RMCP response

[MPala11]

Hi All,
I'm trying RMCP ping in AMT system and response is always null only, able to access webui(http://ipaddress:16992).
AMT system doesn't have OS. I hope AMT has to respond to RMCP pingirrespective of OS

AMT version: 6.1.1-build 1045
AMT status : Enabled

Able to get following property values using winrm and details below

AMT_SetupAndConfigurationService
CreationClassName = AMT_SetupAndConfigurationService
ElementName = Intel AMT Setup and Configuration Service
EnabledState = 5
Name = Intel AMT Setup and Configuration Service
PasswordModel = 1
ProvisioningMode = 1
ProvisioningPID = AAAAAAAAAAA=
ProvisioningServerOTP = AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA=
ProvisioningState = 2
RequestedState = 12
SystemCreationClassName = CIM_ComputerSystem
SystemName = Intel AMT
ZeroTouchConfigurationEnabled = true

AMT_GeneralSettings
DDNSPeriodicUpdateInterval = 1440
DDNSTTL = 900
DDNSUpdateEnabled = false
DHCPv6ConfigurationTimeout = 0
DigestRealm = Digest:F479F6379781F02D9BB794200763318C
DomainName =xxxxx.com
ElementName = Intel AMT: General Settings
HostName =xxxx
HostOSFQDN
IdleWakeTimeout = 1
InstanceID = Intel AMT: General Settings
NetworkInterfaceEnabled = true
PingResponseEnabled = true
PreferredAddressFamily = 0
PresenceNotificationInterval = 0
RmcpPingResponseEnabled = true
SharedFQDN = true
WsmanOnlyMode = false

As per AMT SDK if AMT is enabled it should respond to RMCP ping, I checked all the setting related to RMCPand is enabled only.

Am I missing any other setting related to RMCP ping response?

Thanks,
Mani

[Gael_H_Intel]

Hi - Is your AMT device connected via a VPN tunnel or MPS Connection? I found a couple items that might apply to your situation. It should not matter if there is no OS - your DHCP server should still be able to find it and assign the ME an ipaddress. Is the system powered on when you try to ping it? Maybe try to shut it off and see if it will answer the ping. (make sure that in the bios ME is on at all times.)

If your your system is powered up, it may be expecting to share it's IP address with the host, but if there is no OS, then the host would not have an IP address - that might be why you can login to the ME via the web ui but can't ping it. (see (1) below)

------------

1. When ping is enabled and Intel AMT shares its IP address with the host, then Intel AMT will only respond to pings when the host OS is down or the OS is up but the interface driver (wired or wireless) is not present.

2.. When Intel AMT device is connected via a VPN tunnel or by an MPS connection, it will not respond to pings, even if ping response was enabled.

There is more about the General Settings here:

http://software.intel.com/sites/manageability/AMT_Implementation_and_Reference_Guide/DOCS/Implementation%20and%20Reference%20Guide/default.htm?turl=WordDocuments%2Fsetgetgeneralnetworksettings.htm

[MPala11]

Hi Gael,
There is no VPN tunnel or MPS connection. Machine is on only, connected Harddisk which doesn't have OS.
I'm able to access web ui(http://ipaddress:16992) and execute wsman commands using winrm.
DHCP assigned ip address to this AMT device.


Thanks,
Mani

[Gael_H_Intel]

Did you try pinging it with the system shut down?

[MPala11]

Hi Gael,
Shut down the system using button in cabinet.
I'm able to get ping response(not RMCP ping), webui(http: // ipaddress:16992) and execute winrm commands

In AMT SDK It's mentioning about rmcp as below
===============
Use RMCP Ping to Determine the Platform State

The following steps use the RMCP ping response to determine the state of a platform with Intel AMT.

1. Send an RMCP ping to the IP address of the platform under examination.

2. If there is no response, the cause may be one of the following reasons:

a. The platform is powered down or off the network.

b. The platform does not support Intel AMT.

c. The version of Intel AMT is earlier than Release 4.0, which was the first to support RMCP ping response.

d. The version is release 4.0 or later but the platform is not yet set up. (Intel AMT Release 6.1 and later releases will respond to an RMCP ping before setup is started or complete. The host must be active with a dynamic IPv4 address.)

e. The version is release 4.0 or later and the platform is configured, but the RMCP ping response is disabled.

f. The platform is Intel Small Business Technology, which does not support the ping feature.

==========================
All the above conditions are invalid . So can you explain whether AMT needs OS for responding RMCP ping. As per my understanding, sinceAMT is OOB, it can respond without OS, please correct me if I'm wrong

Thanks,
Mani

[Gael_H_Intel]

Hi Mani,

Ok - I was just thinking "regular" pings and you can ping the ME if the system is off. RMCP pings are different.

Normal ping is ICMP protocol. RMCP ping is an advacned version used by DASH and other BMC vendors (server mangeability.)

For RMCP pings, vPro does require systems to be powered on and the LAN driver needs to be installed and operational. I'm not sure what the reasoning is for this - I am trying to find out now and will let you know as soon as I hear something.

[Gael_H_Intel]

Hi Mani - let me know if this answers your question:

The short answer is that RMCP ping is mostly used for AMT discovery when AMT is un-provisioned(after AMT is provisioned you have easier ways to discover AMT). While AMT is un-provisioned , it will not stay powered in Sx (by default) in order to save power.

[MPala11]

Hi Gael,
I'm little bit confused about this statement
While AMT is un-provisioned , it will not stay powered in Sx (by default) in order to save power

Which means it will not respond to rmcp ping in un-provisioned state?.

I'm just thinking a scenario, bought a pc without OS which has AMT support(version > 7.0). When i connect to network which has DHCP support, AMT will get an IP address and can it respond to RMCP ping.
If I get RMCP pong response, i can provision AMT and install OS. I hope AMT can be used for this scenario, Please correct me if I'm wrong?

Thanks,
Mani

[Gael_H_Intel]

It needs to have power in an unprovisioned state (if the system is off, the ME is off) whereas once it is provisioned you can tell the ME to stay on, or to wake on LAN if the system is not plugged in.

So in order for the ME to get an IP address when unprovisioned, the system needs to have power.