In headless servers that do not run a full OS (e.g., some storage appliances or hypervisors with locked boot partitions), booting to a UEFI Shell and scripting eeupdate64e.efi across multiple NICs is the only viable update method.
eeupdate64e.efi is a command-line utility developed by Intel for flashing and configuring firmware on Intel Ethernet controllers and adapters. The filename itself is a payload of information:
| Switch | Function | |--------|----------| | /NIC=X | Select adapter number (1-based index) | | /DEVICE=Bus:Dev:Fnc | Select by PCI address | | /ALL | Apply command to all detected Intel NICs | | /DUMP | Backup current firmware to a file | | /UPDATE | Flash from a binary firmware file | | /VERIFY | Compare current flash with a file | | /MAC=X | Write a new MAC address (hex format, no colons) | | /BOOTROM=EN/DIS | Enable or disable PXE boot ROM | | /INVMVERSION | Show current NVM (Non-Volatile Memory) version | | /RESET | Perform a soft reset of the NIC | eeupdate64e.efi
Replace 1 with your target adapter index and 001122334455 with your actual 12-digit hex MAC address. 3. Backing Up Existing Firmware
Once in the UEFI Shell, change to the USB drive’s filesystem: In headless servers that do not run a full OS (e
: For standard firmware updates, Intel often recommends the Intel Ethernet NVM Update Tool ( nvmupdate64e.efi ) or the Intel Ethernet Flash Firmware Utility ( bootutil64e.efi ), which provide more automated and user-friendly update paths.
: Permanently programs custom asset tags, serial numbers, and vendor IDs directly into the network card. Intel provides versions of EEUPDATE for various operating
Intel provides versions of EEUPDATE for various operating systems (such as eeupdatew64e.exe for Windows). However, the EFI version ( eeupdate64e.efi ) remains the preferred choice for engineers due to environment stability.