Intel has introduced hardware and software designed to
improve the way desktop PCs are managed.
Robert Crooke, vice-president and general manager of Intel’s
Business Client Group, said, “We are packing features that address
what plagues businesses most – security threats, cost of ownership,
resource allocation, asset management and uptime – into a single
platform.”
Intel vPro combines Intel’s Active Management Technology (AMT),
Virtualization Technology, the new Intel Q965 Express chipset, and
an 82566DM Gigabit network connection.
The hardware works with compatible software to improve
manageability and strengthen security across networked PCs, Intel
said.
Companies supporting the technology include Adobe, Altiris, CA,
Check Point, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, Microsoft,
StarSoftComm, Symantec, Trend Micro and Zenith. IT services firms
including Atos Origin, EDS and Siemens Business Services are
planning to incorporate Intel vPro technology into their desktop
support services.
The vPro technology is part of Intel’s Core 2 Duo microprocessor
family. In 2007, Intel is planning to introduce an Intel Centrino
Duo mobile technology platform, codenamed Santa Rosa, to extend
manageability and PC security benefits to laptops.
One company that is running a proof-of-concept trial with vPro
is BMW. The carmaker, which manages 100,000 PCs, anticipates that
deploying PCs with vPro technology could result in significant cost
and operational efficiencies.
The pilot involves Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 with
Intel’s AMT add-on and PCs equipped with vPro technology.
BMW tested Intel’s AMT out-of-band capability – a secure,
hardware-based communication channel that runs “below” the
operating system and is independent of OS health or the PC power
state.
Using AMT, BMW was able to remotely manage power state and hence
switch-on/off PCs. This could increase the speed and success of
software roll-outs across the firm’s PCs and enable BMW to ensure
computers are in standby mode during non-working hours.
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