The wide variety of uses of Intel® vPro™ technology is the scope of this Intel Technology Journal (Vol. 12, Issue 4). Content architect for this issue is John Vicente and he has assembled an excellent sampling of the ways that Intel vPro technology can be deployed to maintain system and data security, to improve manageability, and to support emerging compute models.
Security
The Journal begins with a thorough explanation of the security mechanisms built into the firmware, memory, and chipsets that are components of Intel vPro technology.
This cluster of technologies ensures that Intel's manageability framework is robust to attacks and that only authorized users can access the functions through local or remote management features.
A second article looks at the shifting requirements for the protection of data. In particular, the author explains and evaluates different ways to protect data at rest. Encryption provides the foundation, but should encryption be undertaken by software running on a client machine, by the chipset surrounding the processor, or by technology embedded in the storage device?
Manageability
"Innovating Above and Beyond Standards" is a rich article that puts the evolution of improved system management into an historical context. The authors point out that there is a natural tension between innovation and standardization and, at the same time, the two can and should coexist. The article provides a historical roadmap of related manageability standards and explains their association to current components of Intel® Active Management Technology (Intel® AMT).
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Intel® vPro™ Technology
Gregory Bryant, Vice President, Business Client Group; General Manager, Digital Office Platform Division, Intel Corporation
News Watch: 08 In Review
Following the Core i7 (Nehalem) launch yesterday, here are two places for those looking for the top Intel news announcements and achievements this year. The first is Pat Gelsinger’s blog from a couple of weeks ago around what Intel’s Hafnium-based, reinvented transistor and 45 nanometer manufacturing prowess has helped the company achieve.
The second is this 3-page fact sheet just posted on the Intel press room that captures most (but not all) of our 08 highlights. To keep things to just 3 pages, we had to omit a lot of news from a company that sells more than 200 products and has 100s of R&D, software, Intel capital investment and other projects and activities underway.
This meant that even some bigger news like the DreamWorks 3-D movie-making revolution and switch to Intel processors and CERN’s announcement on the Hadron Collider and how our Xeon processors helped, among others, got cut.
The second is this 3-page fact sheet just posted on the Intel press room that captures most (but not all) of our 08 highlights. To keep things to just 3 pages, we had to omit a lot of news from a company that sells more than 200 products and has 100s of R&D, software, Intel capital investment and other projects and activities underway.
This meant that even some bigger news like the DreamWorks 3-D movie-making revolution and switch to Intel processors and CERN’s announcement on the Hadron Collider and how our Xeon processors helped, among others, got cut.
Doing something amazing with your Intel processor? Tell Intel and Win Big!
Calling all innovators, educators, entertainers, communicators and creators - or anyone with a story to tell about their processor! Intel kicked off a cool contest today inviting creative people to tell their story about how they are using an Intel processor-based PC to do something amazing. Check out this site for more info.
img-wiy-landing-contest.jpg
So many different stories could fit into that “amazing” category. This contest is really pretty simple. Just consider all of the different things you’ve been able to do or create thanks to the power and performance of your Intel processor and then tell Intel your story. Maybe you’re using high-def video, audio or graphics as a digital artist or musician. Maybe you’re a budding filmmaker thanks to the processor inside your PC. Perhaps you’re a teacher using an Intel processor to bring advanced technology into your classroom in a unique and engaging way or you’re a multi-tasking mom who uses the power of an Intel processor to stay on top of your own and your kids’ schedules and stay in touch with family and friends.
Submitting your story is easy. You can upload an image, audio or video file (your choice on the format) along with a story to describe your project or experience, explaining how the Intel processor played a key role in your design, or how your design was inspired by the speed, efficiency and power of the Intel processor. You can get started with the submission here. The contest is open to U.S. residents (except Puerto Rico) who are at least 18 years old. No purchase necessary to participate. You can find all of the rules and details about the contest here. Move quickly, the first 100 qualified entries get a free t-shirt! The last day to submit your story is January 15, 2009.
Submissions will be evaluated on the relevance of processor in the design and innovative use of technology, as well as and overall creativity. Once you’ve submitted, tell your family, friends, co-workers and anyone else you know to go to the site and vote for your story. The official contest judges will then select the winners from the top 10 vote-getters at the conclusion of the community voting period. Winners will be announced on March 2, 2009.
The best part of the contest? The prizes! The grand prize winner gets an Intel Centrino 2-based laptop of his or her choice (valued up to $3,000), $300 in cash and a $200 Amazon.com gift card. The second place winner also get a Centrino 2-based laptop (valued up to $2,000), $200 in cash and a $100 Amazon.com gift card. And there’s even a cool price for third place, too - an Intel Atom-based Netbook (valued up to $1,000) and $100 in cash.
img-wiy-landing-contest.jpg
So many different stories could fit into that “amazing” category. This contest is really pretty simple. Just consider all of the different things you’ve been able to do or create thanks to the power and performance of your Intel processor and then tell Intel your story. Maybe you’re using high-def video, audio or graphics as a digital artist or musician. Maybe you’re a budding filmmaker thanks to the processor inside your PC. Perhaps you’re a teacher using an Intel processor to bring advanced technology into your classroom in a unique and engaging way or you’re a multi-tasking mom who uses the power of an Intel processor to stay on top of your own and your kids’ schedules and stay in touch with family and friends.
Submitting your story is easy. You can upload an image, audio or video file (your choice on the format) along with a story to describe your project or experience, explaining how the Intel processor played a key role in your design, or how your design was inspired by the speed, efficiency and power of the Intel processor. You can get started with the submission here. The contest is open to U.S. residents (except Puerto Rico) who are at least 18 years old. No purchase necessary to participate. You can find all of the rules and details about the contest here. Move quickly, the first 100 qualified entries get a free t-shirt! The last day to submit your story is January 15, 2009.
Submissions will be evaluated on the relevance of processor in the design and innovative use of technology, as well as and overall creativity. Once you’ve submitted, tell your family, friends, co-workers and anyone else you know to go to the site and vote for your story. The official contest judges will then select the winners from the top 10 vote-getters at the conclusion of the community voting period. Winners will be announced on March 2, 2009.
The best part of the contest? The prizes! The grand prize winner gets an Intel Centrino 2-based laptop of his or her choice (valued up to $3,000), $300 in cash and a $200 Amazon.com gift card. The second place winner also get a Centrino 2-based laptop (valued up to $2,000), $200 in cash and a $100 Amazon.com gift card. And there’s even a cool price for third place, too - an Intel Atom-based Netbook (valued up to $1,000) and $100 in cash.
Contest: Guess Intel Transistor Shipments, Win a Great Prize!
THIS CONTEST IS NOW OVER. Congratulations to the winner who received a $500 Amazon gift card just in time to finish up his holiday shopping - Fenwick Jeffrey of New Brunswick, Canada - with his entry of 20,275,500,698,321,756, which came the closest to the correct answer of 19,914,946,000,000,000
November 11th marked the one-year anniversary of Intel shipping its very first processors that incorporated our 45 nanometer manufacturing capability and reinvented transistor formula called high-k, metal gate. To the everyday consumer, this may not mean much. But think of the innovation involved in reinventing and then stuffing 100s of millions of tiny, tiny transistors inside a processor not much larger than a postage stamp, yet still delivering more performance for your photo, video and music activities in laptops that are now even smaller and faster yet improve battery life.
November 11th marked the one-year anniversary of Intel shipping its very first processors that incorporated our 45 nanometer manufacturing capability and reinvented transistor formula called high-k, metal gate. To the everyday consumer, this may not mean much. But think of the innovation involved in reinventing and then stuffing 100s of millions of tiny, tiny transistors inside a processor not much larger than a postage stamp, yet still delivering more performance for your photo, video and music activities in laptops that are now even smaller and faster yet improve battery life.
Intel Asks Employees to "Go Forth And Get Online"
Do you remember when Jay Leno took over for Johnny Carson on NBC's The Tonight Show? Of course in the scheme of things this wasn't the most pivotal time in the history of the world. But it did mark an important turning point in the show's existence. With new furniture and background, combined with fresh faces and musicians, this transition obviously marked a new era for the successful talk show.
Intel has recently undergone its own transition of sorts, although this one isn't so public. All that changed yesterday when Intel published its Social Media Guidelines for all the world to see. This act in itself doesn't necessarily mirror the sweeping changes seen during the Carson-Leno hand-off, but it is a harbinger of a new era of openness at Intel, and it's like a breath of fresh air.
For several years a handful of cutting-edge, passionate social adventurers at Intel have blazed the trail by publishing blogs, participating in forums, posting photos, and Twittering away on behalf of Intel in the myriad social sites that pepper the web. However it's taken the company a little longer to settle on company policies, best practices, and training to help minimize the risk that sometimes accompanies a foray into unchartered territory.
By publishing the Social Media Guidelines in conjunction with a new Digital IQ social media training, Intel is both encouraging and empowering employees to participate in online social media activities on behalf of the company. And although this step may not seem that big on the outside, it is pretty huge for a company previously known for its requisite secrecy and well-trained spokespeople.
Intel recoginzes the important role online conversations continue to play in building solid relationships with our customers. And how better to participate in those conversations than to empower the technology experts that can add value to the dialogue? Intel is hoping both the guidelines and the training will help our technical experts all across the company feel comfortable and confident to participate in social media activities when it makes sense for them.
Intel decided to publish these guidelines externally in an attempt to be as transparent as possible with our customers. I can tell you from personal experience, it is not a simple task to get nearly an entire company to agree to a set of guidelines which all agree to adhere. But I have seen nothing but the most enthusiastic support from all corners of the company for these efforts. And that's saying quite a lot.
Intel has recently undergone its own transition of sorts, although this one isn't so public. All that changed yesterday when Intel published its Social Media Guidelines for all the world to see. This act in itself doesn't necessarily mirror the sweeping changes seen during the Carson-Leno hand-off, but it is a harbinger of a new era of openness at Intel, and it's like a breath of fresh air.
For several years a handful of cutting-edge, passionate social adventurers at Intel have blazed the trail by publishing blogs, participating in forums, posting photos, and Twittering away on behalf of Intel in the myriad social sites that pepper the web. However it's taken the company a little longer to settle on company policies, best practices, and training to help minimize the risk that sometimes accompanies a foray into unchartered territory.
By publishing the Social Media Guidelines in conjunction with a new Digital IQ social media training, Intel is both encouraging and empowering employees to participate in online social media activities on behalf of the company. And although this step may not seem that big on the outside, it is pretty huge for a company previously known for its requisite secrecy and well-trained spokespeople.
Intel recoginzes the important role online conversations continue to play in building solid relationships with our customers. And how better to participate in those conversations than to empower the technology experts that can add value to the dialogue? Intel is hoping both the guidelines and the training will help our technical experts all across the company feel comfortable and confident to participate in social media activities when it makes sense for them.
Intel decided to publish these guidelines externally in an attempt to be as transparent as possible with our customers. I can tell you from personal experience, it is not a simple task to get nearly an entire company to agree to a set of guidelines which all agree to adhere. But I have seen nothing but the most enthusiastic support from all corners of the company for these efforts. And that's saying quite a lot.
Evermore Mobile Internet Devices at CES 2009
Before Intel Developer Forums and some of the bigger consumer electronics shows, I always try to catch up with Ultra Mobility man Uday Keshvadas to see what new gadgets he’s packin’ up.
Just before the holidays as he was gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show, Uday showed me his team’s latest collection of Mobile Internet Devices, each powered by a tiny, mighty Intel Atom processor.
Just before the holidays as he was gearing up for the Consumer Electronics Show, Uday showed me his team’s latest collection of Mobile Internet Devices, each powered by a tiny, mighty Intel Atom processor.
My Biggest Disappointment at CES, Yet Again, Came in 500ml Packages
And now ladies and gentlemen, something completely different from the self-congratulatory, back-slapping, post-CES euphoria flooding the airwaves. Oh yes, there was amazing technology, amazing innovation and a sense of hubris in light of the economy and hard times all around. Less bling, more practical solutions. I think I even got a door held open for me a time or two by someone I didn't have to tip, hehe.
The Intel booth was packed with enthusiastic techies and I met with over fifty of the best and brightest tech press in the world. Their knowledge and class always blows me away. We chatted Core i7, 45nm innovation, Atom, and Classmate PC. And as everybody at CES talked, we drank bottled water. Lots of it.
Bottled water which, when emptied, couldn't find a recycling bin for a hundred miles. Literally. Turns out the Las Vegas Convention Center "isn't set up for recycling", so off go hundreds of thousands of empty bottles to a landfill somewhere.
botttles.jpg
Or worse -- as a recent issue of the Economist writes about in depth - the ocean. Guess how much plastic is floating in the Pacific Ocean in huge masses? A few football fields worth? Try two swirling blobs totaling TWICE the size of the United States. Serious! I am always astonished at the monumental waste at CES. Not just empty water bottles but mountains of brochures, glitzy giveaways, disposable carpets and enough electricity use to power many small countries.
And yet almost all the exhibitors are companies "embracing sustainability," "going green." Exhibitors want to be seen as embracing the environment, so why not lean on the local convention authorities to embrace it too? A two-watt power saving in your glitzy gadget or fifteen more minutes of battery life is great, but I'd love to see technological innovation reach other areas in desperate need of greening.
Not all is doom and gloom of course. A highlight for me was meeting Anisha Ladha, Intel's e-waste Program Manager. Kudos to Intel for giving her primo CES booth space to talk about how we reclaim more than 3 billion gallons of wastewater each year in our factories.
The Intel booth was packed with enthusiastic techies and I met with over fifty of the best and brightest tech press in the world. Their knowledge and class always blows me away. We chatted Core i7, 45nm innovation, Atom, and Classmate PC. And as everybody at CES talked, we drank bottled water. Lots of it.
Bottled water which, when emptied, couldn't find a recycling bin for a hundred miles. Literally. Turns out the Las Vegas Convention Center "isn't set up for recycling", so off go hundreds of thousands of empty bottles to a landfill somewhere.
botttles.jpg
Or worse -- as a recent issue of the Economist writes about in depth - the ocean. Guess how much plastic is floating in the Pacific Ocean in huge masses? A few football fields worth? Try two swirling blobs totaling TWICE the size of the United States. Serious! I am always astonished at the monumental waste at CES. Not just empty water bottles but mountains of brochures, glitzy giveaways, disposable carpets and enough electricity use to power many small countries.
And yet almost all the exhibitors are companies "embracing sustainability," "going green." Exhibitors want to be seen as embracing the environment, so why not lean on the local convention authorities to embrace it too? A two-watt power saving in your glitzy gadget or fifteen more minutes of battery life is great, but I'd love to see technological innovation reach other areas in desperate need of greening.
Not all is doom and gloom of course. A highlight for me was meeting Anisha Ladha, Intel's e-waste Program Manager. Kudos to Intel for giving her primo CES booth space to talk about how we reclaim more than 3 billion gallons of wastewater each year in our factories.
Technology@intel
The Second Wi-Fi RevolutionBy now you take for granted that any notebook (or Netbook) you purchase has Wi-Fi built-in. The essential need for flexible connectivity that made Wi-Fi ubiquitous on notebooks is becoming a must-have feature in consumer electronic (CE) devices. In the near future printers, smartphones, digital cameras, personal media players, digital photo frames, game consoles, even televisions, DVD players and speakers will include Wi-Fi. By 2012, In-Stat estimates a whopping 1 billion new devices will ship with Wi-Fi with notebooks comprising less than one third of the total.
Sounds great, right! Here’s the catch. Once you purchase these devices, you have to go through the frustrating task of connecting them to your Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) to link up to your notebook and the Internet. Connecting a notebook to the Wi-Fi network is straightforward because utilities like Intel® PROSet/Wireless software and a full size keyboard and display ease the configuration process. However, this simple task is daunting on a CE device that often has no display or keyboard, not to mention configuring security. Even if you are able to connect your digital camera to your home AP, what do you do after that? Map a drive to your notebook from the digital camera so you can copy pictures directly from the camera to the notebook. Wait, there’s no Microsoft Windows Explorer on the camera. And so on.
Sounds great, right! Here’s the catch. Once you purchase these devices, you have to go through the frustrating task of connecting them to your Wi-Fi Access Point (AP) to link up to your notebook and the Internet. Connecting a notebook to the Wi-Fi network is straightforward because utilities like Intel® PROSet/Wireless software and a full size keyboard and display ease the configuration process. However, this simple task is daunting on a CE device that often has no display or keyboard, not to mention configuring security. Even if you are able to connect your digital camera to your home AP, what do you do after that? Map a drive to your notebook from the digital camera so you can copy pictures directly from the camera to the notebook. Wait, there’s no Microsoft Windows Explorer on the camera. And so on.
Standards
See what's up and coming at the Intel Developer Forum, drawing the industry's top professionals who are inspiring where technology is going.
Standards ›
See how Intel is creating and encouraging standards-based technology and industry collaboration by working with more than 100 industry standards groups worldwide.
Research ›
Learn how Intel researchers around the world are developing with tera-scale computing, wireless computing anywhere on Earth, advanced exploratory research, and more.
Manufacturing ›
Get inside Intel's advanced manufacturing processes, including research and development, wafer fabrication, and boards and semi-conductor manufacturing.
Product Technologies ›
Learn about Intel's latest advancements in standards-based hardware and software technologies that work together to provide performance-packed and energy-efficient computing.
Architecture & Silicon ›
Discover how Intel is advancing the pace of new developments in architecture and silicon by doubling transistor counts, advancing logic processes, and delivering great leaps in energy efficiency and processor performance.
Technology
Taking giant leaps forward at the silicon level, Intel is developing small, fast, and energy-efficient technologies to help create the next revolutionary step in mobile, desktop, and data center computing—as well as technologies that power the engine of change for our entire industry.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Previous news
Intel's Prescott chip is not as exciting as people thought it would be. Analysts and the IT press have been distinctly unimpressed. The good news is that the motherboards we use for our high end PCs are the most compatible with the Prescott chip.
Intel's Hyper-threading technology seems to be paying dividends. Most technical websites now rate Intel's CPUs as faster than the AMD equivalents. See our page on AMD processors
Since our last update Intel has released several new processors, going all the way up to the 3.06 GHz Pentium 4. They've also raised the speed of the FSB (Front Side Bus) from 533 MHz to 800 Mhz, so our earlier advice of going for a 478 pin motherboard to protect against future changes already looks outdated as this time though Intel haven't changed the number of pins on the new CPUs they have changed the FSB and if you've got a 478 pin motherboard that supports 533 MHz FSB processors it won't take the new ones :-(
Intel announced two new motherboard chipsets to handle the new 800 FSB processors. These are the 875P (Canterwood) and the 865 (Springdale) chipsets. More here. Most motherboard manufacturers are now building their more expensive motherboards around the 875P, and their cheaper motherboards around the 865 chipsets.
The 3.06 was Intel's first CPU with hyper-threading (read our article on hyper-threading). Since then they've introduced some of their lower end processors with this feature to make a complicated market even more complicated. So now buying a 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor becomes a major decision as it comes in so many different flavours many of which may not work in your motherboard. You've got the
1. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 423 (423 pins) format
2. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 400 FSB (Front Side Bus)
3. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 533 FSB
4. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 800 FSB
5. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with hyper-threading ... more to come.
Make sense of it all. Anandtech and Tom's Hardware are good places for more detailed information and test results:
Intel's Hyper-threading technology seems to be paying dividends. Most technical websites now rate Intel's CPUs as faster than the AMD equivalents. See our page on AMD processors
Since our last update Intel has released several new processors, going all the way up to the 3.06 GHz Pentium 4. They've also raised the speed of the FSB (Front Side Bus) from 533 MHz to 800 Mhz, so our earlier advice of going for a 478 pin motherboard to protect against future changes already looks outdated as this time though Intel haven't changed the number of pins on the new CPUs they have changed the FSB and if you've got a 478 pin motherboard that supports 533 MHz FSB processors it won't take the new ones :-(
Intel announced two new motherboard chipsets to handle the new 800 FSB processors. These are the 875P (Canterwood) and the 865 (Springdale) chipsets. More here. Most motherboard manufacturers are now building their more expensive motherboards around the 875P, and their cheaper motherboards around the 865 chipsets.
The 3.06 was Intel's first CPU with hyper-threading (read our article on hyper-threading). Since then they've introduced some of their lower end processors with this feature to make a complicated market even more complicated. So now buying a 2.4 GHz Intel Pentium 4 processor becomes a major decision as it comes in so many different flavours many of which may not work in your motherboard. You've got the
1. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 423 (423 pins) format
2. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 400 FSB (Front Side Bus)
3. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 533 FSB
4. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with 800 FSB
5. Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz in socket 478 with hyper-threading ... more to come.
Make sense of it all. Anandtech and Tom's Hardware are good places for more detailed information and test results:
Latest developments at Intel
Starting in mid 2004 were Intel's LGA 775 processors. Intel moved the goal posts again. Any previous 478 pin motherboard can't be upgraded anymore as the 478 pin processors are being phased out. The LGA775 is different from all previous Intel formats in that the pins are now on the board and the CPU itself has just sockets. This is claimed to reduce the number of CPUs that get returned with bent or broken pins. The FSB is still 800 and CPU speeds are still largely the same - up to 3.4 GHz in both 478 pin and LGA 775 - but with one or two new CPUs like the LGA775 3.6 GHz. In another major departure Intel is moving away from the focus on clock speeds and have dreamed up a new number system with the "520 Intel" being an LGA 775 P4 2.8 GHz, the "540 Intel" being the same in 3.2 GHz and the "560 Intel" being the 3.6 GHz version. Confusion is good because you can then be sold a "faster internet" if you go for the latest Intel processor!
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