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SECURE, Redirected AMT Conduit Makes Remote Management Via Smart Agents, Easy to Deploy and USE Securely

By corrigan@manageoperationsnet (3 posts) on November 20, 2008 at 10:18 am

lntel AMT: Incredible Technology makes Remote Management via Smart Agents Easy to Deployment and USE Securely

Intel 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 for a multitude KVMs , Console Servers and OEM/Proprietary Service Processors. See blog post, "What KVM, OEM specific Service Processor and Console Server Vendors Don’t Want You to Know”, details how an AMT enabled server, desktop or notebook allows remote control no matter the operational state of the host’s resident operating system. The blog delineates how AMT’s powerful redirection facility obviates the need for a KVM built-in that certain Service Processor’s, such as ILO and ILO2.

The AMT-enabled server management practices found in the data center easily expand to include desktops and notebooks using a single unified hardware-based remote management infrastructure. These practices include, but are not limited to:

monitoring CPU for idleness using 3% UPTime Institute idle threshold

Performing Restarts/Shutdowns

Performing Power off/On/cycle

Scheduling Power on and off

Command Line Access

The AMT security validates the user, their rights to access and what actions are allowed using the smart agent(s) running on the server, desktop, or notebook. Once authenticated, the AMT redirection is enabled allowing the smart agents to use AMT as the conduit to connect smart agents to remote management servers. All remote management is facilitated via the AMT conduit

The smart agents may be automatically and securely deployed via AMT as well with a bit of engineering, obviating the only significant objection to smart agent deployment.

AMT Adds security of threat protection as well as validate management agent access thus disabling all access to management modules or smart agents except via the AMT; improves security and allows effortless remote deployment of same.

Intel AMT should Make Management Data available in Canonical Form

Intel might go so far as to allow the smart agents to place the data they gather into a DMTF WEBM schema in a proscribed and documented manner. AMT would read the data and pass it back to remote management programs in this canonical form via a standard request similar to fan speed or CPU temperature. It means various vendors' remote management programs will have access to management data from all smart agents including their own. Any OS including Apple MAC OS X, Major OEM UNIX, Linux and Microsoft Windows is supported by our MO smart agents. Will other remote management vendors step up and agree to use AMT as the conduit for canonical smart-agent data exchange?

If all remote management vendors had their smart agents place their data into WEBM based template or schema that was readily accessible by AMT ME, then all remote management programs using AMT would have the benefit of gathering management data. The CPU use management data allows the remote management programs to see if the server might be scheduled for turn down when not in use.

The smart agents that allowed command line access, shutdowns, restarts, disk mounts and un-mounts, etc. will or should be required to accept commands from AMT. These commands will or should be standardized. Standard AMT commands will or should remote management programs to perform those actions where smart agents were operational and where AMT security allowed remote management to perform the requested action or command.

CLEARLY, AMT might also act as a secure and threat protected conduit for vendor proprietary or specific remote management programs to interact with their specific smart agents via AMT redirection. However, let’s take advantage of the extensive work done by DMTF WEBM group and standardize on remote management data format that AMT might return when asked.

AMT’s Moral and Business Imperative to reduce energy costs and make the planet green
Reducing energy consumption is both a moral and business imperative. Eliminating the need for external hardware-based remote management, KVMs and console servers with their associated cable mess means a greener planet and energy cost savings. The secure AMT redirection allows command line access for those smart agents that support it. Facilitating smart agent redirection using the security and threat protection available on AMT allows idle servers to be identified and turned off when not in use. Providing the means to easily identify and turn off idle servers, desktops, notebooks delivers energy saving in two areas: the power to run the server, desktop or notebook ( on the desktop) is conserved; the cooling requirements in the data center are reduced as less servers are running. Less cooling required equates to huge savings in your energy bill.

AMT redirection provides the means to securely restart, shutdown , power on, power off any host that is AMT enabled. This time saver and AMT enabled management actions allows computer rooms to be totally dark saving even more energy expense. AMT allows the data center management practices to be applied to Desktop and notebooks as well. Next blog: AMT is the core infrastructure for delivering a single tool or standard practices for remotely managing Data Center Servers, Desktop and Notebook!

Categories: Manageability

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