If you haven’t implemented wireless configuration using Intel AMT, this is the best time to do so. Let me tell you why. In the past, OOB wirless management of AMT client systems was possible only if your client is in the S0 state, ie powered on. For example, suppose your client OS crashed. You can use the SOL/IDE-R functionality in Intel AMT for fixing this. But if you are using wireless connection, this was possible only if your system is powered on. If it is in any other power states – standby, hibernate etc; this was not possible until Intel AMT 4.0. But with Intel AMT 4.0, you can do this in any of these power states. The only requirement is that your system should be connected to AC power; we still don’t do this with battery.

This makes the wireless management of AMT systems on par with the wired management. One caveat is that wireless manageability is available only over Wi-fi connection and not over Wimax.

The recently published Intel AMT 4.0 SDK contains samples showing how to implement the wirless configuration using Intel AMT. The Network Interface Guide included in the Doc folder of the SDK gives details on the various APIs available for this.

Since opening up the system and checking the sticker inside the machine chassis for AMT capability is not an ideal option for purchasing systems, which many of the buyers won’t even think of doing unless they are specifically directed to do so, we thought of going to Dell site and see if they make this clear with the Optiplex 755 system specifications. Here is what we found:
Optiplex 755 Desktop Product Techspecs

This website makes it sound like every Optiplex 755 will have AMT (but there are different processors and only one lists vPro).
Optiplex 755 Desktop Product Detail site allows you to choose your Dell Optiplex system, but it doesn’t talk about AMT at all -

And finally, this site on various processor options; Here the important thing is paying attention to the green shading for the vPro entry; the actual Vpro system is applicable to the system on top of the bold wording and not the 4 systems below it. so it looks like it is “introducing” the 4 systems underneath it as vPro systems, when in fact it is applicable to the system above it

So, in order to avoid future confusion, we would suggest confirming that your Dell Optiplex 755 system comes with Intel AMT before trying to configure and use AMT features.

Finally we figured that the issue is with his keyboard mapping. MEBx thinks that your are typing on a QWERTY keyboard and if you are in an OS that has a different keyboard mapping, the password will not match. The customer was using a British English keyboard, the layout of which was different than a US keyboard. We asked him to go into MEBx and try to change the computer's network name and type in his password there and take a look at what shows up on the screen – it was not what he thought he was typing.

So here is what you should do if you are using a non-US keyboard – type a password in MEBx as if you have a US keyboard. If you are not sure, go in to MEBx hostname and type a password and look at the results on the screen. Typing a password using only keys that are the same on US keyboards also works.

Well, the issue here is that you have installed the wrong video driver on the system, which is not caught as an issue in the Device Manager. But if you look at the Event Viewer, you could see that the dll associated with your video driver has been failed to load properly. If you see this error, download and install the correct video driver either from the CD shipped along with your system or Dell support site or from the video card download site.

There is a forum post on Dell site regarding this at http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=Desktops_Workstation_Optiplex&message.id=3098&query.id=146206#M3098

The main components of Intel SCS include:
  Intel SCS main service
  Secure database
  SOAP API
  Intel SCS Console

Intel SCS Main Service – Intel SCS delivers setup and configuration settings to Intel AMT devices. The main operations performed by Intel SCS Main Service include – Pre-setup and configuration, Setup and configuration, Integration with Active Directory (optional), Gathering security information and Management and Maintenace.
Secure Database – Intel SCS Databse (Microsoft SQL Server) stores configuration data and profiles for all Intel AMT devices in the domain, logs and stored procedures for configuration activities and Intel SCS user and permission data defined by Intel SCS console.
SOAP API – The SOAP API is used for communication between Intel SCS main service  and remote management console. This also provides the basis for solution vendors to create and productize custom user interfaces.
Intel SCS Console – Intel SCS Console is an open source application which uses Intel SCS SOAP API to configure, control and manage Intel SCS main service and Intel SCS Database.

Intel AMT SCS is provided to ISVs as a binary executable. The source code of the SCS Console is included in the product distribution, as well as a description of the SOAP API. ISVs are expected to add value to the Console or to create their own equivalent using the API. The Intel AMT SCS will not be provided to end users directly by Intel. It will be part of an ISV’s product offering, either stand-alone or embedded in a management console product.

You can download the latest version of Intel SCS from http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/articles/eng/1025.htm

So far so good. Now I decided to dig deep into the NetworkInterface sample and experiment the various options there. I used the –h option which will allow me to Get/Set HostName of my AMT device. So I executed the command:

NetworkAdministration.exe –user admin –pass XXX http://ipaddress:16992/NetworkAdministrationService

Here is what i got:

C:\AMT SDK\Windows\Intel AMT SDK\Samples\NetworkAdministration\Release> NetworkAdministration.exe –h –user admin –pass P@ssw0rd http://192.168.1.53:16992/NetworkAdministrationService
Calling function GetHostName…..
Current Host Name is : iDBO
Enter new Host Name (-1 to keep current name):
>

This time I decided to set the hostname to a different name. So I typed iDB1 and I was surprised at the output message I got:

C:\AMT SDK\Windows\Intel AMT SDK\Samples\NetworkAdministration\Release> NetworkAdministration.exe –h –user admin –pass P@ssw0rd http://192.168.1.53:16992/NetworkAdministrationService
Calling function GetHostName…..
Current Host Name is : iDBO
Enter new Host Name (-1 to keep current name):
>iDB1
Calling function SetHostName…
New Host Name is : iDB1
Restoring the original host name:
Restored Host Name is : iDBO
C:\AMT SDK\Windows\Intel AMT SDK\Samples\NetworkAdministration\Release>

I double checked the host name by executing the same command and it remains to be iDBO. Did I make any mistake here so that this sample is not able to change the hostname? I decided to take a look at the source code for NetworkInterface sample.
BINGO! I found that immediately after setting the hostname to the new name, the sample code restores it to the old host name using the following lines of code:

Restore the original host name
printf("\nRestoring the original host name:\n");
if(SetHostName(soap,oldHost,oldHost) == true)
{ // Verify changes
if(GetHostName(soap,oldHost) == true)
{
printf("\nRestored Host Name is : %s\n", oldHost.c_str()); face
}
}

I commented out these lines in the sample code and rebuilt the solution and executed the command using the new binaries. Now I am able to change the hostname to iDB1.

C:\AMT SDK\Windows\Intel AMT SDK\Samples\NetworkAdministration\Release> NetworkAdministration.exe –h –user admin –pass P@ssw0rd http://192.168.1.53:16992/NetworkAdministrationService
Calling function GetHostName…..
Current Host Name is : iDBO
Enter new Host Name (-1 to keep current name):
>iDB1
Calling function SetHostName…
Verify changes:
New Host Name is : iDB1
C:\AMT SDK\Windows\Intel AMT SDK\Samples\NetworkAdministration\Release>

Now I learned not only to install and use SDK, but also to play around with the sample code. Wasn’t that easy?

Well, let’s start from the Bios settings. When you boot up the system, get into Intel ME settings (how to do this vary among the OEMs. For some, there will be a message to hit <CTRL + P> while booting up to get into the MEBx settings; for others, hitting F2 (or Del) while booting will take you to the Bios settings where there is a separate tab for Intel ME). Do the following steps in the Bios settings:

Intel ME configurations:

1. Change the default ME password: the default password is "admin". Change that to a stronger password. The guidelines for creating a good ME password can be found here.
2. Select Manageability feature as Intel AMT
3. Select the power policies: this can be done through bios, WebUI or Intel AMT SOAP interface. Visit Gael's blog here on a nice overview of various power packages.

Intel AMT configurations:

1. Enable/Disable DHCP (For mobile systems, you have to use DHCP)
2. Host Name & IP Address: If you are choosing static IP, you have to have separate Host Name & IP Address for Intel ME than your host CPU. If you are choosing DHCP, you can use the same Host Name and IP Address for Intel ME as the host CPU.
3. Provisioning: Small Medium Business (SMB)/Enterprise. Guidelines for deciding on whether to use SMB or Enterprise mode can be found here.
4. Enable SOL/IDE-R

Hit F10 to save the settings and reboot the system. Now, confirm that you have the following drivers installed on your system:

• Intel 82566DM Network Interface Controller
• Intel Management Engine Interface (aka HECI driver)
• Serial-Over-Lan (SOL) Driver
• IDE-Redirect Controller
• Intel® Active Management Technology LMS Service
• Intel® AMT System Status Service

If not, you can install them from the driver CD that comes along with your system. Or you can find them in the OEM site. Also, it is recommended to check your OEM site in between to see if there are any Bios updates.

The next step is to check if you can access the AMT client system from the Management system. Before doing this turn off any firewall on your client and the management system. Try to ping the client from the management system.

Now, you can connect to the client system from the management system using WebUI. Intel AMT device has a built-in web interface which can be used by the management system to connect to the client and change some of the configuration parameters. For doing this, open an Internet Explorer window on your management system and type: http://ipaddress:16992 where ipaddress is the IP Address of client system. Enter the username and password that you had used for MEBx in the log on window to log into the client system. Once you are there, you can see detailed information on the CPU, memory, disk etc. You can use this WebUI for changing your client settings including IP settings, host name, ping response, editing user accounts and updating the firmware. The Remote Control section will allow you to send commands to the client for power off, reboot, reset etc.

Once these steps are completed, your AMT client is set up successfully and ready to go. Now you can use a Management Console application in the Management system to remotely manage your client system.

Platform Auditing: Traditionally, IT organizations must depend on users to report their IT assets, or IT employees must be sent to check the assets manually. Using Intel® AMT features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access, Remote platform inventory, Intel® AMT flash and Tamper-resistant agent , now IT department can reduce or eliminate manual platform audits by means of remote, down-the-wire access to platforms, regardless of operating-system state.

Software Inventory Management: IT organizations must traditionally depend on users to report their installed software packages, or IT employees must be sent to the platform to conduct an inventory manually. With Intel® AMT features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access, Remote software inventory, Third party data store (3PDS) and Tamper-resistant agent, IT can now Improve the software-inventory process, optimize maintenance contracts, licensing, and configurations inventory.

Hardware Inventory Management: Due to the limitations of conventional hardware inventory tools, IT had to depend on users to report their installed hardware, or IT employees must be sent to the platform to conduct an inventory manually.

Now, using Intel® AMT features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access, Remote hardware inventory, Intel® AMT flash and Tamper-resistant agent, IT can manage hardware inventories more efficiently and reduce manual audits.

Remote Diagnosis, Remote Repair: In the typical scenario where there are issues to an end-user's system, technicians are unable to address the problem down the wire and will have to make a couple of on-site visits for diagnosing and solving the issue. Intel® AMT features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access, Remote trouble shooting and recovery and Tamper-resistant agent help IT to remotely diagnose and repair client machines reducing on-site visits to resolve SW problems even when OS is down.

Remote Diagnosis, Local Repair: Similar to the above scenario where there are issues to an end-user system, technicians have to make an on-site visit to diagnose the issue and if it is due to a failed hardware part, they have to make another on-site visit to replace this. But using features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access, Remote Field Replaceable Unit (FRU) inventory, Remote trouble shooting and recovery, Alerting, Intel® AMT flash and Tamper-resistant agent supported by Intel® AMT, IT can remotely diagnose the issue and determine failed FRU make and model information out-of-band which helps to reduce visits to resolve HW problems.

Software Version Compliance: Conventional Software compliance tools require the target system to be operational and they fail if the system is powered off or the operating system is non-functional, there by increasing the vulnerability of the system. Intel® AMT features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access and third party data storage can be used to ensure up-to-date software versions, virus signatures, etc. and improve accuracy, speed and efficiency of anti-virus software updates regardless of OS or power state.

Hardware-based Isolation and Recovery: In a traditional environment, IT is forced to bring down the entire subnet in the event of malware attack for preventing the spread of malware, affecting the productivity of end-users. Using Intel® AMT features such as Out-Of Band (OOB) access and wired/wireless filters, IT can now detect and stop malware from propagating. Once a system is found suspicious, IT can quarantine system and update policy out of band.

Presence checking of user partition agents: Critical software agents could be removed from the end-user systems either by malware attacks or by users themselves. So, in a traditional environment, management consoles poll these agents to ensure that they are present, which takes up network bandwidth and only works if the platform is powered on, the operating system is in good health and the platform is attached to the corporate LAN. Intel® AMT features such as agent presence services in host OS environment virtually eliminate the ability of users or malware to circumvent protection.

Endpoint Access Control (EAC): In a traditional environment, non-compliant systems can access the network thereby increasing its vulnerability. Intel® AMT features such as Posture information, Posture verification and support for Intel® OOB NAC help IT to limit network access by visitor, rogue systems, and systems that do not conform to company policies for virus protection, OS patches, etc. IT can now force systems that do not meet corporate policy onto a remediation network.

One-Touch Configuration: In this use-case example, an IT manager receives shipment of several PCs that he wants to configure to use Intel® AMT Perform. Intel provides the firmware image, LMS driver, Intel MEI driver, and the Intel® Setup and Configuration Service (SCS) to perform automated setup and configuration of an Intel AMT device, either using credentials stored on a USB key storage device or by keying credential information manually into BIOS.

Remote Configuration: In a similar situation like above the firmware image, LMS driver, Intel MEI driver, and the Intel® Setup and Configuration Service (SCS) provided by Intel allow the IT manager to configure this system remotely to use Intel® AMT features. This feature helps to automatically set up and configure an Intel AMT device upon connection to the network, either using a third-party management software agent resident on the client OS or from a 'bare-metal' state, without requiring a host OS.

Details of each of these use cases along with implementation guidelines are posted at http://softwarecommunity.intel.com/articles/eng/1514.htm