Abstract: Back plane and mid-plane assemblies and related systems and methods are described. In one embodiment, a system comprises an enclosure and a plane assembly mounted within the enclosure and configured to connect with multiple pluggable devices. The plane assembly comprises a first plane portion having multiple connectors; and at least a second plane portion having multiple connectors, with the second plane portion being offset from the first plane portion.

Abstract: A system comprises a processor adapted to read BIOS code from a system ROM, a management controller coupled to the processor, and a network interface controller coupled to the management controller. The management controller selectively traps read accesses from the processor that target the system ROM and, in response, causes the network interface controller to load network BIOS code from storage external to the system during system initialization.