New Specifications Provide Solutions for Platform Management Components Intercommunications

Portland, Ore - August 24, 2009 - Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), the organization bringing the IT industry together to collaborate on systems management standards development, validation, promotion and adoption, today announced the release of a new set of standards from its Platform Management Components Intercommunications (PMCI) Working Group. The new suite of standards was developed to create a comprehensive common architecture for intercommunications among management subsystem components.

The PMCI specifications define standards necessary to address "inside the box" communication and functional interfaces between the components of the platform management subsystem. Today's release includes 11 standards based on the Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) and Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) specifications, which enable common functionality for communication between management controllers and management devices that form a platform management subsystem within a managed computer system:

• Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) Base Specification
• Management Component Transport Protocol SMBus/I2C Transport Binding Specification
• Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) PCIe VDM Transport Binding Specification
• Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) IDs and Codes
• PLDM Base Specification
• PLDM Over MCTP Binding Specification
• PLDM IDs and Codes Specification
• PLDM for SMBIOS Transfer Specification
• PLDM for BIOS Control and Configuration Specification
• PLDM for Platform Monitoring and Control Specification
• PLDM for State Set Specification

These standards expand the capabilities of intra-system communications and define data structures and protocols that allow communication among separate system components. Additionally, they enable hardware and software developers, equipment providers and device manufacturers to quickly and economically develop and deploy management subsystems, by delivering the capability to readily link together devices from different vendors independent of operating system state and platform management subsystem implementation. This provides developers with more flexibility to choose different combinations and spend less time integrating components from multiple suppliers.

"The PMCI standards are critical enablers of DMTF-based management solutions because they improve communication between the components comprising a management system, enabling it to take full advantage of additional DMTF functionality," said Winston Bumpus, DMTF president. "With the release of MCTP and PLDM specifications, the PMCI Working Group now enables a complete solution for platform management components intercommunication."

The PMCI Working Group was formed in 2007 to enable intercommunications among different types of platform components using a set of standard protocols, interfaces, and platform level data models across a full range of platforms. The PMCI Working Group collaborates with several other working groups including the Physical Platform Profiles, Server Management, and Desktop and Mobile Working Groups. Together these groups ensure that the internal interfaces and protocols defined by the PMCI Working Group enable and support the production of the external interfaces and protocols defined by these other working groups.

About DMTF DMTF enables more effective management of millions of IT systems worldwide by bringing the IT industry together to collaborate on the development, validation and promotion of systems management standards. The group spans the industry with 160 member companies and organizations, and more than 4,000 active participants crossing 43 countries. The DMTF board of directors is led by 16 innovative, industry-leading technology companies. They include Advanced Micro Devices (AMD); Broadcom Corporation; CA; Citrix; Dell; EMC; Fujitsu; HP; Hitachi, Ltd.; IBM; Intel Corporation; Microsoft Corporation; Novell; Oracle; Sun Microsystems, Inc.; and VMware. With this deep and broad reach, DMTF creates standards that enable interoperable IT management. DMTF management standards are critical to enabling management interoperability among multi-vendor systems, tools and solutions within the enterprise. Information about DMTF technologies and activities can be found at http://www.dmtf.org.