(Note: macOS does not directly report SMBIOS version, but the Boot ROM version corresponds to underlying SMBIOS.)
The SMBIOS structure table includes a field that contains a BIOS version string (not SMBIOS version). Some tools might incorrectly label that field as “SMBIOS version” — and if your BIOS firmware has a quirky version string like 26.12 or 26.0 , you’d see “smbios version 26.”
: Standardized the use of handle values, specifically reserving the range for specification-defined uses. Structure Evolution
sudo dmidecode -s bios-version sudo dmidecode | grep -i "SMBIOS"
By default, ESXi 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5 present SMBIOS 2.6 to VMs unless overridden. You can change this with advanced VMX settings:
Before diving into version 2.6 specifically, let’s recall the purpose of SMBIOS. Developed by the DMTF (Distributed Management Task Force), SMBIOS defines data structures and access methods that allow operating systems and management software to retrieve hardware information without directly probing the hardware. This includes: