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White Paper: The All New 2010 Intel® Core™ vPro™ Processor Family: Intelligence that Adapts to Your Needs
Use an existing management console
for both laptop and desktop PCs
PCs with a new 2010 Intel Core vPro processor can use the same
management console and communication mechanisms as other PCs.
You can manage both laptop and desktop PCs with a new Intel Core
vPro processor from the same IT console.
Leading management software companies such as HP, LANDesk,
Microsoft, and Symantec have optimized their software to take advan-
tage of the intelligent capabilities of a new 2010 Intel Core vPro processor.
For small businesses with less than 500 PCs, IT administrators can turn to
management software such as N-able Technologies’ N-central* to take
advantage of a new 2010 Intel Core vPro processor.
These vendors support both previous and current versions of Intel vPro
technology. IT administrators who have already deployed PCs with Intel
vPro technology do not have to change their management console to
use PCs with a new 2010 Intel Core vPro processor. Ask your manage-
ment-console vendor about specific implementation schedules and
support for the new hardware-based security and remote-manage-
ment capabilities for both laptop and desktop PCs.
Intel®
network
adapter
In-band communication
goes through the software
stack in the OS, and Is secured
via OS features and software-
based security applications
A new 2010 Intel® Core™ vPro™ processor uses an out-of-band
communication channel to communicate with the IT console
Out-of-band communication
tunnel sits “below” the OS and
applications, goes through the
TCP/IP firmware stack, and is
secured with hardware-based
TLS encryption
IT console
PC
Internet
In-band communication
Out-of-band communication
System memory
RAM
OS and applications
Software stack
Isolated,
tamper-resistant memory
Firmware
Intel® chipset
Hard drive and memory with OS and applications – “In-band” communication
Motherboard – Communication below the OS (out-of-band)
Intel® processor
Intel® AMT
nonvolatile
memory
BIOS
New 2010
Intel® Core™
vPro™ Processor
TCP/IP
firmware stack
Figure 1. Out-of-band communication. Secure communication channel runs “under” or outside the OS regardless of the health of the operating
system or the power state of the PC, even if the PC’s hard drive is removed.
Remote communication – virtually anytime
Software-only management applications are usually installed at the
same level as the OS (see Figure 1). This leaves their management
agents vulnerable to tampering. Communication privacy is also an
issue in today’s PCs because the in-band, software-based communi-
cation channel they use is not secure.
In contrast, the all new 2010 Intel Core vPro processor family delivers
both “readily-available” (out-of-band) remote communication built
into the PC, as well as robust security technologies. These security
technologies help ensure that the powerful capabilities of Intel vPro
technology, as well as your stored information, are better protected.
The communication channel used by Intel vPro technology runs
“under” or outside the OS (see Figure 1). This out-of-band (OOB)
channel is based on the TCP/IP firmware stack designed into PC
hardware, and does not use the software stack in the OS. The
channel allows critical system communication (such as alerting)
and operations (such as agent presence checking, remote booting,
and console redirection) to continue more securely virtually anytime,
even if OS, applications, or hard drive have failed.