Intel® vPro™ Technology

Remote System Repair Using Intel® vPro™ Technology

Venkat R Gokulrangan, Mobility Group, Intel Corporation

Ram Chary, Mobility Group, Intel Corporation

Dominic Fulginiti, Digital Enterprise Group, Intel Corporation

Ansuya Negi, Mobility Group, Intel Corporation

Hema Tahilramani, Mobility Group, Intel Corporation

Jeong Yoon, Mobility Group, Intel Corporation

Keywords: Intel® AMT, Active Directory, boot, diagnostics, discover, fast call for help, heal, manageability, PC maintenance, protect, remote, repair

Citations for this paper: Gokulrangan, V.; Chary, R.; Fulginiti, D.; Negi, A.; Tahilramani, H.; Yoon, J. "Remote System Repair Using Intel® vPro™ Technology." Intel Technology Journal. http://www.intel.com/technology/itj/2008/v12i4/9-paper/1-abstract.htm (December 2008).

Abstract

Client platform diagnosis and repair of hardware and software components are key post-deployment aspects of a typical enterprise IT shop or an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) PC support cycle. Even though most support issues in client systems are remotely resolved by using applications running in the client operating system (OS), a certain percentage of IT support calls have traditionally required technicians to make desk-side visits to resolve the problems. As Mobile platforms become more ubiquitous, the ability to provide support can be more challenging due to the on-the-go nature of these clients. When these clients are not on-site and they experience problems, such as the inability to boot the user’s OS, sluggish performance, or a malfunctioning network driver, having the ability to remotely and securely diagnose and remediate problems reduces the support costs for IT organizations and OEMs.

In this article, we discuss key scenarios for remote platforms in such inoperative states and describe remediation solutions for platforms with Intel® vPro™ technology. We will also discuss certain performance issues related to the protocols laid out in the solutions and will outline how service-oriented solution architecture can utilize Intel vPro technology to provide such services for the small to medium business markets.