Intel V-pro techology

[andyturpie]

All our workstations now have V-pro technology and I remember seeing a demo on it where we could use it to perform remote tasks etc.

 

Does anyone use this and what software from intel do you use as looking at IT Director it seems its not around anymore?

 

 

Cheers

 

AJT

[mrbios]

What processors and motherboards are you using?

 

It was my impression that V-Pro was only on the higher end CPUs in each range of the core series, in which case you may only have vpro compatible motherboards or you're wasting money on over specced machines. Either way, look here: Intel® vPro? Activation

[andyturpie]

we are usning core i3 and i7 processors on a DQ57TM board throught the school.

[Gurra]

It won't work on the i3 systems, VPRO needs i5 or i7.

[localzuk]

It won't work on the i3 systems, VPRO needs i5 or i7.

 

Not only does it need an i5 or i7, it needs one of the models with vPro support in it. Not all models have the support.

[andyturpie]

ahh its supported on our i7 systems, but not on the i3. Makes sense - thanks guys!

[mrbios]

EDIT: Apparently having an opinion on this forum isn't allowed, so i won't bother. Edited January 27, 2012 by mrbios

[Arthur]

what software from Intel do you use

The Remote KVM feature can be made to work with a standard VNC client if you follow the instructions below.

 

Newer Intel Chipsets with vPro/Intel AMT, such as the Q57, Q67 and C206 (as long as they’re paired with a Core i5/i7 or Xeon with integrated graphics), have a feature called Remote KVM.

 

To use it, press Ctrl-P at the BIOS splash screen to get to the MEBx menu, set a password (minimum 8 characters, mixed case, numbers and special characters are enforced), configure the network settings (they can even match the OS’s IP address), enable Remote KVM and disable User Opt-In.

 

Next, download the Intel AMT SDK, extract the ZIP and open .\Windows\Intel_AMT\Bin\KVM\KVMControlApplication.exe . There, you can enable KVM as seen in the following screenshot

 

http://i.imgur.com/fIhXK.png

 

KVM Status can either be set to “redirection ports” (meaning it will only be accessible to VNC clients that specifically support Intel AMT, such as RealVNC Viewer Plus or Intel’s KVM Console, the former of which costs $100, the latter of which constantly overlays a RealVNC logo on the screen), to “default port” (meaning it will be accessible on TCP port 5900 to any VNC client), or to “all ports” (which is the combination of both).

 

If you enable VNC access, you will also need to set an RFB Password. As I found out the hard way (Intel actually has it hidden in their documentation as well), it gets truncated at 8 characters and at the same time has the same security requirements as the general AMT password. If you disabled User Opt-In in the MEBx menu, you can disable it here as well.

 

So that’s it, now you can use almost any VNC client you like (RealVNC and Chicken of the VNC work fine, while Apple Remote Desktop appears to cause the VNC server to freeze) and control the machine just as if you were sitting in front of it.

 

Two things I noticed: On my machine, the BIOS splash screen was not visible during a KVM connection (not even on a directly-attached screen), so to get to the BIOS I needed to blindly hit the corresponding key. Also, it is not possible to enter the MEBx menu during a KVM connection (probably for some obscure security reasons): if you hit the corresponding key, it immediately exits and continues normal bot; if you establish a KVM connection while in MEBx, you get disconnected immediately.

 

After about half an hour of playing with Intel AMT, I have to say it’s really cool. If you’re buying/building a home server, you should definitely consider getting a mainboard with Intel AMT 6.0 or later: You get server-grade remote management capabilities for a very small premium, which are very useful if you ever lock yourself out while remotely connected to the server. (Source)

[CyberNerd]

If it's using KVM then surely it's just running a linux kernel on the hardware and the standard OS is just installed as a virtual machine, you could conceivably do this on any processor that supports KVM - just install linux as your base OS and run whatever you like on top?

[Arthur]

According to Wikipedia, there's a copy of VNC embedded into the BIOS (or UEFI?).

 

From major version 6, Intel AMT embeds a proprietary VNC server, so you can connect out-of-band using dedicated VNC-compatible viewer technology, and have full KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) capability throughout the power cycle - including uninterrupted control of the desktop when an operating system loads. Clients such as VNC Viewer Plus from RealVNC also provide additional functionality that might make it easier to perform (and watch) certain Intel AMT operations, such as powering the computer off and on, configuring the BIOS, and mounting a remote image (IDER). (Source)

[Gurra]

The difference is that with AMT you can connect to the machine even when it is switched off, and you can boot to e.g. windows safe mode, in case Windows isn't working correctly.

It runs on a management engine, a second processor, which on the DQ57TM is located in the Q57 chipset.

Edited January 27, 2012 by Gurra

[localzuk]

If it's using KVM then surely it's just running a linux kernel on the hardware and the standard OS is just installed as a virtual machine, you could conceivably do this on any processor that supports KVM - just install linux as your base OS and run whatever you like on top?

 

Wrong 'KVM'. They're referring to KVM as in the device which allows you to use keyboard, video and mouse, rather than kernel virtual machine.

[CyberNerd]

Wrong 'KVM'. They're referring to KVM as in the device which allows you to use keyboard, video and mouse, rather than kernel virtual machine.

 

 

ah ok. sounded like it was an embedded linux system.

even so, running linux KVM as a base OS with a VNC or spice client does sound plausible for remote management - it would require very little overhead. I've done it on my home PC.