Hardware Vendors Back New Platform Management Spec

A group of computer industry heavyweights have announced their support and the availability of the latest Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification. IPMI defines common interfaces to “intelligent” hardware used to monitor a server’s physical health characteristics, such as temperature, voltage, fans, power supplies and chassis. Intel, HP, NEC, and Dell announced their support of IPMI Version 1.5 at the Intel Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif. today. IPMI 1.5 provides information that enables system management, recovery and asset tracking, which help drive down the total cost of ownership (TCO).

The new interfaces in IPMI 1.5 facilitate the management of rack-mounted Internet servers and systems in remote environments over serial, modem and LAN connections. IPMI 1.5 also includes new capabilities to automatically alert IT managers of system errors and enable immediate system recovery. Combined with its remote management functionality, the new capabilities allow IT managers to manage their servers and systems, regardless of system health, power state or supported communication media.

“IPMI is becoming a widely accepted specification for server management, further increasing the availability and serviceability of Intel-based Internet servers,” says Kirk Skaugen, director of Enterprise Platforms and Services marketing, at the Intel Architecture Group.

IPMI 1.5 is backward compatible with version 1.0 and includes extensions to support existing and emerging standards such as the Desktop Management Task Force Alert Standard Forum, CompactPCI, SMBus 2.0 and proposed PCI Management Bus. IPMI 1.5 systems are set to be deployed in the second half of 2001.