The introduction to this article series provided a look at Task Server and how the Out of Band Management Tasks tie into it. Part 1 now addresses the ins and outs of the Power Management functionality provided by Out of Band Management and the Intel® vPro technology (AMT specifically). Explore what is possible and what you should be aware of in Part 1 of this article series.

Introduction

Unlike traditional Wake-On-LAN models, Intel® vPro provides a secure, reliable power management functions that operate below the operating system level. Out of Band Management uses this technology to integrate into any Task Server or other Notification Server functionality providing on demand power control using the Notification Server Computer or Collection targeting capabilities. Because of Task Server, this functionality can be integrated into a large number of jobs and/or tasks.

System Power States

State S0 is the working state. States S1, S2, S3, and S4 are sleeping states, in which the computer appears off because of reduced power consumption but retains enough context to return to the working state without restarting the operating system. State S5 is the shutdown or off state.

Power State definitions and details

Industry standards for power states are described and listed below:

• S0 > This mode is the 'ON' or 'working' state. Typically when a computer is actively running the Operating System it is being used it is in the 'S0' System Power State.
• S1, S2, S3, S4 > These modes are considered 'Sleeping' states. Normally the system appears to be off as it is in a reduced power consumption state. Enough power remains to quickly revive the computer into working order without having to reboot the operating system. The states sequentially utilize less power with S1 using the most, and S4 using the least. Also each state progressively takes longer to restore to state S0 or a working state. Additional details on the states and restoration from the state to S0 (working):
  1. S1 > The Processor reduces power as do the bus clocks
     • Restoration Time: Generally less than 2 seconds
     • Restoration detail: Control resumes where it left off
  2. S2 > The Processor reduces power as do the bus systems
     • Restoration Time: Takes 2 seconds or more to restore
     • Restoration detail: While all systems are still up and running, the focus or active point for the mouse and system may not be in the same place
  3. S3 > The Processor is off as are other bus systems
     • Restoration Time: About the same as S2
     • Restoration details: System memory is retained only. All interface devices must reset
  4. S4 > This is the state known as 'hibernation'. Nothing is retained as all hardware systems are shut down almost as if the system was off. A copy of what is loaded into memory is written to the hard drive via the hibernation file. Any system changes while in this state may cause the system to reboot regularly as the hibernation file may be invalid.
     • Restoration Time: This is similar to a full power-up, though some time is gained as OS and auxiliary services only need to be rewritten into their previous states into memory instead of full initialization.
     • Restoration details: Full hardware boot followed by an OS initialization followed by restoration of the hibernation file to memory to restore the previous state.
• S5 > This mode is the 'Off' state. The only power consumption stems from live chipsets such as the NIC, AMT, or other Intel® vPro chips.

These definitions are used by Out of Band and Intel® vPro when interfacing with power states on managed devices. Log details and task completion details that include power management functions will contain the detected power state and subsequent actions involving the power state. More to follow...

Intel® AMT Power State Support

Intel® vPro AMT supports certain functions for each power state. Not all states can be restored. The Power Management functions reside directly in the vPro chipset and do not require the Operating System to be loaded or active. On the flip side Intel® AMT does support the waking of systems in non-power off states, or 'sleeping' states. Wake On LAN does not support the waking of a system in a non 'off' state. The following scenarios are supported by Intel® vPro (AMT) Power Management functions.

1. Power On > The Power On function can be sent to Power States Off through Sleep (S1 through S5). In the instance of a Sleep state the system is brought out of sleep in the same manner a user would reactivate the computer. If the computer is off the system boots normally.
2. Power Off > The Power Off function can be sent to Power States Sleep through On (S0 through S4).
   
   Note! Warning, this function disregards the state of the Operating System and simply cuts power. Since the vPro chipset resides below the Operating System the power functions interface directly with the hardware.
3. Reboot/Reset > The Reboot/Reset function can be sent to all Power States. If the system is off, the system will power up, otherwise the power to the system will be cut, followed by a power on function to have the system boot normally.
4. Restore State > Intel vPro AMT doesn't inherently support restoring a previous power state. Task Server provides this functionality using Intel's plug-in to the power states.

Power Management and Task Server

The Out of Band Management Task available in Task Server for Power Management utilizes the available functionality provided by Intel® AMT. The following graph provides a representation of the functions available:

Click to view.

This functionality is built into the 'Power Management' Task under Server Tasks in Task Server. This is configured as shown in this walk-through of a power management related task.

Power Management Job Walkthrough

1. In the Altiris Console (6.5) go to Manage > Jobs.
2. Browse under Tasks and Jobs > Jobs > right-click on 'Jobs' and select New > Task/Job.
3. In the Jobs pane select 'Server Job'.
4. Name the Job 'Intel® vPro Power Management Test'.
5. In the right pane click New > Task.
6. On the resulting window select 'Power Management Task' under the 'Server Tasks' section of the tree. The following options appear:
   

   Click to view.

7. Name the Task 'Power On', select 'Power On' as the power action, and click OK.
8. Create another Task by clicking New > Task, select 'Get Intel® AMT Inventory' from the tree, and name this task 'Capture Inventory'.
9. Keep the default settings for the task, and click OK.
10. Note you should now have two nodes between 'Job Start' and 'Stop' labeled: 'Run "Power On", Run "Capture Inventory"'.
11. Create the final Task by clicking New > Task, select 'Power Management Task' from the tree, and name this task 'Restore Power State'.
12. Under the 'Select the power action' choose 'Restore State' and click OK.
13. Make sure the tasks are in this order. If they are not, use the light-blue up and down arrows to move the tasks up or down in the order:
    • Run "Power On"
    • Run "Capture Inventory"
    • Run "Restore Power State"
14. Highlight the Task 'Restore Power State' in the middle tree view.
15. On the far right pane select the option 'Enter task input now'.
16. From the first dropdown, select 'use output from a previous task'.
17. The second dropdown will show 'Power On -- Power State' automatically as shown:
    

    Click to view.

18. If the Task had multiple power state tasks the drop down will contain all previous tasks of that type. Leave the other options at default.
19. Click OK to save the Job.
20. The Job is complete and can be used against a system with Intel® vPro technology.

Restore State Function

The power options available in Task Server for Intel® vPro are represented under the 'Select the power action' section of a Power Management Task. The biggest extension of functionality provided by Task Server is the Restore State functionality. When the previous power management task executes, Task Server sends back a status of what power state (S0 through S5) the system was in. This is the output from the Task that is used later by the third task in the above example.

It is important to note that we do not support returning systems into a sleeping state (S1 through S4). Restore State will only work for systems in the S0 (Powered On) or S5 (Power Off) power states. The difficulty arises from being able to truly return to a previous hibernation or standby state when the install naturally will affect the current active state of the system. While we will not discount possible additional functionality in the future, currently we do not support this.

Conclusion

The functionality provided by Intel vPro and Task Server allows reliable and secure power management for software maintenance or deployment scenarios. With the restore state function the system can be returned to it's On or Off position at the end of the Task, helping end-users to find their systems in the expected state. As Altiris moves forward integrating all Solutions into the Task Server, these functions will become more valuable as part of any Job involving a vPro system.

Utilizing Intel® vPro AMT Technology with Task Server – Introduction

Utilizing Intel® vPro AMT Technology with Task Server – Part 2: AMT Inventory