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| | | | | AMD Development Boards and RDKs |
| | | | | | | General Product Information |
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DMI 2.0 Support
AMD's networking silicon supports the industry's desktop management standard
AMD's PCnet™ family of Ethernet controllers now provide full support for version 2.0 of the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) specification, the industry standard for desktop and server management. DMI 2.0 support is driver-based and is currently supported in AMD's NDIS 4.0 driver. By offering DMI 2.0-compliant networking solutions, AMD enables the manufacturers of PC systems and Network Interface Cards (NICs) to tap into a hot new market-the new products that are certified by the Desktop Management Task Force.
The DMI 2.0 standard is the basis for the industry's first truly open management platform that is both operating system-and protocol-independent. The DMI standard significantly increases the ease-of-management of desktop systems and servers by reducing platform-specific barriers. DMI-enabled systems can be monitored, accessed, and controlled by DMI-based management tools running in heterogeneous environments. For the first time, systems can be mixed and matched, and managed in a consistent manner across multiple operating system and hardware platforms.
By adopting AMD's PCnet controllers with DMI 2.0 support, equipment vendors can build widely interoperable management features into their products. The DMI standard continues to spur the development of new applications and services for desktop systems.
A wide range of DMI-enabled products are available from the suppliers of desktop computers and servers (Compaq Computer Corp., Dell Computer Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., IBM Corp., NEC Technology Corp.), vendors of network management software (Computer Associates, Hewlett-Packard, IBM/Tivoli, Intel, and Sun), and operating systems (Apple Computer, Microsoft Corp., Novell Inc., Santa Cruz Operation, SunSoft Inc.).
DMI Benefits
As more customers demand DMI 2.0-compliant products and systems, having DMI support is a competitive advantage for equipment vendors. By relying on standard networking protocols, the DMI standard overcomes interoperability issues and reduces the level of platform-specific porting required for hardware and software developers.
For system customers, the benefits of adopting DMI include both greater ease-of-management and interoperability. DMI expands the reach of powerful management tools such as asset managers, automated inventory applications, electronic software distribution applications and network management tools. System management can be automated and simplified, and system status reporting can be streamlined and made more effective. These capabilities help reduce support costs and lower the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of PCs and servers.
Key DMI Benefits
The DMI 2.0 framework provides support for heterogeneous environments using two key capabilities:
- Remote management support for access to DMI information across networks:
- Network management applications use industry-standard
Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) to retrieve DMI information from systems connected to the network. /font>
- A sophisticated event model for monitoring system alerts and indications:
- Information on the status of attached system components (NICs, PCs, and servers)
is automatically sent to and filtered by DMI-enabled network management
applications running on multiple platforms.
Figure 1  |
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The core DMI model uses the client/server model. Management application
vendors build DMI clients that use Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) that communicate
using the Management Interface (MI). AMD's PCnet controller functions as
a DMI server, providing standard DMI responses and information using the
Component Interface (CI).
PCnet Advantage
By incorporating AMD's PCnet controllers into computer and networking systems,
both manufacturers and end users are assured that their products will interoperate
with the industry's most significant desktop management standard.
By offering DMI 2.0-compliant solutions today, AMD is keeping it's customers
at the cutting edge of networking technology. AMD is strongly committed
to supporting the DMTF and the evolution of the DMI-based framework. As
the standards progress, AMD will continue to deliver DMI-enabled solutions
that are DMTF certified and conforms to DMI standard specifications. |
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