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39 Posts tagged with the amt tag
Matt Royer
0

Microsoft has just released System Center Configuration Manager Service Pack 2.  In addition to providing feature parity with SP1 and AMT firmware versions 3.2.1, 4.0 and 5.0, the following new features are supported:

  • Wireless management with up to 8 wireless profiles
  • End point access control: 802.1x support
  • Audit logging
  • Support for different power states
  • Power control options at the collection level
  • Data storage
  • Scheduling configuration for in-band provisioning

 

You can download it from the following location:http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=3318741a-c038-4ab1-852a-e9c13f8a8140#tm

 

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: amt, sccm, sccm_sp2, vpro, matt_royer
Matt Royer
0

The Intel WS-MAN Translator build 568 has just been released.  The new features of this build included:

 

  • Validated with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2
  • Enhances legacy support for wireless profiles, 8021.x profiles, and 3rd party data storage
  • Enhanced Kerberos authentication and Kerberos ticket handling

 

There are known issues and feature gaps with the previous versions (builds less than 568) of the Intel WS-MAN and Microsoft SCCM SP2.  It is recommended that customers upgraded to Intel WS-MAN Translator build 568 when upgrading to SCCM SP2.  SCCM SP1 customers will also see stability and performance increases by upgrading to this WS-MAN Translator build.

 

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: ws-man_translator, sccm, sccm_sp2, matt_royer, vpro, amt, sccm_sp1
Matt Royer
0

An updated version of the SCS to SCCM migration utility has just been released.  For those customers that were previously activated on the SMS Add-on and the Intel SCS, this utility will help ease your migration to SCCM SP1 or the upcoming SCCM SP2.  This new version has been tested and validated to support up to SCS 5.x and SCCM SP2.

The SCS to SCCM migration utility is used to prepare Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) systems, that were configured using the Intel® Setup and Configuration Service (Intel® SCS) and managed by any management console, to be configured and managed by Microsoft* System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM).

The migration utility is an executable (SCS_2_SCCM_Migration_Utility.exe) that performs the following:

  1. Creates a Comma Separated Values (CSV) file containing information on all Intel AMT systems configured by the Intel SCS that are to be migrated. This CSV file includes the data about these systems that is needed by SCCM and is imported to SCCM before the actual migration.
  2. Performs a series of tasks (including partial unconfiguration) that bring the Intel AMT systems to a state that will enable the SCCM to configure them.
  3. Removes the records of the migrated Intel AMT system from the SCS database.

Once the Intel AMT systems are unconfigured they will send out “Hello” messages to SCCM, which will then configure the systems.

The SCS to SCCM migration Utility can be downloaded from the following location: http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-amt-setup-and-configuration-service-scs-to-microsoft-system-center-configuration-manager-sccm-system-migration/

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: vpro, matt_royer, sccm_sp1, sccm_sp2, amt, scs
Matt Royer
0

This information is based on Microsoft’s Release Candidate of System Center Configuration Manager Service Pack 2 and is subject to change.

 

There are several new features / changes that are coming with ConfigMgr SP2 related to AMT / vPro functionality.  As noted in previous articles, some of the more obvious changes are:


OOB Wireless Management: Wireless Profile Management

    • Provide configuration of up to eight (8) wireless profiles per site that are available to AMT clients assigned to that site
    • Set the wireless information during AMT provisioning and configure all required profile settings (SSID, key management, encryption, etc.
    • Send wireless profile operations to the Intel translator on AMT systems with revisions earlier than 3.2.

End Point Access Control: 802.1x support

    • Provision 802.1x settings on AMT wireless clients during AMT provisioning
    • Send 802.1x settings operations to the Intel translator on AMT systems with revisions earlier than 3.2.1

Data Store (3PDS)

    • Write string data into 3PDS on AMT through OOB management console

Access Monitor: Audit Log

    • Enable or Disable Audit Log (no critical event settings)
    • View Audit Log through OOB Console

Remote Power Management

    • Power State Configuration

 

 

However, Microsoft has also made some more subtle changes between SCCM SP1 and SP2 to improve the end user experience that you may have not notice.

 

  • In-band Provisioning attempt schedule:  With SCCM SP1, in-band provisioning was hard coded to initiate once every 24 hours.  SCCM SP2 now supports the ability to set the provisioning attempt schedule to a configurable value within the Out of Band Management Properties - Provisioning Schedule Tab.
  • Handling wired and wireless contented clients with in-band provisioning:  To provision an AMT / vPro client with SCCM 2007, first stage provisioning must be completed on the wired interface.  With SCCM 2007 SP2, the wired interface information will be sent along with the AMT One Time Password (OTP) during agent initiated in-band provisioning.  Second stage provisioning can then occur over either wireless or wired interface (which one is resolved by DNS).
  • Out of Band Provisioning disabled by default:  The ability to use Out of Band provisioning (provisioning through AMT hello packet initiation) is configurable and defaulted to disabled with SCCM 2007 SP2.  If you are using Out of Band provisioning, you will need to enable it after upgrading from SCCM SP1 to SCCM SP2.  This is configured on the Out of Band Management Properties - General Tab.
  • Opening the Out of Band Console ensures an updated Kerberos token:  With SCCM SP1, occasionally you would run into a scenario where the Out of Band Management Console would attempt to connect with an expired or involved Kerberos token; this would prevent OOB Console from properly authenticating with the AMT / vPro Client.  This was common if you tried to connect to an AMT / vPro client immediately after an AMT client reprovision.  The Out of Band Management Console with SCCM SP2 now refreshes the Kerberos token to ensure a proper connection.
  • AMT / vPro client provisioning prevented if Configuration Manager Client is blocked or not approved:  If an SCCM client is block or not approved within with the site server, SCCM will not allow you provision an AMT / vPro client.
  • AMT PKI Certificates are revoked during an Update Management Controller:  If you have wired or wireless 802.1x authentications being used, SCCM will revoke these certificates and new certificate will be requested & issued.  As a clarifying note, the AMT TLS certificate used to secure the manageability traffic will not be revoked during this process.
  • Power control available for collection execution:  SCCM SP2 now allows the execution of an AMT power control on an entire collection just by right clicking on the collection and selecting Out of Band Management -> Power Control.  Previously with SCCM SP1, you were required to multi-select all the clients in that collection to perform the same function.
  • Serial over LAN (SOL) requires manual initiation with the Out of Band Management Console:  With SCCM SP1, when you opened the Out of Band Management Console, the SOL session was automatically started.  In SCCM SP2, you are now required to open and close the Serial over LAN connection via a new button or with the new Tools menu option.
  • IDE-Redirect Log renamed: What was previous known as the System Audit Log in SCCM SP1 within the Out of Band Management Console has been renamed to IDE-Redirect Log.  This was done to allow the AMT Audit Log to assuming that name.
  • Working with AMT Data Storage: Within SCCM SP2, you are now able to interact with the AMT / vPro 3rd Party Data Store through the new button added in Out of Band Management Console labeled Data Storage.  Note that the data storage is limited to ASCII characters and length of 4096 bytes.

 

 

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: sccm_sp2, amt, vpro, matt_royer, sccm
Matt Royer
0

Microsoft has recently updated the Configuration Manager Documentation Library for out of band management for SP2, including revisions to troubleshooting issues.  Some of these revisions are also applicable to Configuration Manager 2007 SP1, but they can't publish them with their monthly updates because of the new SP2 content.  Rather than waiting until SP2 is released, they have included the revisions here that affect existing customers using out of band management in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1.

 

http://blogs.technet.com/configmgrteam/archive/2009/08/13/updated-troubleshooting-information-for-out-of-band-management-sp1.aspx

 

 

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: matt_royer, sccm_sp1, sccm, troubleshoot, amt, vpro
William York
2

Here is a demonstration I created on how to setup a SCCM advertisement to remotely and securely wake-up (boot) Intel vPro systems and push an automated BIOS upgrade.  I wanted to show a useful and real-world Intel vPro Use Case that you can use today.  If there are other Use Cases you would like to see, please post your comments and I will get more of these types of videos posted.

 

Thanks,

Bill

 

2 Comments Permalink Tags: sccm_sp1, sccm, intel, vpro, bill_york, amt, configmgr, microsoft
Dan Brunton
1

SCCM Log Parser Script

Posted by Dan Brunton Jun 25, 2009

Reading through the wealth of information in SCCM logs can be a challenge, especially if you are provisioning a lot of systems at one time.  I've put together a VBScript example to help make the job of debugging provisioning problems easier.  This script will parse through the log file you specify and create a new log file containing entries relevant to the string you are searching for.  The most common usage for this would be to look through the amtopmgr.log for all entries related to a specific computer name.  This script will first go through the log and find all the thread values associated with the computer name, then, it will take any log entry with any of those thread values and place it in a new file and launch it in the SMS Trace (Trace32) application.  The idea is that having all these entries, not just the lines with the computer name, will paint a more complete picture of what has gone on during the provisioning process and cut back on the time spent looking for relevant log entries by hand.  Here's some information on how to run the script.

Required parameters:

/l: - The SCCM log file you want to parse, typically amtopmgr.log

/s: - The search string, often a computer name, you want to parse the logs for

Optional parameters:

/o: - The name of the parsed log file this script will produce.

      If no name is specified, the file will be named:

      <specified computer name>.log

Example: cscript sccmlogparse.vbs /l:amtopmgr.log /s:vProPC /o:parsedlog.log

You can download the script here:

http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-3400

1 Comments Permalink Tags: amt, dan_brunton, script, sccm
Dan Brunton
0

Whenever you make a change to your Out-of-Band configuration settings in SCCM you need to push that change out to your Intel® AMT clients.  Normally you have to go through each of your collections that has AMT systems in it and tell SCCM to manually update the management controller configuration.  It is possible to automate this process using a script that makes WMI calls to the SCCM server, requesting it update the management controllers in your clients.  This can be scheduled as an advertisement to be run automatically.  This package contains documentation that outlines the required security, creation of the update task and an example VBscript.  You can download the package here:

 

http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-3399

0 Comments Permalink Tags: dan_brunton, amt, script, sccm
Dan Brunton
3

The SCCM Out-of-Band (OOB) Management Console is a stand-alone executable that is typically launched from within the SCCM console application itself. There may be cases where different groups in an IT department will want to make use of the OOB access to clients, but should not have access to the other features of SCCM in order to maintain proper separation of duties and best known security practices. It is possible to use existing technologies to launch the OOB Management Console outside of the SCCM console application itself. This package contains documentation that explains the required SCCM security configuration and includes and example VBScript.  You can download the package here:

 

http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-3398

3 Comments Permalink Tags: dan_brunton, script, sccm, amt
Dan Brunton
1

In order for Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager to provision a vPro system, via bare-metal provisioning, it needs to know its UUID (Also referred to as a GUID), MAC address, short name and FQDN.  This information can be collected into a CSV file and imported into SCCM manually, or automatically by leveraging a script and WMI.  This package will outline the security configuration and point you to resources you can use to create a script to automate this process.  You can get a copy here:

 

Update 6/25/2009:  An updated version of the script is available at the link below.

 

http://communities.intel.com/docs/DOC-3067

1 Comments Permalink Tags: amt, sccm, configmgr
Matt Royer
2

This information is based on Microsoft’s beta release of System Center Configuration Manager Service Pack 2 and is subject to change.

Within the SCCM SP2 beta, Microsoft has included support for AMT Audit Log.  Audit Log was introduced in AMT version 4 and provides a mechanism to captures the occurrence of significant AMT events and who performed those actions.

Before you begin, you must configure SCCM SP2 on which AMT Audit Log events it turns on.  This can be done by selecting Out of Band Management properties under "Site Database" -> "Site Management" -> <Site Code> -> "Site Settings" -> "Component Configuration" -> “Audit Setting” Tab.

AuditLog-Settings.jpg

Unlike other AMT feature enablement with SCCM, Audit log is not enabled during Provisioning or through the Update Management Controller process; it must be performed as a post provisioning step.  To enable the AMT Audit log, you must right click on the AMT client and select “Out of Band Management” -> “Enable Auditing and Apply Audit Log Settings”.  You can also disable and clear the audit log from this menu as well.

AuditLog-Enable.jpg

Once enabled on the AMT Client, you can access the AMT Audit Log through the Out of Band Management Console available through right clicking on the AMT client and select “Out of Band Management” -> “Out of Band Management Console”.

AuditLog-OOBC.jpg

--Matt Royer

2 Comments Permalink Tags: sccm, sccm_sp2, vpro, amt, matt_royer
Matt Royer
0

This information is based on Microsoft’s beta release of System Center Configuration Manager Service Pack 2 and is subject to change.

As noted in one of the previous posts, SCCM SP2 has extended support for AMT / vPro Wireless Out Of Band use cases.  If we open Out of Band Management Component Configuration under "Site Database" -> "Site Management" -> <Site Code> -> "Site Settings" you will notice that there is a new tab for “802.1X & Wireless”.

OOBM-WirelessTab.jpg

When you click the new icon, you will be given the opportunity to create your AMT wireless profile.

OOBM-WirelessTab-New.jpg

There are a couple of interesting things to point out.  First, SCCM SP2 supports AMT wireless security types of WPA-Enterprise and WPA2-Enterprise; WPA-Personal and WPA2-Personal are not supported

OOBM-WirelessTab-SecurityType.jpg

Second, the encryption method can be either TKIP or AES.

OOBM-WirelessTab-EncryptionMethod.jpg

Third, you will notice that 802.1x authentication is required for the wireless connection supporting the Client Authentication methods of EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS/MSCHAPv2, or PEAPV0/EAP-MSCHAPv2.

OOBM-WirelessTab-ClientAuthentication.jpg

The 802.1x trusted root certificate can be loaded from either a file or pulled directly from your CA infrastructure.

OOBM-WirelessTab-ServerAuthentication.jpg

OOBM-WirelessTab-TrustedRootCertificate.jpg

The Radius Client Certificate (depending on the Authentication method chosen) will allow to you choose a desired certificate template from one of your Microsoft Enterprise Certificate Authorities. 

OOBM-WirelessTab-ClientCertificateTemplate.jpg

OOBM-WirelessTab-RadiusClientCertificate.jpg

Once the wireless settings have been configured in the Out of Band Management Component Configuration, the certificate request will be generated for the AMT client and the wireless settings will be pushed to the AMT client during the initial provisioning or when a “Update Management Controller” is performed on the client.

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: matt_royer, sccm, amt, vpro, sccm_sp2
Matt Royer
1

Note: This information is based on Microsoft’s beta release of System Center Configuration Manager Service Pack 2 and is subject to change.

Besides extending ConfigMgr support for new Operating Systems (Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Vista Sp2) and Branch Cache (peer to peer content distribution), ConfigMgr SP2 significantly evolves their native support for AMT / vPro use cases and features.  As noted in the SCCM SP2 release notes, extension of the Intel vPro Technology support expands into:

OOB Wireless Management / Wireless Profile Management

·         Provide configuration of up to eight (8) wireless profiles per site that are available to AMT clients assigned to that site

·         Set the wireless information during AMT provisioning and configure all required profile settings (SSID, key management, encryption, etc.)

·         Send wireless profile operations to the Intel translator on AMT systems with revisions earlier than 3.2.1

End Point Access Control / 802.1x support

·         Provision 802.1x settings on AMT wireless clients during AMT provisioning

·         Send 802.1x settings operations to the Intel translator on AMT systems with revisions earlier than 3.2.1

Persistent Data Storage

·         Non Volatile Memory or Third Party Data Store (3PDS)

·         Write string data into 3PDS on AMT through OOB management console

Access Monitor: Audit Log

·         Enable or Disable Audit Log (no critical event settings)

·         View Audit Log through OOB Console

Remote Power Management: Power State Configuration

·         Enable configuration of the power policy settings and include in provisioning settings when provisioning an AMT system

If you are interested in taking a closer look at the SCCM SP2 beta build, you can get access to the download by going to https://connect.microsoft.com and signing up for access.

--Matt Royer

1 Comments Permalink Tags: sccm, sccm_sp2, matt_royer, amt
Matt Royer
2

Microsoft has just announced that they are accepting participation nominations for the System Center Configuration Manager SP2 Technology Adoption Program (TAP).  The full announcement can be found here https://connect.microsoft.com/content/content.aspx?ContentID=11121&SiteID=16
(Note: you will need to log into the Microsoft Connect website to view the announcement):

As detailed within the announcement, Microsoft is extending new OS support along with improving on the Intel AMT integration with SCCM SP2.  From the announcement, the key AMT / vPro enhancement are:

·         OOB Wireless Management: Wireless Profile Management

·         End Point Access Control: 802.1x support

·         Persistent Data Storage: Non Volatile Memory or Third Party Data Store (3PDS)

·         Access Monitor: Audit Log

·         Remote Power Management: Power State Configuration

Additional detail on these new features can be referenced in the announcement.

To submit your participation nomination for the SCCM SP2 TAP, you will need to fill out the nomination survey (link located in the Nomination section of the announcement).

--Matt Royer

2 Comments Permalink Tags: sccm_sp2, vpro, amt, tap, matt_royer
Matt Royer
0

Microsoft has just released Hotfix KB960804.  This is a hotfix rollup package that addresses issues that involve the Out of Band Management (OOB) feature in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1). These issues are documented in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles: (Even if you have all or some of the other Hotfixes installed that are included in this rolled up HotFix, it is recommended that you install KB960804 Roll-up Hotfix)

 

  • 954718: You cannot use the Out of Band Management console in Configuration Manager 2007 to connect to computers that use versions of Intel AMT that are earlier than version 3.2.1
  • 955114: The SMS_Executive service process may crash when the System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 Hierarchy Manager handles the site control (.ct2) file from child sites that are running the RTM version of Configuration Manager 2007
  • 955126: The SMS_Executive service process (Smsexec.exe) in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 may crash if you have Intel AMT-related software installed
  • 955355:  A distinguished name that contains more than 100 characters and that is discovered from Active Directory for an AMT host causes the SMS_EXECUTIVE service to crash in System Center Configuration Manager 2007
  • 956337: System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 is unable to remove AMT user ACLs during the provisioning process for AMT 2.x computers
  • 957183: You cannot add a group as an AMT user account in Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 if the group name has more than 20 characters
  • 957469: The Out of Band Power control function does not work for clients that have the Intel AMT 4 or Intel AMT 5 chipset in System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1
  • 959700: The Out of Band Management console in Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 cannot connect to AMT-enabled computers
  • 960741: The SMS_Executive service process crashes on a Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 site server when you use Intel WS-MAN Translator to provision computers that are equipped with AMT 3.2.1 chipsets
  • 961328: System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1-based systems cannot provision AMT 2.2/2.6 clients in PKI mode and AMT 2.1/2.5 clients in PSK mode

 

--Matt Royer

0 Comments Permalink Tags: vpro, sccm, amt, sccmsp1, hotfix, matt_royer
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