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What KVM, OEM specific Service Processor and Console Server Vendors Don’t Want You to Know

By corrigan@manageoperationsnet (3 posts) on November 14, 2008 at 7:42 am

Introduction: Our company, Manage Operations has worked for the past 15 years to provide a single tool that hides the underlying complexities to remotely manage and control power use of, the diverse, vendor specific islands of computer, network and storage vendors that make up data centers.

We have built bridges, interfaces, to major hardware-based remote management including Avocent, Cyclades, Perle, Raritan, Rose, Thinklogical, Lantronix, MiniCOM, Digi, Digital Networks and many more. We built interfaces that hide the many and varied means to remotely manage and control power via multiple vendors service processors including HP ILO, RILO and Sun *LOM, Dell DRAC, and Intel's IPMI and AMT. We built interfaces to the major UPS and remote power management hardware from APC, Bay Tech, Server Tech, Avocent, Raritan and many more.

We bridged IBM's HMC and SUN's SMC to have their systems appear as targets in one display. This one display provides a single way to remotely manage and control power without having to know the vendor specific tool set or commands. We built for our customers: one tool that lets system administrators use one way to remotely manage and one way to control power use.

We are uniquely qualified to speak to the need for standardizing on a single remote hardware-based management solution, Intel's Active Management Technology. This blog will dedicate itself to advancing AMT as a grail-like, potentially pervasive, means to manage and control power use of servers, desktops and notebooks with a single tool.

The blog will advocate the AMT's adoption as a company-wide, enterprise-wide standard. This hardware standard shall free the customer from proprietary, vendor specific management offerings that are expensive to maintain ( read: lots of pricey consultants, costly annual maintenance fees and dedicated staff for each tool, and expensive training for each tool). We will assert that the time has come to reduce the cost to control power use and manage servers, desktops and notebooks and free customers from expensive, vendor-specific bondage.

Our first post deals with how the expense of vendor specific Service Processors, KVMs and Console Servers will be eliminated.

Intel’s Active Management Technology is an Open and Inclusive, Cost Effective, Cable Clutter Reducing and Power Saving Alternative to Costly Deployment of Power Hungry, Rack Space Gobbling, Cable Cluttering, and Closed/Vendor Specific User Interface KVMs , Console Servers and OEM/Proprietary Service Processors.

This paper details Intel’s Active Management Technology ability to eliminate significant access hardware infrastructure including costly KVMs, OEM specific/proprietary service processors and console servers

AMT eliminates the KVM’s and Console Server’s unsightly cabling that clutters and congests server racks, their expensive power outlets required to run KVMs and Console Servers.

AMT eliminates the Vendor Specific KVM’s, Console Server’s, OEM Service Processors such as ILO, LOM, DRAC interfaces are costly in that they require closed/proprietary user interface applications for KVMs, Console Servers and OEM specific Service Processors.

AMT Saves Significant Money

AMT portends a single hardware management infrastructure that spans mission critical servers (see note on Servers below), Desktops, and mobile/notebooks; AMT is a promise many hardware vendors are delivering to the desktop.

The OEM vendors have specifically resisted the deployment of AMT to servers as AMT provides a viable alternative to their specific Service Processors that require customers to purchase costly hardware, the service processors themselves, and the software necessary manage and provide user interface.

The table below summarizes the significant advantages AMT has over deploying KVMs, Console Servers and OEM Specific/Proprietary Service Processors.

Table AMT Vs KVM , Console Servers and OEM Specific/Proprietary Service Processors

Active Management Technology (AMT)	Keyboard, Video Mouse and Console Server
One LAN cable eliminates network cables, KVM cables, serial cables and power plugs. Hardware, Console server ports to each Serial Command Port	Lots of cables and power plugs. LAN Cable(s) for console servers and KVM. KVM Cables from switch to server.
Practical for supporting notebooks/desktops and servers.	Limited by cost to mission critical servers
Requires no power outlets	Requires power outlet(s)
Single and Open API	Each KVM vendor, Console Server has their own proprietary User Interface and closed APIs. The OEM Service Processors APIs are closed and require costly vendor specific software
No rack space taken up	Require rack space to be next to servers
Does not interfere with Airflow or generate heat	Interferes with Airflow and generates heat
Draws minimal power	Draws power for KVM and Console server

AMT and OEM Service processors supply virtual media support, remote power control and information on fan speeds, number of CPUs and temperatures. AMT does not provide a Video redirection per se, however, the redirection of VNC and RDP does provide that functionality for all intensive purposes.

KVMs, Console Servers and OEM specific Service Processors– What the Heck are they Good for?

A KVM is primarily a KVM over IP switch in most computer rooms that may also have a keyboard, video display and mouse attached to the switch for “local” or in computer room access. KVMs take up rack space for the switch and the KVMs keyboard, video and mouse dongles that run from the switch to the servers. Little room is left above and below the space gobbling KVM that is mounted in a server rack; indeed, a very small pair of hands are required to connect the KVM’s dongles to the respective severs in the rack from KVM device.

This URL details what the KVM is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switch

KVMs are used to:

1. Access to a computer's BIOS or other built-in configuration areas

2. Run diagnostics assuming they support a virtual media facility

3. Run the system in safe mode.

AMT Replaces the Need for a KVM. AMT addresses each of the KVM’s requirements at a significant savings:

Access to Pre-boot BIOS and ability to run diagnostics without being server/desk-side/notebook-side present are detailed in each of these end user case studies and spec sheets:

http://www.intel.com/business/vpro/pdfs/computacenter_tech_brief.pdf
http://www.intel.com/business/vpro/pdfs/ness_tech_brief.pdf
http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/31/87/318739_318739.pdf
http://www.intel.com/business/casestudies/sinopec.pdf
http://www.intel.com/technology/magazine/computing/vpro-manageability-0706.pdf

Please note that “Servers” are not “official supported” by Intel AMT even though we have built Servers with ASUS and Intel motherboards and AMT enabled. Recently, the Kontron KISS 1U PCI-760 industrial server was released. It comes with built-in Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) 3.0 remote management engine that offers enhanced security and remote management for easier maintenance, higher system availability and, therefore, reduced total costs of ownership. Remotely carrying out tasks such as installing a new OS, or setting BIOS parameters without the need for additional remote management hardware, or an on-site presence is of particular benefit for applications with densely populated server racks where the individual servers are difficult to reach. When using the Kontron KISS 1U PCI-760 companies with centralized administration and maintenance teams can also take advantage of Intel’s Active Management Technology. For the complete news release see:
http://www.openpr.com/news/58765/Kontron-KISS-1U-PCI-760-Ultra-slim-1U-industrial-servers-now-with-Intel-quad-core-processors.html

This video shows how the user is able to run VNC in Safe Mode with no network connection present on the server, desktop or notebook in trouble:

http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/ISN/ISNVideoRepository/Video.aspx?fn=1064

This video clearly demonstrates another reason the KVM is not required.

Categories: Cool Software, Manageability

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