Intel, HP, NEC and Dell Announce Availability of Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) V1.0 Specifications

Specifications Enable Next Level of Reliability, Availability and Serviceability for Intel Server Platforms

INTEL DEVELOPER FORUM, PALM SPRINGS, Calif., Sept. 16, 1998 - Intel Corporation, Hewlett Packard Company, NEC Corporation, and Dell Computer Corporation today announced the availability of v1.0 of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specifications. IPMI defines common interfaces to the "intelligent" hardware that is used to monitor server physical health characteristics, such as temperature, voltage, fans, power supplies and chassis. These monitoring abilities provide information that enables system management, recovery and asset tracking, which help drive down the total cost of ownership (TCO) for server users. The specifications interoperability guidelines will enable server OEMs to quickly bring new server hardware with these advanced capabilities to market efficiently and cost effectively.

IT to Benefit from Standard, Manageable Server Platforms
"With v1.0 of the IPMI specification, we move closer to the development of a base of hardware standards that will fully define the standard high-volume (SHV) server," said Mitch Shults, director of Intel's Server Platform Marketing. "The IPMI specifications give IT managers access to platform management information and control features that allow more accurate prediction of hardware failures, diagnoses of hardware problems and initiation of recovery actions."

IPMI reduces TCO by allowing IT managers to determine the health of their server hardware, whether the server is running normally or is in a nonoperational state. Servers based on IPMI use "intelligent" or autonomous hardware that remains operational even when the processor is down so that platform management information is always accessible. The IPMI interfaces enable platform management hardware to be accessed not only by management software but also accessed by third party emergency management add-in cards and even other IPMI-enabled servers. IT managers gain flexible and interoperable access to vital platform management information. System-to-system monitoring or management via a connected server is becoming increasingly important as IT managers deploy complex system topologies such as clusters and rack-mounted configurations. In addition, the scalable nature of IPMI enables the architecture to be deployed across a server product line, from entry to high-end servers, and gives IT managers a consistent base of platform management functionality upon which to effectively manage their servers.

OEMs to See R&D Savings, Faster Time to Market
OEMs are increasingly taking a building block approach to server design for cost and time-to-market advantages. IPMI enables the easy integration of these building blocks by allowing platform management hardware to interoperate, enabling OEMs to efficiently bring new server hardware to market.

For those OEMs developing their own server hardware, IPMI improves time to market by allowing platform management hardware to be changed or modified with little impact to the management software. Extensibility is another benefit for server manufacturers. IPMI includes explicit provisions to allow an OEM to differentiate its product by developing value-added features on top of the IPMI infrastructure.

"With Intel, HP is leading the development and implementation of an open specification for server management," said Eileen O'Brien, worldwide marketing manager for HP's Network Server Division. "Customers benefit from the stability and lower costs associated with standardized products."

"IPMI saves time and money in terms of development," said Yoshiaki Tsuda, general manger for NEC's Workstations and Servers Division. "We will be able to quickly provide server management software and drivers for new systems using less resources."

"The IPMI specification will provide flexibility and cost savings to our customers by limiting the time it takes to diagnose and resolve hardware issues on servers in local or remote locations, regardless of the operational state of the server," said Bob Van Steenberg, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Server Products, Dell Computer. "Through our Dell OpenManage systems management strategy, Dell engineers are committed to developing industry-standard hardware and software solutions that reduce the total cost of ownership while increasing systems availability."

IPMI Components and Scope
The IPMI Initiative consists of three specifications: Intelligent Platform Management Interface, Intelligent Platform Management Bus (IPMB) and the Intelligent Chassis Management Bus (ICMB). The IPMI Initiative derives its name from the main specification (IPMI) which defines the messages and system interface to platform management hardware. The IPMB specification defines an internal management bus for extending platform management within a chassis, while the ICMB specification defines the external management bus between IPMI-enabled systems. The IPMI v1.0 and IPMB v1.0 specifications are now available at developer.intel.com/design/servers/ipmi; ICMB v1.0 is planned to be available by the end of the year. Implementation is royalty-free upon signing an Adopter Agreement, which is also available on the Web site.

Today, industry vendors participating as IPMI Initiative Adopters include: Acer, AMI, Bull, InterWorks, IPEX, MEPCD, Olivetti, Phoenix, Reliance, Seanix, SNI, Serano Systems, Silicon Design Resources, TexasMicro, and Toshiba.

What's Next The IPMI promoters will continue to work together on the next version of the IPMI specifications. The future direction for IPMI will include investigation into lower cost hardware and merging with new platform technologies such as ACPI.

"Microsoft and Intel are both committed to making systems more manageable and reducing TCO. Zero Administration Windows initiative and Wired for Management are two complementary initiatives that are dedicated to this goal," said Carl Stork, general manager, windows operating systems division, Microsoft. "To that end, Microsoft and Intel are cooperating in defining the next version of IPMI, which will extend the current specifications. This new version will clearly define how IPMI can utilize already established technologies such as ACPI. Microsoft and Intel are also cooperating to support the next version of IPMI in future versions of Windows* NT*."

Industry contribution to the next version of the IPMI specifications will start in early 1999. Stay tuned to the IPMI Web site for more information.

* Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.