Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) can help to reduce the support overhead associated with repairing system-boot failures, even when the issues that underlie those failures cannot be repaired remotely. By enabling problem diagnosis on a down-the-wire basis, Intel AMT platforms can reduce the need for time-consuming technician visits to diagnose the platform, which otherwise increase user downtime, as well as consuming IT resources.

In this use case example, end-user platforms cannot boot due to hardware issues such as hard drive corruption and memory errors.

In the typical scenario where an end-user's system will not boot, the user calls the help desk for assistance, and the help desk technician attempts to diagnose the problem. However, because the system will not boot, the help desk is typically unable to resolve the issue. After the issue is escalated to a support technician who goes to the end-user's work location, the technician diagnoses the issue as hardware related and identifies a field-replaceable unit (FRU) that needs to be replaced to repair the problem. The technician must then obtain the correct part from inventory and return to the end-user's work location to repair the platform.

In this conventional scenario, two or more desk-side visits are required to repair the system. This will impact user productivity and pulls IT resources

In the corresponding scenario to the one described above in an environment where Intel AMT is in use, an event from the user's machine may be received on a management console operated by the support organization to indicate inoperable or malfunctioning hardware. Policies configured on the console evaluate the event to determine whether an alert to the help desk is needed. In addition, the user may also contact the help desk directly.

The help desk diagnoses the problem down-the-wire using Intel AMT's Serial-over-LAN (SOL)/IDE-R remote boot capability and third-party diagnostics. While the help desk is unable to repair the system remotely, it is able to remotely identify the correct FRU to perform the repair, so that the field technician has the part with them when they are first dispatched to the end-user's location, and they are able to perform the repair at desk-side on their first visit.

In this Intel AMT-enhanced scenario, only one desk-side visit is required to repair the system, saving one desk-side visit.

The following table summarizes the features and functionality utilized in this use case that are provided by Intel AMT or enabled by Intel AMT in third-party software:

† The event is logged locally in a standard format in the NVStore and available for use by third-party management applications, which determine whether the event should cause an alert to its console.

Intel AMT enables support organizations to reduce technician desk-side visits by remotely diagnosing the issue and determining failed FRU make and model information out-of-band. Thus, fewer troubleshooting hours are required, and user downtime is reduced.

This use case enables IT organizations to save on support and productivity costs:

• Savings from Reducing Desk-side Visits: Intel AMT reduces the need for desk-side visits for help desk calls related to FRU failures. These trouble tickets typically require two desk-side visits to address using conventional means, and Intel AMT potentially eliminates one of these desk-side visits.
• Savings in End-user Productivity: By improving average time to repair, organizations can realize savings in terms of avoided end-user downtime.

1. The platform is diagnosed and/or repaired in a crashed state via OOB access to Intel AMT & IDE-Redirection (IDER)/Serial over LAN (SOL).
2. The FRU inventory list in firmware is used to identify the platform's FRU makes/models.
3. The third-party management application’s capabilities are used remotely. The application is used to remotely diagnose the crashed platform.
4. An event may be generated by Intel AMT (d epending on OEM implementations) and sent to the third-party management console application to notify the help desk. The event is logged locally in a standard format in the NVStore and available for use by third-party management applications. The third-party management applications can determine whether the event should cause an alert to its console.
5. Intel AMT flash memory is used to hold the FRU list populated by the BIOS during the last successful boot. The technician remotely accesses that list to identify which FRU make/model to bring to the platform.
6. Tamper-Resistant Agent allows for access to the platform and its inventory information, with little risk of agent tampering by a user.

The following table shows the actions that would be taken in a typical SOL scenario.

The table below shows the functions available for SOL Handling:

The following table shows the actions that would be taken in a typical IDE-R scenario.

The table below shows the functions available for IDER Handling:

§ The following assumptions underlie the analysis in this use case:

1. The third-party remote-management application in this use case supports Intel AMT.
2. Alert Standard Format (ASF) for client platforms is not implemented, because it does not have application support.
3. The FRU failure is a platform FRU and not a chipset or motherboard.
4. All research data is gathered from global, US-based IT organizations.
5. Platforms being managed using Intel AMT are connected to a power source (Desktop mode) or they are in S0 and connected to an AC or DC power source (Mobile mode), but the platform does not have to be powered on.
6. Platforms are physically connected through a working Ethernet connection to the corporate LAN (Desktop mode) or wirelessly connected to the corporate network (remote mode) and not over VPN for out-of-band (OOB) access.
7. Assumes a mostly wired environment or one where laptops are often wired.