Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide About Intel® Active Management Technology Intel AMT Setup and Configuration Overview Deployment Using the Intel AMT WebGUI Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx) Provisioning: Setup and Configuration Completion Redirecting Serial and IDE Communications Troubleshooting Notes, Notices, and Cautions NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer.
Back to Contents Page Deployment Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Once you are ready to deploy a computer to a user, plug the computer into a power source and connect it to the network. Use the integrated Intel® 82566MM NIC. Intel Active Management Technology (iAMT®) does not work with any other NIC solution. When the computer is turned on, it computer immediately looks for a setup and configuration server (SCS).
Back to Contents Page Intel® Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx) Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Intel MEBx Overview Configuring the Intel Management Engine (ME) Configuring Your Computer to Support Intel AMT Features MEBx Default Settings MEBx Overview The Intel® Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx) provides platform-level configuration options for you to configure the behavior of Management Engine (ME) platform.
The new password must include the following elements: l l l l l Eight characters One uppercase letter One lowercase letter A number A special (nonalphanumeric) character, such as !, $, or ; excluding the :, ", and , characters.) The underscore ( _ ) and spacebar are valid password characters but do NOT add to the password complexity. Configuring the Intel® Management Engine (ME) To reach the Intel® Management Engine (ME) Platform Configuration page, follow these steps: 1. 2. 3.
When enabled, the ME State Control option lets you disable ME to isolate the ME computer from the main platform while debugging a field malfunction. The table below illustrates the details of the options. ME Platform State Control Option Description Enabled Enable the Management Engine on the platform Disabled Disable the Management Engine on the platform In fact, the ME is not really disabled with the Disabled option.
ME Firmware Local Update Option Option Description Always Open The ME firmware local update channel is always enabled. A boot cycle does not change enabled to disabled. The ME FW Local Update option can be ignored. Never The ME firmware local update channel is controlled by the ME FW Local Update option, which can be enabled or disabled. A boot cycle changes enabled to disabled. Restricted The ME firmware local update channel is always enabled only if Intel AMT is in un-provision state.
Intel ME Features Control The ME Features Control menu contains the following configuration selection. Manageability Feature Selection When you select the Manageability Feature Selection option on the ME Features Control menu, the ME Manageability Feature menu appears. You can use this option to determine which manageability feature is enabled. l l ASF — Alert Standard Format. ASF is a standardized corporate assets management technology. The Intel ICH9 platform supports ASF specification 2.0.
When you change the option from Intel AMT to None, a warning that Intel AMT un-provisions automatically if you accept the change appears. The None option has no manageability feature provided by the ME computer. In this case, the firmware is loaded (that is, ME is still enabled) but the management applications remain disabled. Intel ME Power Control The ME Power Control menu configures the ME platform power-related options. It contains the following configuration selection.
The Intel AMT Configuration page contains the user-configurable options listed below. For images of these menu options, see Enterprise Mode and SMB Mode. Menu Options l l l l l Host Name TCP/IP Provisioning Server Provision Model Set PID and PPS l l l l l Un-Provision SOL/IDE-R Secure Firmware Update Set PRTC Idle Timeout Host Name A hostname can be assigned to the Intel AMT capable computer. This is the host name of the Intel AMT-enabled computer.
This allows you to select between small business and enterprise mode. Enterprise mode may have different security settings than small business mode. Because of the different security settings, each of these modes requires a different process to complete the setup and configuration process. Set PID and PPS Setting or deleting the PID/PPS causes a partial un-provision if the setup and configuration is "In-process". l Set PID and PPS – Sets the PID and PPS. Enter the PID and PPS in the dash format. (Ex.
l l l Username and Password – DISABLED** / ENABLED This option provides the user authentication for SOL/IDER session. If the Kerberos protocol is used, set this option to Disabled and set the user authentication through Kerberos. If Kerberos is not used, you have the choice to enable or disable user authentication on the SOL/IDER session. Serial-Over-LAN (SOL) – DISABLED** / ENABLED SOL allows the Intel AMT managed client console input/output to be redirected to the management server console.
Idle Timeout Use this setting to define the ME WoL idle timeout. When this timer expires, the ME enters a low-power state. This timeout takes effect only when one of the ME WoL power policies is selected. Enter the value in minutes. Intel AMT in DHCP Mode Settings Example The table below shows a basic field settings example for the Intel AMT Configuration menu page to configure the computer in DHCP mode.
l l SOL/IDE-R Remote FW Update Enable SOL Enable IDE-R Enabled Save and exit MEBx and then boot the computer to the Microsoft® Windows® operating system. Intel AMT in Static Mode Settings Example The table below shows a basic field settings example for the Intel AMT Configuration menu page to configure the computer in static mode. The computer requires two MAC addresses (GBE MAC address and Manageability MAC Address) to operate in static mode.
Username & Password Disabled Enabled * Serial Over LAN Disabled Enabled * IDE Redirection Disabled Enabled * Secure Firmware Update Disabled Enabled * Set PRTC blank Idle Timeout Timeout Value (0x0-0xFFFF) 1 *Default setting **May cause Intel AMT partial unprovision 1 Intel ME Platform State Control is only changed for Management Engine (ME) troubleshooting. 2 In Enterprise mode, DHCP automatically loads the domain name. 3 Un-provision setting only seen if the box is provisioned.
Back to Contents Page About Intel® Active Management Technology Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel AMT, or iAMT®) allows companies to easily manage their networked computers. IT management can: l Discover computing assets on a network regardless of whether the computer is turned on or off — Intel AMT uses information stored in nonvolatile computer memory to access the computer.
Back to Contents Page Redirecting Serial and IDE Communications Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Intel® AMT makes it possible to redirect serial and IDE communications from a managed client to a management console regardless of the boot and power state of the managed client. The client need only have the Intel AMT capability, a connection to a power source, and a network connection.
Back to Contents Page Intel® AMT Setup and Configuration Overview Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Terms Setup and Configuration States Terms The following is a list of important terms related to the Intel® AMT setup and configuration: l l l l l l l Setup and configuration — The process that populates the Intel AMT-managed computer with usernames, passwords, and network parameters that enable the computer to be administered remotely.
Back to Contents Page Provisioning: Completing the Setup and Configuration Process Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Using a Configuration Service to Complete Provisioning Using MEBx Interface to Complete Provisioning The computer has to be configured before the Intel® AMT capabilities are ready to interact with the management application.
Setup and Configuration Using a USB Storage Device 1. Format a USB device with the FAT16 file system and no volume label and then set it aside. 2. Open the Altiris® Dell Client Manager application by double-clicking the desktop icon or through the Start menu. 3. Select AMT Quick Start from the left navigation menu to open the Altiris Console. 4. Click the plus (+) to expand the Intel AMT Getting Started section.
5. Click the plus (+) to expand the Section 1. Provisioning section. 6. Click the plus (+) to expand the Basic Provisioning (without TLS) section.
7. Select Step 1. Configure DNS. The notification server with an out-of-band management solution installed must be registered in DNS as "ProvisionServer." 8. Click Test on the DNS Configuration screen to verify that DNS has the ProvisionServer entry and that it resolves to the correct Intel setup and configuration server (SCS).
The IP address for the ProvisionServer and Intel SCS are now visible. 9. Select Step 2. Discovery Capabilities.
10. Verify that the setting is Enabled. If Disabled, click the checkbox next to Disabled and click Apply. 11. Select Step 3. View Intel AMT Capable Computers.
Any Intel AMT capable computers on the network are visible in this list. 12. Select Step 4. Create Profile.
13. Click the plus (+) to add a new profile. 14. On the General tab the administrator can modify the profile name, description, and password. The administrator sets a standard password for easy maintenance in the future. Select the manual radio button and enter a new password.
15. The Network tab provides the option to enable ping responses, VLAN, WebUI, Serial over LAN, and IDE Redirection. If you are configuring Intel AMT manually, all these settings are also available in the MEBx. 16. The TLS (Transport Layer Security) tab provides the ability to enable TLS. If enabled, several other pieces of information are required including the certificate authority (CA) server name, CA common name, CA type, and certificate template. 17.
18. The Power Policy tab has configuration options to select the sleep states for Intel AMT and an Idle Timeout setting. It is recommended that Idle timeout is always set to 1 for optimal performance. 19. Select Step 5. Generate Security Keys.
20. Select the icon with the arrow pointing out to Export Security Keys to USB Key. 21. Select the Generate keys before export radio button.
22. Enter the number of keys to generate (depends on the number of computers that need to be provisioned). The default is 50. 23. The Intel ME default password is admin. Configure the new Intel ME password for the environment.
24. Click Generate. Once the keys have been created, a link appears to the left of the Generate button. 25. 26. Insert the previously formatted USB device into a USB connector on the ProvisioningServer. Click the Download USB key file link to download setup.bin file to the USB device. The USB device is recognized by default; save the file to the USB device. If additional keys are needed in the future, the USB device must be reformatted before saving the setup.bin file to it. a.
c. Click Close in the Download complete dialog box. The setup.bin file is now visible in the drive explorer window. 27. 28. Close the Export Security Keys to USB Key and drive explorer windows to return to the Altiris Console. Take the USB device to the computer, insert the device, and turn on the computer. The USB device is recognized immediately and the following message appears: Continue with Auto Provisioning (Y/N) 29. Press .
30. Press any key to continue with system boot... 31. 32. Once complete, turn off the computer and move back to the management server. Select Step 6. Configure Automatic Profile Assignments. 33. Verify that the setting setting is enabled. In the Intel AMT 2.0+ dropdown, select the profile created previously. Configure the other settings for the environment.
34. Select Step 7. Monitor Provisioning Process. The computers for which the keys were applied begin to appearing in the system list. At first the status is Unprovisioned, then the system status changes to In provisioning, and finally it changes to Provisioned at the end of the process.
35. Select Step 8. Monitor Profile Assignments. The computers for which profiles were assigned appear in the list. Each computer is identified by the FQDN, UUID, and Profile Name columns.
Once the computers are provisioned, they are visible under the Collections folder in All configured Intel AMT computers. Using MEBx Interface to Complete Provisioning Intel® AMT can be set up for either Enterprise or Small and Medium Business operational modes (also called provisioning models). Both operational modes support dynamic and static IP networking. If you use dynamic IP networking (DHCP), the Intel AMT host name and the operating system host name must match.
Intel AMT Configuration sets up all other Intel AMT options not covered in Intel AMT Setup, such as enabling the computer for Serial-Over-LAN (SOL) or IDERedirect (IDE-R). You can change the settings modified in the configuration phase many times over the course of a computer's life span. Changes can be made to the computer locally or through a management console.
3. Select Change Intel ME Password. Press . Type the new password twice for verification. The new password must include the following elements: l l l l l Eight characters One uppercase letter One lowercase letter A number A special (nonalphanumeric) character, such as !, $, or ; excluding the :, ", and , characters.) The underscore ( _ ) and spacebar are valid password characters but do NOT add to the password complexity. Change the password to establish Intel AMT ownership.
5. The following message appears: System resets after configuration change. Continue (Y/N). Press . 6. Intel ME State Control is the next option. The default setting for this option is Enabled. Do not change this setting to Disabled. If you want to disable Intel AMT, change the Manageability Feature Selection option to None.
7. 8. Select Intel ME Firmware Local Update. Press . Select Always Open. Press . The default setting for this option is Disabled. 9. Select Intel ME Features Control. Press .
10. Manageability Feature Selection is the next option. This feature sets the platform management mode. The default setting is Intel AMT. Selecting the None option disables all remote management capabilities. 11. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press .
12. Select Intel ME Power Control. Press . 13. Intel ME ON in Host Sleep States is the next option. The default setting is Mobile: ON in S0.
14. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press . 15. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press . 16. Exit the MEBx Setup and save the ME configuration. The computer displays an Intel ME Configuration Complete message and then restarts. After the ME configuration is complete, you can configure the Intel AMT settings. For instructions, see Intel AMT Configuration: Enabling Intel AMT for Enterprise Mode.
4. Select Host Name. Press . Then type in a unique name for this Intel AMT machine. Press . Spaces are not accepted in the host name. Make sure there is not a duplicate host name on the network. Host names can be used in place of the computer's IP for any applications requiring the IP address. 5. Select TCP/IP. Press . The following messages appear: l Disable Network Interface: (Y/N) Press .
l [DHCP Enable] Disable DHCP (Y/N) Press . l Domain Name Type the domain name into the field.
6. Select Provision Server from the menu. Press . 7. Type the provisioning server IP in the Provisioning server address field and press .
NOTE: The default setting is 0.0.0.0. This default setting works only if the DNS server has an entry that can resolve tech provision server to the IP of the provisioning server. 8. Type the port in the Port number field and press . NOTE: The default setting is 0. If left at the default setting of 0, the AMT attempts to contact the provisioning server on port 9971. If the provisioning server is listening on a different port, enter it here. The following message appears: l [Intel (R) AMT 2.
10. Select SOL/IDE-R. Press . 11. The following messages appear, and require the response indicated in the following bulleted list: l [Caution] System resets after configuration changes. Continue: (Y/N) Press .
l User name & Password ¡ Select Enabled and then press . This option allows you to add users and passwords from the WebGUI. If the option is disabled, then only the administrator has MEBx remote access. l Serial Over LAN Select Enabled and then press .
l IDE Redirection Select Enabled and then press . 12. Secure Firmware Update is the next option. The default setting is Enabled.
13. Skip Set PRTC. 14. Idle Timeout is the next option. The default setting is 1. This timeout is applicable only when a WoL option is selected in step 13 of the process for enabling ME for the Enterprise operating mode. setting must be used in step 13.
15. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press . 16. Select Exit. Press .
17. The following message appears: Are you sure you want to exit? (Y/N): Press . 18. The computer restarts. Turn off the computer and disconnect the power cable. The computer is now in setup state and is ready for deployment. SMB Mode The Intel® Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx) is an optional ROM module that Intel provides to Dell™ to be included in the Dell BIOS. The MEBx has been customized for Dell™ computers.
2. Type admin in the Intel ME Password field. Press . Passwords are case sensitive. You must change the default password before making changes to the MEBx options. 3. Select Change Intel ME Password. Press . Type the new password twice for verification. The new password must include the following elements: l l l l l Eight characters One uppercase letter One lowercase letter A number A special (nonalphanumeric) character, such as !, $, or ; excluding the :, ", and , characters.
5. The following message appears: System resets after configuration change. Continue (Y/N). Press . 6. Intel ME State Control is the next option. The default setting for this option is Enabled. Do not change this setting to Disabled. If you want to disable Intel AMT, change the Manageability Feature Selection option to None.
7. 8. Select Intel ME Firmware Local Update. Press . Select Disabled. Press . The default setting for this option is Disabled. 9. Select Intel ME Features Control. Press .
10. Manageability Feature Selection is the next option. This feature sets the platform management mode. The default setting is Intel AMT. Selecting the None option disables all remote management capabilities. 11. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press .
12. Select Intel ME Power Control. Press . 13. Intel ME ON in Host Sleep States is the next option. The default setting is Mobile: ON in S0.
14. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press . 15. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press . 16. Exit the MEBx Setup and save the ME configuration. The computer displays an Intel ME Configuration Complete message and then restarts. After the ME configuration is complete, you can configure the Intel AMT settings. Intel AMT Configuration: Enabling Intel AMT for SMB Mode To enable Intel AMT Configuration settings on the target platform, perform the following steps: 1. 2. 3.
4. 5. Select Host Name. Press . Then type in a unique name for this Intel AMT machine. Press . Spaces are not accepted in the host name. Make sure there is not a duplicate host name on the network. Host names can be used in place of the computer's IP for any applications requiring the IP address. 6. 7. l Select TCP/IP. Press . The following messages appear and require the response indicated in the following bulleted list: Disable Network Interface: (Y/N) Press .
l [DHCP Enable] Disable DHCP (Y/N) Press . l Domain Name Type the domain name into the field.
8. 9. Select Provision Model from the menu. Press . The following message appears: The following message appears: l Change to Intel AMT 1.0 Mode: (Y/N) Press .
10. Skip the Un-Provision option. This option returns the computer to factory defaults. See Return to Default for more information about unprovisioning. 11. Select SOL/IDE-R. Press . 12. The following messages appear and require the response indicated in the following bulleted list: l [Caution] System resets after configuration changes. Continue: (Y/N) Press .
l User name & Password Select Enabled and then press . This option allows you to add users and passwords from the WebGUI. If the option is disabled, then only the administrator has MEBx remote access. l Serial Over LAN Select Enabled and then press .
l IDE Redirection Select Enabled and then press . 13. Secure Firmware Update is the next option. The default setting is Enabled.
14. Skip Set PRTC. 15. Idle Timeout is the next option. The default setting is 1. This timeout is applicable only when a WoL option is selected in step 13 of the process for enabling the ME for SMB operating mode.
16. Select Return to Previous Menu. Press . 17. Select Exit. Press .
18. The following message appears: Are you sure you want to exit? (Y/N): Press . 19. The computer restarts. Turn off the computer and disconnect the power cable. The computer is now in setup state and is ready for deployment.
Back to Contents Page Troubleshooting Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide Return to Default (Un-Provisioning) Firmware Flash Serial-Over-LAN (SOL) and IDE Redirection (IDE-R) Error Messages This section describes a few basic troubleshooting steps to follow if problems are experienced with the Intel® AMT configuration. Return to Default (Un-Provisioning) Return to default is also known as un-provisioning.
Back to Contents Page Using the Intel® AMT WebGUI Dell™ Systems Management Administrator's Guide The Intel® AMT WebGUI is a Web browser-based interface for limited remote computer management. The WebGUI is often used as a test to determine if Intel AMT setup and configuration was performed properly on a computer. A successful remote connection between a remote computer and the host computer running the WebGUI indicates proper Intel AMT setup and configuration on the remote computer.
