[Takumi's Room] Introducing the "Intel vPro Platform" to Solve Wake on LAN Issues! Evolving network management

What has changed with the arrival of the "Intel vPro Platform"?

--Last time, we talked about the major evolution of Wake on LAN (WoL) with the advent of "AMT 1.0" in 2005. The following year, the "Intel vPro Platform" finally appeared. What changes did this bring to the field of remote management?

Maki: Around the time we released “vPro,” Intel was seeking to change from a chip vendor to a platform vendor. In 2003, he launched "Centrino," a brand for mobile PCs, and in 2006, he launched "Viiv," his platform for home digital entertainment.

――I see, the “Intel vPro platform” for business appeared in that trend.

Maki: That's right. The original "Intel vPro Platform" was equipped with AMT2.0 and "Intel VT", a virtualization support function, as standard. As a result, it was possible to determine that these two functions could be used on any manufacturer's PC as long as it had a platform label.

――What kind of upgrades were made in AMT2.0?

Maki: First, we moved the management function part that was originally included in the LAN controller to the chipset side as ME (Management Engine) and linked it with the built-in Gigabit Ethernet controller. This was a major change in the system architecture, and the fact that the ME (former management function) could be wired in addition to Ethernet led to later support for wireless LAN and the addition of remote KVM functions. .

On the other hand, in terms of functionality, it adopted a "system defense" (called "circuit breaker" at the time) that blocked and filtered the network. It is also from this version that "Agent Presence", which monitors the life and death of software agents, was added.

Furthermore, the SDK was made publicly available on the Internet starting with AMT2.0. In order to use the AMT functions, compatible software is required, but now anyone can create compatible applications without signing a non-disclosure agreement with Intel.

――As for the function of "Intel vPro platform", "IDE Redirection (IDE-R)" seems interesting, but it seems a bit difficult, so I have never used it. What can this do?

Maki: IDE-R is a function that mounts the administrator's FD/CD/DVD drive on the remotely connected PC. Of course, in addition to mounting physical drives, you can also mount image files such as ISO and IMG. Image files can be transferred much faster. At that time, I also thought about various ways to use it, such as "If you use IDE-R, you can install an OS."

――I see.

Mr. Maki: At that time, remote operation only supported serial transmission of a text console called SOL (Serial Over LAN), so if the OS installer is GUI-based like Windows, installation I couldn't put my hands or feet on the way.

　For that reason, IDE-R at that time was used to embed CUI-based diagnostic tools such as "Memtest86+" into bootable ISOs and IMGs in order to use them remotely. It was also used to install CD-based applications while the OS was booting.

――Come to think of it, motherboards for servers with "management functions" have become more popular since then.

Maki: Servers, except for low-end models, have had extensive management functions for a long time. At that time, it was often called "IPMI", which is a management interface specification. HP's "iLO", Dell's "iDRAC", IBM's "IMM", and Fujitsu's "iRMC" corresponded to them, and they were implemented in various forms such as on-board and dedicated modules. We were able to use most of the functions that can be achieved with AMT.

　This will be discussed a little later, but since AMT can be supported not only on client PCs but also on servers, even entry-class servers that are capable of out-of-band management using AMT have appeared.

　The servers were located in places where people couldn't easily enter, such as a dedicated room, and there were times when they were piled up in racks, so it was difficult to operate each one individually. For this reason, the demand for out-of-band remote operation was very high. However, when it comes to servers with management functions, many of them are quite expensive.

- So this “management function” will spread to client PCs in the form of the “Intel vPro platform”?

Maki: For example, the management function is also useful for client PCs, such as ``when a problem occurs, you can do the initial work without going to the site.'' However, in order not to raise the cost, it was necessary to integrate it into the system.

(continued next time)