Activation Blog

vPro Insights on using Altiris 7 OOB Site Service

terry.c.cutler@intel.com — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:11:21 GMT

If you are moving to an Altiris 7 environment (Symantec Management Platform or Dell Client Management platform), and already have familiarity in working with vPro in an Altiris 6 environment - take a look at this article on Symantec Connect

The article provides 4 quick insights:

Pre-defined TaskServer jobs for configuring and maintaining
Checking and fixing the OOB Site Service installation
Once OOB Discovery is enabled, using Filters to determine what systems have Intel AMT
Placement of the remote configuration certificate (different than Altiris 6 environments)

Dell CFI process generate CSV not BIN file

terry.c.cutler@intel.com — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:04:11 GMT

How Do I Use the CSV File Generated by Dell CFI Process?

If you've utilized the Dell CFI process for vPro configuration\provisioning, you've likely received a CSV file with a list of preshared keys and password. The normal process of importing the security keys to the Intel SCS database will not work since the import process is prompting for a .BIN file.

One workaround is to directly import the CSV data into the target database - IntelAMT.

Making a direct database modification has inherit risks - thus you may want to test this on a separate system if unsure. The good news - if you test on a separate non-production system, you can then follow the correct key export procedure which will generate a valid setup.bin file. The valid setup.bin file can then be imported to your production server.

For those that want to go directly to database insert - here's what you do:

Check the last index number of IntelAMT database table csti_pid_map.
Modify the CSV file to align to the target database table format (id, pid, pps, current_password, admin_password, used)
For the "used" field, value of zero '0' is unused and will show the values in the console once imported. A value of '1' is used and will hide from console view
Use a bulk SQL import to insert the modified CSV file directly into the database

Explanation of Attached Sample File

In the attached file (convertCSV2BIN.zip) are three sample files for your reference:

samplesetup.csv - Modified CSV file to match the database table structure. Notice that the index starts at 108 - this is because my test system already had generated 107 keys before stepping through this exercise
importcsvPID.sql - Sample SQL script for bulk import of samplesetup.csv to the IntelAMT database table csti_pid_map
samplesetup.bin - Correctly formatted .BIN file for preferred method of import (this is unnecessary if you've decided to directly import)

Concluding Thoughts

My intent in sharing this is to provide a simple workaround method to frustrating situation. Conversations with Dell associates have occurred, yet corrections to the CFI process for vPro provisioning have not yet occurred. Thus in the meantime - if you receive a CSV file - use the workaround.

Recording and Q&As Available: Activate Today! Realize ROI with Intel® vPro Technology and Symantec Altiris

michele.gartner@intel.com — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:33:29 GMT

Activate Today! Realize ROI with Intel® vPro Technology and Symantec Altiris is now available for on-demand viewing!

We are hosting a series of ROI and activation webinars on Tech Republic; each one is focused on a specific management console - Symantec Altiris, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, and LANDesk.

This webcast features special guest speakers from Intel Corporation, Jeff Marek, Director of End User Platform Engineering, Digital Office, and Jeff Torello, Staff Architect, Digital Office and Lee Bender, Sr. Technical Manager of Strategic Alliances, Symantec. They discuss the ROI possible with Intel vPro technology usage models activated, a review of the primary usage models supported by Altiris, and an overview of the activation process using Altiris.

In addition, Kelsey captured the questions and answers from this session (Thanks Kelsey!!).

Have questions that aren't covered here? Please post them in the Ask An Expert forum and we'll get them answered for you.

Question	Answer
Q1: Are there other vendors/products that take advantage of the vPro technology, or is Symantec exclusively doing the management for the vPro technology?	A1: Yes, there are others. In fact, we have many ISV partners that support vPro Technology in their client management solutions. Other than Symantec, Microsoft supports vPro in their Configuration Manager (aka SCCM) product in the Out-of-Band Manager component. LANDesk also support vPro Technology, as well as others.
Q2: Cleveland Clinic: How much do you pay to purchase desktop from HP? Any minimum purchase?	A2: We buy over 5000 new pc's a year on our lifecycle process. We have built into this process the imaging and vpro setup. The cost is volume based, but anyone can buy a PC from HP with VPRO enablement on a one off basis.
Q3: How could you boot a remote system from a network ISO if the OS is down? ie no vpn client? Thanks!	A3: With the Intel vPro technology, a boot redirection can be initiated. This allows a bootable ISO to be presented to the system. There are online demonstrations at Intel vPro Expert Center and Symantec Connect. This is the power of Intel vPro technology and out-of-band management. Regardless of the host operating system state, Intel vPro technology communications can connect to, power on\off, present a bootable ISO, and other items over the network. The bootable ISO can be located at any accessible UNC share. There are online demonstrations at Intel vPro Expert Center and Symantec Connect. Example article.
Q4A: What specific kinds of problems can be fixed remotely, if the OS isn't operating?	A4: Software problems. By booting to an ISO located somewhere on the network, the technician has the ability to run diagnostic tools or repair corrupt files on the local hard drive. So, specifically, a tech could fix OS problems, perform hardware or low-level scans, boot into the BIOS to review and change BIOS settings, etc. This ability to redirect the boot process allows the tech to access common diagnostic tools, even if the OS won't boot! But obviously, bad hardware cannot be fixed remotely and will require a desk-side visit.
Q4B: OK, so maybe this is obvious, but to implement this, I need all new hardware, right?	A4: You may already have systems supporting Intel Active Management Technology, within the Intel vPro Technology platform. The technology has been in systems for over 3 years now. There are tools and articles on Intel vPro Expert Center and Symantec Connect explaining how to find systems. One example is here. Intel vPro Technology is a platform (analogous to Centrino) that consist of: CPU, chipset, and network adapter(s). I am not aware of any computer manufacturers that offer FRU (field replaceable unit) upgrades for motherboards/systems to convert a non-vPro PC to vPro. So, yes, the short answer is, unless you have existing PC's that support vPro, as companies refresh their fleet, they can opt for vPro Technology in their new PC purchases. We maintain a list of PCs featuring vPro Technology on the vPro Expert Center here.
Q5: How long of a time frame from investigation of vPro to actually having machines up and working?	A5: [Cleveland Clinic] It’s a process to start this. You really need to engage the product your using and vPro together. We were very early adopters in this process, and really took us about 6-7 months. Once we got through all those initial hurdles, we were able to move very quickly. We have a lifecycle process now and also pushed that back to our manufacturer. In terms of new deployment, I think it would be much quicker.
Q6: Were all of your employees behind moving to vPro? Were they all believers at first?	A6: It’s having a positive impact and is lowering the workload for people responsible for managing these systems.
Q7: How could you boot a remote system from a network ISO if the OS is down or maybe if you don’t have a VPN client?	A7: Intel vPro technology is contained in the hardware, so the OS itself is irrelevant to the functionality of vPro. The way this would typically work is that the chipset manages the network stack and so it’s still on the network with same IP/hostname. You can connect with the Symantec tool and tell it to grab this network based image (ISO) of our repair utility that we put together inside our company. That machine will reboot and load that image across the network. Now, if there’s no VPN client, you can provide the user a CD to cause the computer to be rebooted, or a USB image and have that capability still be performed.
Q8: What are the typical types of problems that customers are fixing remotely?	A8: It’s the ability to reach out and repair and recover the machine from a variety of bad scenarios. You can go down the wire to figure out if your inventory isn’t up to date and what kind of hardware it is. Once you have the ability to boot to an ISO – you can jump into the BIOS you can help the end user walk through it, low level scans, copy over possibly corrupted files. We have seen people reboot dead hardware to do even just limited functionality. Once you can fix something remotely you can repair things that you usually couldn’t.
Q9: Are there other software tools that can be used to manage vPro PCs?	There are about 60 different programs that support vPro capabilities. On the vPro Expert Center there is a list of the programs that support vPro. Some examples are Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and LANDesk.

How does the VeriSign Root Certificate Change Affect Intel vPro

terry.c.cutler@intel.com — Fri, 22 May 2009 22:12:00 GMT

This blog entry is primarily for those who are looking to acquiring a VeriSign certificate for vPro remote configuration. If you've already acquired and are using the certificate, VeriSign will likely be calling you with an update.

On May 17th, VeriSign transitioned to a new root certificate for G1 standard certificates - click here to read statement from VeriSign's website

Without going into great detail - how does this affect vPro remote configuration with a VeriSign certificate?

The good news is that VeriSign certificates are available for vPro remote configuration. Take a look at the landing page - http://www.verisign.com/ssl/intel-vpro-technology/index.html

A few items to note about the May 17th event:

The VeriSign G1 standard certificate has transitioned to their G2 certificate. The G2 root certificate hash is not currently inside the vPro\AMT platform.
The VeriSign certificate available for purchase at the landing site are Secure Site Pro certificates... also referred to as G1 Premium. You will notice a price increase. The G1 Premium certificate root hash is the same as the former G1 standard. The difference is the signing\coding required for Premium level.
If you purchased and are using a VeriSign G1 standard certificate for remote configuration prior to May 17, 2009 - VeriSign will be contacting you before the renewal timeframe (i.e. 1, 2, or 3 years based on what you originally purchased) to discuss options. PLEASE NOTE: The G1 standard certificate is still valid and will work until issued expiration. You simply cannot renew to the same G1 standard certificate... since it's no longer being issued.

If you have questions - please blog back.

Remote Configuration Certificate Best Practices in Out of Band Management 7 for Intel vPro Systems

joel_smith1@symantec.com — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 20:32:09 GMT

Whether you are planning to implement a Vendor TLS Certificate in the future, or you are having trouble applying a certificate you’ve already obtained, this article walks through the best practices. The details include all the steps to properly install the right items and resolve issues we’ve encountered up to this point. This article applies to Out of Band Management Solution 7.0, included with Client Management Suite 7.0. Since certificates introduce tight encryption security, if the right items and steps are not in place or followed, it can break the ability of AMT systems to provision with Remote Configuration.

Introduction

Why is Configuring a vPro capable system important? Without setup and configuration, the functionality provided by vPro is not accessible within your Symantec Client Management Suite environment. Out of Band Management Solution allows setup and configuration to occur automatically using Remote Configuration.

Using Remote Configuration to setup and configure your Intel AMT vPro capable computers takes the work out of the process, after some initial setup. AMT systems that come preconfigured with versions 2.2, 2.6, 3.0+, 4.0+, and 5.0+ will automatically use Remote Configuration to setup and configure with a valid Provisioning Server. Out of Band Management provides such a server. The hashes from vendors (AMT 3.0 includes Verisign, GoDaddy, Comodo) are already configured in the firmware, and upon connection to power and the network, will begin to send out requests for configuration. Thus in this way the managed vPro systems are already prepared to be configured without any intervention by the IT staff.

Usually the issues we see with the Remote Configuration process originate on the server-side process of adding a certificate from the before mentioned vendors. Obtaining and installing a vendor TLS Remote Configuration certificate needs to be done the correct way so that authentication can succeed. Once in place, provisioning will roll forward without any further intervention as long as the certificate remains valid. This article focuses on applying the server-side certificate so that setup and configuration can move forward automatically.

Obtaining a Remote Configuration Certificate

This subject has been covered previously. I wanted to lightly touch upon this as there is a vital step that should be taken so that if anything goes wrong we can correct it. First, the following article covers how to properly obtain a certificate:

http://juice.altiris.com/article/4496/obtaining-and-applying-a-verisign-remote-configuration-certificate

Note that part of obtaining a Remote Configuration is submitting the request from the Server you plan to install the certificate onto. This process creates the private key for the server-side certificate, and this item will not be available until partway through the application of the crt (or cer) file obtained from the vendor. The specific step that provides the full key, both private and public, is when the certificate is exported into a PFX format after the initial import, checking the option to export the private key will give you a complete backup of the full certificate in case it is needed in the future. If something happens, or if the application doesn’t go right, we’ll need both, so it’s essential to export this as soon as possible.

During the steps to install the certificate emphasis will be given on the step where the export should take place.

Certificate Authority (CA)

In order to use Remote Configuration with Out of Band Management the Microsoft Certificate Authority services must be installed on the Notification Server or the OOB Site Server. Use the following steps to install if it is not installed:

Go to Start > Administrative Tools > and click on Add or Remove Programs.
In the left-side button bar click the button Add/Remove Windows Components.
Check the option labeled Certificate Services. See this screenshot for details:
You’ll receive the pop-up:
After installation Certificate Services, the machine name and domain membership may not be changed due to the binding of the machine name to CA information stored in the Active Directory. Changing the machine name or domain membership would invalidate the certificates issues from the CA. Please ensure the proper machine name and domain membership are configured before installing Certificate Services. Do you want to continue?
Click Yes to continue once your system has the intended identity. Click Next.
Choose what type of CA to create. If you are not installing a hierarchy of CAs you can leave the stand-alone root CA option selected. Click Next.
Input the name the CA will be known by. This must match what is in the hierarchy or by what the Remote Configuration certificate name will be known by.
The Distinguished Name is generated automatically in an AD Environment and will be the suffix of the system.
Click through the rest of the options, noting where the services data files are stored.
You will be prompted to restart IIS. This is required during the installation.
Click Finish to complete the installation.
Done! The NS or Site Server is now prepared to handle certificates in the Remote Configuration process.

Installing the Certificate

The recommended application for a Remote Configuration certificate is to let the certificate dictate where to be installed. However this process has sometimes resulted with the certificate installed to an incorrect place. When this occurred we’ve had headaches trying to clean up the system to properly install the certificate. Why this occurs is unclear. For reference I’m including the process of adding a certificate automatically here:

Save the acquired cer or crt file from the vendor onto the Notification Server or the Site Server for Out of Band Management.
Right-click on the file and choose Install Certificate.
Click next on the Welcome screen.
Leave the radial option on ‘Automatically select the certificate store based on the type of certificate’ and click Next.
Click Finish to complete the installation. You’ll receive a confirmation pop-up that the certificate installed successfully.

While I won’t advise against using this method, the below steps uses the manual installation method to ensure the certificate is installed to the correct place.

I’ve condensed the steps required into the following list. This process works for all vendors once you’ve obtained a certificate. Note that these steps are provided to consolidate both recommended steps and documentation into one whole.

Go to Start > Run > type mmc > and click OK.
In the resulting console click under File and choose Add/Remove Snap-ins…
Near the bottom of the resulting window click the Add button.
From the list that appears select Certificates and then click the Add button.
Leave the radial button selected on ‘My user account’ and click Finish.
From the same list select Certificates again and click the Add button.
From the resulting window change the radial select to ‘Computer account’ and click Next.
Leave the selection at ‘Local computer: (the computer this console is running on) and click Finish.
Click the Close button in the window offering you the list of available snap-ins.
At the original add/remove snap-in screen verify that you have two entries:
1. Certificates – Current User
2. Certificates (Local Computer)
Click OK.
Expand both trees in the left-hand pane within the console. You should see the full certificate stores as shown in this screenshot:
Right-click on the Personal folder under the Current User certificate store and highlight ‘All Tasks’ and click on ‘Import’ in the pop-out menu.
Click Next on the Welcome page of the Certificate Import Wizard and click the Browse button.
Browse to the cer or crt file provided by the vendor, highlight it, and click Open.
Click Next, and leave the radial option on ‘Place all certificates in the following store’, which should be set to ‘Personal’. Click Next.
Under the Completing section of the wizard, Click Finish. You should receive a pop-up indicating the certificate was successfully installed.
NOTE! This is the vital step mentioned previously in the article. We will now export the certificate with both public and private keys, which will give us the full set and allow us to remove and reapply if necessary. In the MMC select the newly imported certificate > right-click > and choose All Tasks > Export…
Click Next on the Welcome screen. In the resulting list you should have an active option for ‘Personal Information Exchange – PKCS #12 (.PFX)’. If this option is not available (grayed out as shown in this screenshot), there is a problem with the certificate and the private key is not accessible:

If this occurs please note the following items:
1. The application of the public key, or cer/crt file, must be done on the server where the key was requested.
2. If this is not your Provisioning Server you’ll need to contact the Vendor of the certificate to resolve the discrepancy.
3. If you did request this certificate from the server you are operating on, you’ll also need to contact the vendor to explain that the private key is not found when exporting the certificate after initial application.
Follow the wizard, and ensure you select the option ‘Yes, export the private key’. When saving the file, it will prompt you to set a password to protect the private key (this is recommended for security reasons). The export should leave you a PFX file. Keep this in a safe place, preferably in line with your company’s encryption certificate backup policy.
Next we need to import the full key into the Computer store. Start back in the MMC > under the Local Computer certificate store > right-click on the Personal folder > select All Tasks > Import…
Click Next on the Welcome screen and click the Browse button on the subsequent screen.
Browse to the newly exported PFX file. Note that you will need to change the ‘Files of type’ to include the PFX format. Click Next.
The Password screen prompts for the password you set when you exported the key in step #20, as shown in the following screenshot. Enter the password and click Next.
Choose or leave the select to ‘Place all certificates in the following store’. The value should be Personal. Click Next.
Click Finish on the end details page to complete the import.
Done!

NOTE: In Out of Band Management 6.x, with Intel SCS 3.x or earlier, a separate utility was required to load certificates into Intel SCS so the Provision Server was aware of them. This is no longer required as Intel SCS 5.x possesses intelligence to automatically acquire all installed Intel vPro Remote Configuration encryption certificates.

Reinstalling the Certificate

If you need to reinstall the certificate and you have a PFX file, you can do so by opening both certificate stores (User and Local Computer) as outlined in the previous steps. Browse through the certificate stores and delete any instance of the vendor certificate. This will remove any associations and allow a clean application of the certificate to occur. Look for the following:

The name matching the name of the cer or crt file obtained from the vendor
The vendor’s certificate (the entry will contain the vendor name).

NOTE: Be careful when removing vendor certificates as they may not be part of the Remote Configuration. The best example is Verisign, which may have many entries. If unsure, leave the certificate in place, or export it before deleting it so you can restore it if necessary.

Enabling Remote Configuration

To ensure that Out of Band Management is setup to use Remote Configuration as a valid setup and configuration method, follow these steps:

In the Symantec Management Console browse under Home > Remote Management > and click on Out of Band Management.
In the left-hand tree browse under Configuration > Configuration Service Settings > and select General.
In the resulting page ensure that the option labeled Allow Remote Configuration is checked. If it is not, check it. See this screenshot for an example:
If you needed to check the option, be sure to click Save Changes to register the change.

That should do it for the certificates. You’ve now completed the steps required to install and enable Remote Configuration in the Out of Band Management Environment. However you are not done yet! Certain infrastructure components are required to make this process seamless. Proceed to the next section for details.

Other Setup Requirements

The following items will be used to automate the setup and configuration process. Remote Configuration will use these to locate and communicate with the Provisioning Server (Out of Band Management).

ProvisionServer

Each zone within DNS should have a ProvisionServer entry to ensure that Remote Configuration requests are properly routed to the Server. This will also help properly resolve names during the authentication process. Use the following steps to add ProvisionServer to DNS:

Go to Start > Run > type mmc > and click OK.
In the resulting console click under File and choose Add/Remove Snap-ins…
Near the bottom of the resulting window click the Add button.
From the list that appears select DNS and click Add and click Close.
Click OK in the next Window.
Browse in the tree to the Forward Lookup Zones.
Right-click the entry for the Notification Server computer and choose New Alias.
Type ProvisionServer as the Alias name, in this manner:
ProvisionServer
Done!

Though simple, this is the key to directing the automatic Remote Configuration hello packets from enabled vPro systems to the Notification Server or Site Server. Without this step no setup and configuration of vPro systems will occur.

To test, log onto a system on the subnet you’re trying to conduct Remote Configuration from. Run a command prompt and use the following command:

ping ProvisionServer

We should see the responding IP Address by the IP Address of the Notification Server, or, if you’ve set it up this way, the Intel SCS Server conducting provisioning. Another test you can try is to run the following command:

nslookup ProvisionServer

We should get the data on the Notification Server’s Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

DNS Zones

In a multiple domain structure this is especially important, but all environments need to have the right data in DNS to properly pass and authenticate in a TLS environment. The DNS Primary Zone should be set to the Domain path contained within the certificate. For example, if the certificate name is MyNSServer_My1Domain_local, the DNS Primary Zone should be My1Domain.local. Without this, authentication can fail as the FQDN is used during authentication, and if the name being transmitted across the wire doesn’t match what’s in the certificate, authentication will fail. Here is another example:

Certificate: MyNSServer_My1Domain_local.crt
DNS Primary lookup Zone: My1Domain.local

DHCP Option

Another Network related requirement may be DHCP Option 15. While I’m not sure why this has proven to be required in some environments and not others, creating this option has resolved failed authentication issues within Remote Configuration.

In DNS, create an entry for Option 15, with the value of the domain path. This will often be the same as what is located in the DNS Primary Zone. The following details are an example:

Certificate: MyNSServer_My1Domain_local.crt
DNS Primary lookup Zone: My1Domain.local
DHCP Option 15: My1Domain.local

Conclusion

Following the above procedure should allow remote configuration to occur without problems. Once in place, the configuration will move forward with automatic setup and configuration for all vPro enabled systems that support Remote Configuration.

High school eliminates classroom IM-ing with Agent Presence

michele.gartner@intel.com — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:23:49 GMT

Here's a very innovative way to apply the Agent Presence use case! Student IM-ing was becoming unmanageable at Taibei High School - with 80% of the students using their classroom PCs for that purpose - during class. Taibei High School began deploying PCs with Intel vPro technology and took advantage of the agent presence checking features while they were at it. This brought IM usage from 80% to ZERO! Of course there were other great benefits - 1-1/2 yr break even point, 115% ROI...read on to learn more!!

ROI Analysis: Taibei High School uses Intel® vPro™ technology to achieve ROI of 115% and virtually eliminate student IM usage during classes

Click here to learn more about Agent Presence.

Intel® AMT SCS 5.X GUI Quirks...

liesa.harkness@hp.com — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:26:45 GMT

Some issues with the Intel® Active Management Technology’s (Intel® AMT) Setup and Configuration Service (Intel SCS or SCS) Console GUI in the 5.x versions exist.

While not insurmountable, they must be taken into consideration when planning the use of the SCS Console.

Take a look at my new post Intel® AMT SCS 5.X GUI Issues for details.

Introducing the Intel vPro Technology Reference Guide

michele.gartner@intel.com — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 18:07:09 GMT

We've added a new type of user guide to our documentation roadmap - the Technology Reference Guide. The purpose of this guide is to provide overviews of vPro technologies as they are rolled out. This version of the guide includes information on Intel Anti-Theft Technology (AT-p), Fast Call for Help (also known as CIRA), tools such as Audit Log and IMSS, Intel TPM, and others.

Intel(R) vPro Technology Reference Guide

I'd really like to hear what you think about this guide - if you have feedback, please let me know!

Thanks,

Michele

Upgrading Intel® AMT SCS from version 3.3 to version 5.x?

liesa.harkness@hp.com — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:47:26 GMT

If you are gettng ready to upgrade your Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) Setup and Configuration Service (Intel SCS or SCS) from version 3.x to 5.x. check out my Intel® AMT SCS V3.3 TO 5.X Upgrade Overview

It covers a couple of items that differ between the versions, especially around locations of your Remote Configuration provisioning certificate.

Using LANDesk with your vPro systems

michele.gartner@intel.com — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 22:06:26 GMT

This new guide will help you start using vPro - there are instructions for creating provisioning templates, as well as how to perform remote admin tasks and EOLing machines. Use Case: Intel vPro Technology Common-Use Guide For LANDesk

To find a compilation of use case/implementation docs, see this wiki: Use Cases: Ways to use vPro in your environment

Transition from ASF to AMT

terry.c.cutler@intel.com — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 22:15:05 GMT

Do you have a bunch of systems that are Intel AMT capable, yet currently set to ASF Manageability mode? If you're looking for a way to remotely switch these over - take a look at the updated Intel vPro Activator Utility in the Intel SCS v6 preview - http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/download-the-intel-AMT-SCS-technology-preview/

If you extract out the Activator directory - the exe and dll files are what you want. Test it out on a system. The command is as follows:

activator /transition

You will notice the system's network connection disconnect\reconnect during the transition. Once complete - you're system is not set to AMT manageability mode. If the system supports remote configuration (Intel AMT 2.2, 2.6, 3.x or higher), and your infrasrtucture is ready to support remote configuration, then you can immediate start the provisioning event.

A great new addition to the toolset!

New ROI Analysis studies show huge returns in different industries & deployments

michele.gartner@intel.com — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 20:32:52 GMT

Check out these two analysis papers, which show how two different companies deployed vPro and started seeing quick returns. These are two-pagers and they itemize the dollars saved.

ROI Analysis: Texas-Based Healthcare System Administers Patch Management and IT Support Efficiencies with Intel(R) vPro(TM) Technology

ROI Analysis: Utility District Achieves Positive ROI of 82%

Customer Preparation Checklist for Pro Activation with SCCM

gnszolnx@msn.com — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:26:50 GMT

Do you need guidance for infrastructure preparation for Pro platforms?

The following checklist is for customer infrastructure preparation to ensure you can implement Pro platforms within the customer's corporate production environment.

Infrastructure Prep Checklist for Microsoft SCCM

White Papers

gnszolnx@msn.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 22:46:05 GMT

Check out these How To White Papers

As you determine how you are going to deploy vPro, why not learn from others who have been in similar circumstances. Browse through the many white papers on a variety of certificate, configuration, wireless, and repair topics.

You can access all of them at White papers.

Updated iAMT Scan tool Troubleshooting guide

liesa.harkness@hp.com — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:46:52 GMT

I've posted an update to the iAMT Scan Process Results Troubleshooting Guide to incorporate the changes to the iAMT Scan Tool.

The new document is at iAMT Scan Results Troubleshooting Guide. v.02

The new iAMT scan tool is at iAMT Scan - Custom Inventory helps with Enterprise Activations