot be executed in place and must be copied to RAM for execution (see NAND flash). See non-volatile memory, flash BIOS, FOTA and wares.
The Beauty of Firmware
Not So Firm Today
Today's firmware chips are mostly flash memory, which can be easily updated, especially in consumer electronics products (see firmware update and flash memory). Although still used, the first firmware chips (ROMs, PROMs and EPROMs) could not be updated by the user. Software changes required replacing the chip, hence the "firm" moniker (see ROM, PROM and EPROM).
NOR and NAND Flash Memory
NOR is the type of flash memory typically used for software because individual instructions can be executed in place. NAND flash, which is mainly used for storage, may also be used. However, a program in NAND cannot be executed in place and must be copied to RAM for execution (see NAND flash). See non-volatile memory, flash BIOS, FOTA and wares.
Firmware is easily updated and very automatic with most products. This message is a firmware update for the QNAP server, a network storage device (see NAS).