Altiris Client Management Suite* and Intel® Setup and Configuration Software (Intel® SCS) – Prior and Current Generations

What can you tell me about previous generations of Altiris Client Management Suite*?
Previous generations of Altiris Client Management Suite* included a module for Out-of-Band Management, known as the Out-of-Band Service. This Out-of-Band Service contained Intel® Setup and Configuration Software (Intel® SCS) version 5.x. 
 

Prior to version 6.x, the architecture of Intel SCS was based on web service communication through Microsoft Internet Information Services* (IIS). Likewise, the Altiris Out-of-Band-Management configuration service was built to communicate through Microsoft IIS.

What has changed with versions 7.x and after?
Starting with version 7.x through the current generation, a number of architectural and procedural changes were made to Intel SCS. These changes are described in the corresponding Intel SCS product guides and summarized below:

• Intel SCS now has three main components – a client-side Configurator package, a server-based Remote Configuration Service (RCS), and a configuration XML file.
• Discovery, configuration, and maintenance of Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) occurs through the Configurator package on the client endpoint. Prior to Intel SCS 7.x, configuration and maintenance were handled solely through the server-based RCS application.
• Hello packets are no longer used to initiate Intel AMT configuration events. The current Intel SCS architecture relies on the Configurator package (an .EXE and .DLL on the client endpoint) to detect, configure, and maintain Intel AMT.
• The Configurator package communicates to the Remote Configuration Service (RCS) through Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM). The Configurator package applies settings to Intel AMT based on entries in the configuration profile. The Intel SCS Console defines the configuration profile. Depending on the configuration method used, the configuration profile is accessed through the Remote Configuration Service (RCS) or through an exported and encrypted XML file.
• The Configurator package can communicate to required infrastructure components, such as Microsoft Active Directory* or Microsoft Certificate Services*, based on the setting of the Intel AMT configuration profile.

How do these changes help me?
These architectural changes provide a number of benefits compared to previous versions of Intel SCS:

• Support for all Intel AMT configuration methods:
• Host-Based Configuration
• Remote Configuration
• USB One-Touch
• The ability to control when a configuration event occurs for specific client systems
• The ability to locally discover the Intel AMT configuration state and other system-specific properties

The following diagram is shown in the Intel SCS user guide. Get Intel SCS downloads


Related topic

Intel® Setup and Configuration Software (Intel® SCS) Deployment Guide