HP Business Desktops BIOS

Monitoring BIOS Configuration Settings via HP Client Management Interface. Example VB scripts will
be provided on hp.com in SoftPAQ SP29792.exe.
There is also a new tool for making BIOS settings locally from a Windows OS environment: HP BIOS
Configuration for Protect Tools. This tool is supplied as a plug-in for HP Protect Tools.
Once the desired configuration has been established, the system administrator can enable the HP
BIOS to store these settings as the computer default settings. With this capability, the administrator
can establish the default settings for all HP Business Desktop computers remotely. If for some reason
the BIOS settings are lost on a computer, these custom defaults will be restored by the BIOS instead of
the BIOS defaults as they shipped from the factory. Factory default settings can be restored if a
problem occurs.
Remote problem alerts and reaction
The HP BIOS adheres to the Alert Standard Format (see ASF standards at
http://www.dmtf.org/standards/asf/) specification to provide advanced warning and system failure
alerts from managed clients to remote consoles. ASF provides methods for sending failure/status
information to remote consoles and receiving instructions from remote consoles in Pre-Boot, Boot, and
OS unavailable states. This standard helps ensure the interoperability of HP Business Desktop
computers with alerting and corrective-action software and devices from other vendors. The HP
Business Desktop computer will issue heartbeat (indicates the computer is running fine), temperature
problem, fan failure, chassis intrusion, boot failure, memory failure, and processor failure alerts. The
BIOS will also accept remote ASF requests to restart, shutdown, or wake up the system over the
network. The HP BIOS allows remote ASF messages to override the boot order—remote ASF
messages can be used to force the HP Business Desktop computer to boot to PXE, CDROM, or hard
disk ahead of the default boot order. Past remote alerting solutions have often been proprietary to the
network controller manufacturer. With ASF support, the HP BIOS provides industry-standard alerts that
can be monitored by any ASF-compatible software console. On new systems, starting with the HP
Compaq dc7600 and HP xw4300 Workstation, alerts can also be received via WMI with the new
HP CMI interface. A local alerting utility called HP Client Management Interface Monitor will be
provided in a SoftPAQ at
.www.hp.com.
Remote computer inventory
The HP BIOS provides firmware support for tracking assets through the System Management BIOS
Specification
standard (see SMBIOS standards at http://www.dmtf.org/standards/smbios/). This
functionality provides asset control management tracking ability with HP Systems Insight Manager or
other management software products. Detailed computer information concerning the BIOS, processor,
memory, communications port, and much more can be obtained remotely across the enterprise. The
BIOS is programmed in the HP factory with a unique asset tag/serial number that can be utilized or
updated with a customer-specific tracking number of up to 18 alphanumeric characters. With the HP
BIOS management feature set, the HP Business Desktop computer can be integrated into the enterprise
environment and operated with standards-based management asset tracking software. The HP BIOS
provides rich physical asset protection features such as: chassis cover removal alerting, chassis
locking, and configuration change alerting. Detailed information is available in the Asset Tracking
and Security section of the
Desktop Management Guide on the Documentation CD that shipped with the
computer. On new systems, starting with the dc7600 and xw4300, inventory information can also be
pulled via WMI with the new HP CMI interface.
Remote computer control
The HP BIOS provides wake and power-on functions to enable remote system control for management
and software maintenance. Remote wakeup features allow the HP Business Desktop computer to be
remotely powered on, restarted, or powered off by a system administrator. The HP BIOS also allows
the system to be configured for regular, unattended power-up—the unit can be powered on at a
specific time and day of the week. These features can be controlled enterprise wide and remotely
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