Solution Recipe: Remote PC Management Made Simple with Intel vpro Technology and Intel Active Management Technology

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Preface

Intel has developed a series of unique Solution Recipes designed for channel members interested in providing complete solutions to their customers, backed by top-quality technology and support. A solution recipe describes how to combine Intel®-based ingredients to create new technology solutions for common business challenges.

This recipe describes how you can use Intel® vPro™ technology with Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) to remotely monitor and manage your customers’ PCs, diagnosing and even fixing problems without expensive desk-side visits. Remote management features built into Intel vPro technology provide you with IT outsourcing service opportunities and allow you to deliver convenience and peace of mind to your customers. When you are ready to deploy this recipe, please refer to the related deployment guide, which includes step-by-step instructions. The guide can be found by visiting:

www.intel.com/go/reseller/vpro or www.intel.com/go/solutions

Common Notations and Terms

Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT):

Unique technology built into Intel vPro technology that provides dedicated memory, communication channel, and isolation hardware that allow authorized technicians to remotely access a networked PC, even if the operating system is down or the hard drive has crashed.

Managed platform: A networked PC based on Intel vPro technology with built-in management technologies that allow IT professionals to monitor and manage the PC from a software management console.

Managed Service Provider (MSP): A business that provides services such as maintaining end user’s PCs, remote healing and recovery after crashes, and installing software updates and patches.

Meeting New Market Opportunities

As your customers rely more on technology for running their businesses, the consequences of computer downtime become more severe. A single failed system can idle workers for hours and make critical data unavailable for processing orders, responding to customers, and performing other business-critical tasks.

In addition to ever-higher requirements for computer reliability, larger businesses are grappling with rising technology management costs and increased competition for expensive, skilled staff. They are looking for computers that manage themselves, so they can focus on running their business and using their valuable technology to maximize their competitive advantage.

Intel vPro technology helps businesses of all sizes reduce their PC management costs by offering hardware-based capabilities that enable either you or your customers’ in-house IT staff to remotely manage PCs using third-party management software. These capabilities reduce deskside visits, manual software updates, tedious manual inventories, and, most importantly, computer downtime.

For you, the Intel® Channel Partner Program member, Intel vPro technology provides fresh opportunities to develop new revenue streams and stronger relationships with customers. Using Intel vPro technology, you can become your customers’ trusted, outsourced IT provider, supporting computers at multiple remote locations (such as multiple retail stores). With Intel vPro technology, you can (virtually) be at every customer location at once.

Addressing New Market Opportunities

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Solution Overview

Remote management solutions built with Intel vPro technology give your customers an easier way to manage their PC assets and reduce IT costs. Intel vPro technology contains a unique management-enabling technology called Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT). Intel AMT consists of dedicated memory, communication channel, and isolation hardware that allow authorized IT technicians to access a networked PC, even if the operating system is down or the hard drive has crashed. Intel AMT has been enhanced with its release in Intel vPro technology to provide even deeper levels of intrusion detection and more rapid response. Intel AMT can help differentiate your offerings from those of your competitors.

Your customers can use Intel vPro technology to better manage their own PCs, or you can use it to remotely manage their desktop assets for them, as a Managed Service Provider (MSP). As an MSP, you can become your

customers’ virtual IT provider, enhancing your value to them and increasing your revenue potential. Intel vPro technology with Intel AMT allows you to remotely view your customers’ hardware and software assets to ascertain things such as an operating system patch or the upgrade level of each machine. If something goes wrong with a PC, you can use Intel AMT to reduce expensive deskside visits and even to identify and diagnose potential problems before they cause a failure.

This remote PC management solution consists of desktop PCs with Intel vPro technology running on a choice of operating environments, including the Microsoft* Windows* XP or Red Hat* Enterprise Linux* 4.0 operating systems and third-party management agent software from LANDesk* Software or SyAM* Software. The solution also requires one or more Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® processor-based servers running either Microsoft Windows Server* 2003 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, as well as the LANDesk Management Suite or SyAM Management Server.

Remote PC Management with Intel® vPro™ Technology

Management outsourced to Channel Partner Program Member

Internet Gateway with Firewall Gigabit Switch Intel® vPro™ technology-based PC Customer Site Intel® Channel Partner

Program Member Managed Service Provider

Internet Gateway with Firewall

100 Mbps LAN 1 Gbps LAN

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo processor Intel® Q965 Express chipset Intel® Desktop Board Executive Series Platform Details:

Dual-core processing technology 4 MB L2

Execute Disable Bit 64 Bit support Up to DDR2 667

Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Lowpower dual-core processing technology Intel® Virtualization Technology Intel® Active Management Technology Microsoft Windows* Vista* Premium OS logo-eligible Intel® Matrix Storage Technology PCIe* x16 G fx capable ISIPP support Trusted Platform Module Gigabit Ethernet Software:

Microsoft Windows XP Professional* LANDesk Management Agent* OR

SyAM Management Agent* Intel® vPro™

Technology-based Desktop PCs

Server based on Intel® Xeon® processor 5000 Sequence Dual-Core Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 sequence w/Intel® 5000P/V chipset 1000Base-T LAN capable Software:

RedHat* Enterprise Linux 4 Microsoft Windows* Server 2003 LANDesk* Management Suite OR

SyAM* Management Server

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Benefits

Solution Recipe: Remote PC Management Made Simple | Page 4

Solution Benefits

Benefits for Intel® Channel Partner Program Members

New Revenue Opportunities

Intel vPro technology provides new opportunities to increase your service offerings while building stronger, more loyal customer relationships. As an MSP, you will be able to manage computer assets for many small business customers, providing a substantial monthly revenue stream and lowering your current service costs. Intel vPro technology also allows you to augment your PC management services with additional offerings, such as data protection, application hosting, storage and security services, and training.

Fewer Desk-side Visits

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Benefits for Your Customers

Reduced Downtime

Whether your customers use Intel vPro technology to better manage their own desktops or have you do it for them, they can reduce the devastating financial impact of downtime. For example, if a fan malfunctions on a customer PC, you could have the system set up to automatically send you an e-mail alert. You could either contact your customer to have a technician swap out the fan or make the swap yourself, replacing it before the customer even knows that there’s a problem—and before the fan causes the PC to fail. Plus, since you know in advance exactly which part is in jeopardy, you make only one trip to the customer site with the correct part in hand.

Peace of Mind

With Intel vPro technology proactively monitoring their PCs and notifying them (or you) of potential problems, your customers can focus on running their businesses, better serving their customers, and using their PCs to maximize competitive advantage, rather than worrying about their network.

Protection from Internet Dangers

Your customers will have the assurance that their computers are running the latest virus protection and operating system updates, giving them the confidence that their business-critical systems have up-to-the-minute protection.

Cost Effective Technology Management

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Solution Recipe

Desktop Components

Business PCs with Intel® vPro™ Technology

Desktop PCs with Intel vPro technology are the recommended client machines for this management solution. Intel vPro technology provides maximum performance for business PCs as well as built-in security, power efficiency, and management technologies. Intel vPro technology delivers the dual-core processing performance needed to run multiple computer-intensive applications simultaneously with management software running in the background. Intel vPro technology uses the Intel® Core™2 Duo processor, which is Intel’s fastest desktop processor yet.

Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT) is the innovative Intel technology that allows you to care for your customers’ PCs from the comfort of your office. Intel AMT1_{lets you monitor and, in many cases, repair systems,} even when the operating system is down, without an expensive site visit. Intel AMT highlights include:

• Agent Presence Monitor: The Agent Presence Monitor, a new addition to Intel AMT, monitors for the presence of software agents such as anti-virus and firewall protection. If any of the “heartbeat” signals indicating these critical agents expire, Agent Presence Monitor isolates the PC from the network and triggers an alert.

• System Defense: System Defense is another Intel vPro technology exclusive. It allows a management console application to define and enforce network security policies. All incoming and outgoing network packets pass through System Defense filters, which watch for adherence to these security policies. If a packet violates one of the policies, System Defense isolates the PC from the network and triggers an alert.

• Nonvolatile third-party data storage: Allows you to store software version numbers and policy data in tamper-resistant, non-volatile memory and retrieve PC information regardless of platform state.

• Policy-based alerting: Intel AMT automatically senses platform health and reports problems to a management console.

• Remote control: Allows you to remotely reboot and control a PC even if the operating system is down or PC is turned off. Initiates security patches, software updates, and repairs from a remote console.

1_{Intel® Active Management Technology requires a system, an Intel® 965G Express Chipset, Intel® PRO/1000 PM}

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Desktop Components—continued

Management Agent Software from LANDesk* Software or SyAM* Software

To communicate with Intel AMT, each customer desktop needs to run management agent software from either LANDesk Software or SyAM Software. LANDesk Software is better suited to midsize and larger companies, while SyAM is targeted at smaller businesses.

Choice of Operating Systems

This solution allows you to choose among operating systems, such Microsoft* Windows* XP or Red Hat* Enterprise Linux* 4.0.

Server Components

There are two server configurations for this solution, both providing dual-core processing capabilities:

• Intel® Server Board S5000PSL with Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and the Intel® 5000P Chipset

• Intel® Server Board S500VSA with Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors and the Intel® 5000V Chipset

Both systems are designed to provide your customers with new levels of productivity, greater data security and reliability, and improved efficiency.

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Implementation Options

This solution requires Intel-based desktop systems featuring Intel vPro technology and at least two servers running either LANDesk Software or SyAM Software management suites. Each desktop also requires the corresponding Independent Software Vendor (ISV) agents to allow them to communicate with the servers.

Your customers can host the management servers at their own facility, or you can host for them. In either configuration, Intel vPro technology-based desktops with Intel AMT provide remote management features that allow you or your customers to manage networked PCs from any location.

Customer Premises

On Site IT Management

(Customer needs software licenses and IT Resources)

PCs with Intel® vPro™ technology running Management Agents Intel® Xeon® processor-based Management Server Customer 1 Premises Customer 2 Premises

Management as a Service

(Customer pays monthly service fee) Intel® Channel Partner Program Member Premises

PCs with Intel® vPro™ technology running Management Agents

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Design Considerations

In addition to performing feature verification and high-availability testing on all components, Intel has chosen standard, affordable components for this solution to minimize deployment costs. However, before deploying this solution, you need to perform your own validation testing on specific configurations before customer installation.

This implementation requires knowledge of networking and software installation and configuration skills on your part. Training is available from both management software ISVs, with a certification offered upon completion.

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Support

Solution Support

Intel has tested and verified the components in this management solution recipe. Please continue to use your existing Intel® Support Services (http://www.intel.com/go/Channel/Support) for information on Intel®-based hardware, including Intel® Processors, Intel® Desktop and Server Boards, and associated drivers.

For your convenience, Intel has worked with several independent software, open source, and application vendors to streamline technical support for this solution. For more information on the third-party hardware and software products, please download the Solution Deployment Guide (www.intel.com/go/reseller/vpro or www.intel.com/

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