Device management can be a challenging and time-consuming affair for your administrators to handle. But with the right tools, admins could finish their management tasks faster and dedicate their valuable time to other mission-critical work.
We found that the tools Command Suite offers can speed up and simplify device management compared to management through just Intel AMT on an HP device. The ease of configuring Intel AMT combined with task sequences, out-of-band management capabilities, one-to-many administration, and other features make Command Suite an attractive management solution for fleets equipped with Intel AMT.
Managing a fleet of employee devices can be a challenging and time-consuming affair for your administrators to handle. But with the right tools, admins like Alyssa could finish their management tasks faster and dedicate their valuable time to other mission-critical work.
At Principled Technologies, we investigated how using Dell Client Command Suite could affect the device management process. We found that the tools afforded by Command Suite allow for faster and simpler device management compared to completing tasks through Intel AMT alone on a Lenovo device. The ease of configuring Intel AMT through Command Suite, combined with task sequences, out-of-band management capabilities, one-to-many administration, and other features, make Dell Client Command Suite an attractive management solution for fleets with Intel vPro technology.
Speed up system deployment with Dell Connected Configuration servicesPrincipled Technologies
The days of administrators going through lengthy system provisioning procedures to update and patch client images on new employee systems are gone. With Dell Connected Configuration service, your organization can get any number of systems delivered to your door with the latest company image loaded and customized for your employees’ needs. Dell Connected Configuration Service lets customers using management software such as SCCM integrate existing software and processes securely into the Dell manufacturing process at the factory using a secure VPN with your own network/firewall standards, so you can change configurations from your location in real time, on your time. From your headquarters, you can complete a number of tasks on new systems, including imaging, updating BIOS settings, partitioning and encrypting hard drives, and installing user-specific software.
As we found, using Dell Connected Configuration Service could save significant time for a laptop deployment, allowing your administrative staff to focus on other ways to improve your business IT. Additionally, your employees can receive their new systems more quickly, potentially avoiding days of waiting for a system to be ready. These time saving advantages of Dell Connected Configuration services can mean a more efficient process for deploying new systems, and can boost productivity by putting the up-to-date tools employees need to do their jobs into their hands more quickly.
Roshtek Attendance Manager is industry-leading Time and Attendance solution for small to medium-sized businesses.
Roshtek has perfected an all in one solution to solve the Time and Attendance needs of Retail, Wholesale, Mining, General Trades, Government and Educational agencies, Healthcare, and small to large companies across the globe.
Roshtek Attendance Manager is capable of meeting the high demands of your business while still remaining simple enough to master right out of the box!
Roshtek Attendance Manager keeps track of the Time and Attendance of employees at your fingertips, saving you the time to reconcile timesheets and calculate entitlements. In addition, detailed information on each employee’s job times are recorded.
Roshtek Attendance Controllers Works with a touch screen based time system, which gives you the best user interface; Touch screen can use Pin Pad by default or additional add-on options like, biometric (fingerprint), RFID or barcode clocks.
Roshtek Attendance Controllers feature network connectivity, with Ethernet Cabled or Wi-Fi wireless. There is no need for the expense of a dedicated PC that systems with just a USB connection require.
Roshtek Attendance Manager Gives you control over lost time and productivity, which can significantly impact your organization’s profitability.
Roshtek Attendance Manager Solutions provide business owners, HR and payroll administrators an easy way to gain control of employee time.
Dell OpenManage Essentials: Improve efficiency with fewer tools, more benefits Principled Technologies
Using a systems management solution that streamlines and automates common data center operations is vital to the efficient operation of your data center and the continuous availability of your infrastructure. The right servers and systems management solution can actually provide your IT organization with dramatic savings and enable greater efficiency and productivity.
We carried out three typical data center use cases using a Dell PowerEdge R630 managed with Dell OpenManage Essentials and an HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 managed with HP OneView. We found that the Dell solution reduced IT administrator time by as much as 40 percent and provided incremental systems management benefits and features. It achieved this with the additional advantage that the cost of the Dell OpenManage Essentials systems management solution is 93 percent lower than the cost of the HP OneView systems management solution.
Our conclusion: Dell OpenManage Essentials and PowerEdge servers can be excellent investments for your data center if you are interested in ease of use, cost and time savings, accuracy, and infrastructure availability.
Managing a fleet of employee devices can be a challenging and time-consuming affair for your administrators to handle. But with the right tools, admins like Alyssa could finish their management tasks faster and dedicate their valuable time to other mission-critical work.
At Principled Technologies, we investigated how using Dell Client Command Suite could affect the device management process. We found that the tools afforded by Command Suite allow for faster and simpler device management compared to completing tasks through Intel AMT alone on a Lenovo device. The ease of configuring Intel AMT through Command Suite, combined with task sequences, out-of-band management capabilities, one-to-many administration, and other features, make Dell Client Command Suite an attractive management solution for fleets with Intel vPro technology.
Speed up system deployment with Dell Connected Configuration servicesPrincipled Technologies
The days of administrators going through lengthy system provisioning procedures to update and patch client images on new employee systems are gone. With Dell Connected Configuration service, your organization can get any number of systems delivered to your door with the latest company image loaded and customized for your employees’ needs. Dell Connected Configuration Service lets customers using management software such as SCCM integrate existing software and processes securely into the Dell manufacturing process at the factory using a secure VPN with your own network/firewall standards, so you can change configurations from your location in real time, on your time. From your headquarters, you can complete a number of tasks on new systems, including imaging, updating BIOS settings, partitioning and encrypting hard drives, and installing user-specific software.
As we found, using Dell Connected Configuration Service could save significant time for a laptop deployment, allowing your administrative staff to focus on other ways to improve your business IT. Additionally, your employees can receive their new systems more quickly, potentially avoiding days of waiting for a system to be ready. These time saving advantages of Dell Connected Configuration services can mean a more efficient process for deploying new systems, and can boost productivity by putting the up-to-date tools employees need to do their jobs into their hands more quickly.
Roshtek Attendance Manager is industry-leading Time and Attendance solution for small to medium-sized businesses.
Roshtek has perfected an all in one solution to solve the Time and Attendance needs of Retail, Wholesale, Mining, General Trades, Government and Educational agencies, Healthcare, and small to large companies across the globe.
Roshtek Attendance Manager is capable of meeting the high demands of your business while still remaining simple enough to master right out of the box!
Roshtek Attendance Manager keeps track of the Time and Attendance of employees at your fingertips, saving you the time to reconcile timesheets and calculate entitlements. In addition, detailed information on each employee’s job times are recorded.
Roshtek Attendance Controllers Works with a touch screen based time system, which gives you the best user interface; Touch screen can use Pin Pad by default or additional add-on options like, biometric (fingerprint), RFID or barcode clocks.
Roshtek Attendance Controllers feature network connectivity, with Ethernet Cabled or Wi-Fi wireless. There is no need for the expense of a dedicated PC that systems with just a USB connection require.
Roshtek Attendance Manager Gives you control over lost time and productivity, which can significantly impact your organization’s profitability.
Roshtek Attendance Manager Solutions provide business owners, HR and payroll administrators an easy way to gain control of employee time.
Dell OpenManage Essentials: Improve efficiency with fewer tools, more benefits Principled Technologies
Using a systems management solution that streamlines and automates common data center operations is vital to the efficient operation of your data center and the continuous availability of your infrastructure. The right servers and systems management solution can actually provide your IT organization with dramatic savings and enable greater efficiency and productivity.
We carried out three typical data center use cases using a Dell PowerEdge R630 managed with Dell OpenManage Essentials and an HP ProLiant DL380 Gen9 managed with HP OneView. We found that the Dell solution reduced IT administrator time by as much as 40 percent and provided incremental systems management benefits and features. It achieved this with the additional advantage that the cost of the Dell OpenManage Essentials systems management solution is 93 percent lower than the cost of the HP OneView systems management solution.
Our conclusion: Dell OpenManage Essentials and PowerEdge servers can be excellent investments for your data center if you are interested in ease of use, cost and time savings, accuracy, and infrastructure availability.
RES Software dynamic desktop solutions simplify desktops into centrally managed, secure, personalized, context-aware and less complex desktops for your users.
Faster logins and access to applications make a difference in EHR adoption.
Designing a Motion-Control System…Software in 2015 Makes It EasyDesign World
Designing a Motion-Control System … Software in 2015 Makes It Easy will show how software is simplifying the work of motion-control designs. It will cover programming and software tools that help engineers pick component faster and with the physical layout of a motion system. Then the webinar will segue into an explanation of programming options to help designers author controller schemes faster ... sometimes within user-friendly environments.
During this webinar, attendees will learn how to use software to calculate output requirements; how to pick from motion-control design software offerings that fit pieces together virtually; what options there are for automatic software generation of motion profiles and bills of materials; and ways to use one specific piece of software to pick an electromechanical actuator, motor, and drive for a single-axis motion system.
Managing Updates with System Center Configuration Manager 2012JasonCondo
From the Dogfood Conference 2014 in Columbus Ohio (www.dogfoodcon.com). Learn how the SUP role works in ConfigMgr 2012, how to implement a security risk process and how to manage updates in ConfigMgr 2012.
IBM Endpoint Manager for Server Automation (Overview)Kimber Spradlin
IBM® Endpoint Manager for Server Automation enables users to perform advanced automation tasks across servers, including task sequencing—without the need for programming skills. This product offers a rich set of prebuilt automation scripts and enables users to create and re-use their own automation flows.
IBM Endpoint Manger for Power Management (Overview)Kimber Spradlin
Save $20-$50 per computer per year by automatically putting devices in lower-power states when they are unused. Much more granular policy setting, "Green" reports, savings models, client-side dashboard, coverage for PCs and Macs, and continuous enforcement set this solution apart from relying on the built-in power management settings.
Impact 2013 2963 - IBM Business Process Manager Top PracticesBrian Petrini
Process efficiency remains the top priority of IT executives around the world. To help you succeed, IBM has collected a number of key top practices that have proven to be the necessary ingredient of any success story with the market leading process management solution ? IBM Business Process Manager. Placed in the context of an end-to-end BPM solution lifecycle, this session will focus on key infrastructure, administration, and operational top practices for IBM BPM Standard and Advanced, as distilled by lead IBM practitioners based experiences with projects world-wide. By the end of the session you will have the top tips on: setting up development environments, critical points on keeping your IBM BPM infrastructure scalable, performance tuning, as well access to top intellectual capital in this area.
Simplify PC management and save IT time with an automated support servicePrincipled Technologies
Our hands-on testing demonstrated Dell ProSupport Plus automation capabilities can save significant time compared to a manual approach
Conclusion
Using ProSupport Plus with SupportAssist for Business PCs for management and monitoring could be a boon to both IT administrators and your organization: IT admins can experience less time stuck on repetitive tasks, and your organization can reap the benefits of freed up IT resources for focus elsewhere.
We examined several ProSupport Plus management and monitoring features, including custom scripts, automated scans, and update capabilities. For example, we found that with ProSupport Plus, we could push device and driver updates to an entire PC fleet in just 37 seconds. Performing these updates with a manual approach could take 70 hours throughout the year for a 1,000-device fleet, while using ProSupport Plus could take just 7 minutes per year for the same fleet. With these time savings, IT admins could have more time to research and optimize new technology for your business. Extrapolating our results shows that with ProSupport Plus, your organization could see significant time savings that scale with your fleet size—as much as 641 hours of admin time per year for a 1,000-device fleet (compared to using a manual approach). With these time savings, IT admins could have more capacity to provide technical support to your employees, maintain important hardware, mentor other members of their department, and keep current on security procedures.
Management and monitoring can be a challenging job, but with minimal setup times, helpful monitoring features, and potentially significant time savings, ProSupport Plus can help alleviate the IT burden.
Compared to aging desktops, new Dell OptiPlex desktops can allow employees to be more productive with faster and more reliable hardware while providing significantly lower power costs. Improved management technology with the new desktops can support the efforts of your IT staff and can reduce costly deskside visits. Upgrading your aging desktops with the Dell OptiPlex 9030 All-in-One or the Dell OptiPlex 9020 Micro desktops brings important improvements to your business through both hardware and software.
Simplify administrator tasks and improve security and health monitoring with ...Principled Technologies
Management tools that reduce hands-on time and effort for recurring tasks provide real benefits to administrators with demanding responsibilities. In our comparison of the management portfolios from Dell and HPE, we found that the Dell tools we tested offered better ease-of use than their HPE counterparts, with many additional features and views that can streamline administrator tasks. Plus, the Dell management portfolio offered features that increase data security and allow admins to make changes without infrastructure downtime. By reducing time and effort for tasks like monitoring system health or updating firmware, your admins can focus their time on supporting key business initiatives.
Systems management savings with Dell OpenManage on 13G Dell PowerEdge servers Principled Technologies
Administrators can spend their time doing routine tasks such as firmware updates, or they can spend their time on other initiatives to make your data center and your business more successful. Older servers keep admins focused on routine tasks instead of innovation because they just don’t have the capabilities to streamline management in a meaningful way to lessen the burden of routine management tasks.
In our hands-on tests, we found that Dell PowerEdge R730 servers with Dell OpenManage dramatically reduced the time it took to deploy, update, monitor, and maintain servers compared to completing the tasks manually on older systems. We estimate that you could save as much as 91.3 percent of administrator time—nearly 800 hours—over two years for a 200-server deployment.
Don’t let your older servers continue to be a time sink for administrators. By upgrading to new Dell PowerEdge R730 servers with new systems management features to handle routine tasks, you can potentially redirect those resources to innovation in other areas.
RES Software dynamic desktop solutions simplify desktops into centrally managed, secure, personalized, context-aware and less complex desktops for your users.
Faster logins and access to applications make a difference in EHR adoption.
Designing a Motion-Control System…Software in 2015 Makes It EasyDesign World
Designing a Motion-Control System … Software in 2015 Makes It Easy will show how software is simplifying the work of motion-control designs. It will cover programming and software tools that help engineers pick component faster and with the physical layout of a motion system. Then the webinar will segue into an explanation of programming options to help designers author controller schemes faster ... sometimes within user-friendly environments.
During this webinar, attendees will learn how to use software to calculate output requirements; how to pick from motion-control design software offerings that fit pieces together virtually; what options there are for automatic software generation of motion profiles and bills of materials; and ways to use one specific piece of software to pick an electromechanical actuator, motor, and drive for a single-axis motion system.
Managing Updates with System Center Configuration Manager 2012JasonCondo
From the Dogfood Conference 2014 in Columbus Ohio (www.dogfoodcon.com). Learn how the SUP role works in ConfigMgr 2012, how to implement a security risk process and how to manage updates in ConfigMgr 2012.
IBM Endpoint Manager for Server Automation (Overview)Kimber Spradlin
IBM® Endpoint Manager for Server Automation enables users to perform advanced automation tasks across servers, including task sequencing—without the need for programming skills. This product offers a rich set of prebuilt automation scripts and enables users to create and re-use their own automation flows.
IBM Endpoint Manger for Power Management (Overview)Kimber Spradlin
Save $20-$50 per computer per year by automatically putting devices in lower-power states when they are unused. Much more granular policy setting, "Green" reports, savings models, client-side dashboard, coverage for PCs and Macs, and continuous enforcement set this solution apart from relying on the built-in power management settings.
Impact 2013 2963 - IBM Business Process Manager Top PracticesBrian Petrini
Process efficiency remains the top priority of IT executives around the world. To help you succeed, IBM has collected a number of key top practices that have proven to be the necessary ingredient of any success story with the market leading process management solution ? IBM Business Process Manager. Placed in the context of an end-to-end BPM solution lifecycle, this session will focus on key infrastructure, administration, and operational top practices for IBM BPM Standard and Advanced, as distilled by lead IBM practitioners based experiences with projects world-wide. By the end of the session you will have the top tips on: setting up development environments, critical points on keeping your IBM BPM infrastructure scalable, performance tuning, as well access to top intellectual capital in this area.
Simplify PC management and save IT time with an automated support servicePrincipled Technologies
Our hands-on testing demonstrated Dell ProSupport Plus automation capabilities can save significant time compared to a manual approach
Conclusion
Using ProSupport Plus with SupportAssist for Business PCs for management and monitoring could be a boon to both IT administrators and your organization: IT admins can experience less time stuck on repetitive tasks, and your organization can reap the benefits of freed up IT resources for focus elsewhere.
We examined several ProSupport Plus management and monitoring features, including custom scripts, automated scans, and update capabilities. For example, we found that with ProSupport Plus, we could push device and driver updates to an entire PC fleet in just 37 seconds. Performing these updates with a manual approach could take 70 hours throughout the year for a 1,000-device fleet, while using ProSupport Plus could take just 7 minutes per year for the same fleet. With these time savings, IT admins could have more time to research and optimize new technology for your business. Extrapolating our results shows that with ProSupport Plus, your organization could see significant time savings that scale with your fleet size—as much as 641 hours of admin time per year for a 1,000-device fleet (compared to using a manual approach). With these time savings, IT admins could have more capacity to provide technical support to your employees, maintain important hardware, mentor other members of their department, and keep current on security procedures.
Management and monitoring can be a challenging job, but with minimal setup times, helpful monitoring features, and potentially significant time savings, ProSupport Plus can help alleviate the IT burden.
Compared to aging desktops, new Dell OptiPlex desktops can allow employees to be more productive with faster and more reliable hardware while providing significantly lower power costs. Improved management technology with the new desktops can support the efforts of your IT staff and can reduce costly deskside visits. Upgrading your aging desktops with the Dell OptiPlex 9030 All-in-One or the Dell OptiPlex 9020 Micro desktops brings important improvements to your business through both hardware and software.
Simplify administrator tasks and improve security and health monitoring with ...Principled Technologies
Management tools that reduce hands-on time and effort for recurring tasks provide real benefits to administrators with demanding responsibilities. In our comparison of the management portfolios from Dell and HPE, we found that the Dell tools we tested offered better ease-of use than their HPE counterparts, with many additional features and views that can streamline administrator tasks. Plus, the Dell management portfolio offered features that increase data security and allow admins to make changes without infrastructure downtime. By reducing time and effort for tasks like monitoring system health or updating firmware, your admins can focus their time on supporting key business initiatives.
Systems management savings with Dell OpenManage on 13G Dell PowerEdge servers Principled Technologies
Administrators can spend their time doing routine tasks such as firmware updates, or they can spend their time on other initiatives to make your data center and your business more successful. Older servers keep admins focused on routine tasks instead of innovation because they just don’t have the capabilities to streamline management in a meaningful way to lessen the burden of routine management tasks.
In our hands-on tests, we found that Dell PowerEdge R730 servers with Dell OpenManage dramatically reduced the time it took to deploy, update, monitor, and maintain servers compared to completing the tasks manually on older systems. We estimate that you could save as much as 91.3 percent of administrator time—nearly 800 hours—over two years for a 200-server deployment.
Don’t let your older servers continue to be a time sink for administrators. By upgrading to new Dell PowerEdge R730 servers with new systems management features to handle routine tasks, you can potentially redirect those resources to innovation in other areas.
Simplifying systems management with Dell OpenManage on 13G Dell PowerEdge ser...Principled Technologies
Automated systems management and additional connectivity solutions can reduce the number of administrators you need to run your datacenter or simply free up administrators to innovate rather than tying them up with routine management tasks. We found that the Dell OpenManage suite provides several new features for 13G Dell PowerEdge server solutions to streamline management tasks in both time and steps. Other new features let us easily connect to iDRAC right from the server. Updating firmware with Dell OpenManage features was also easier—eliminating 213 steps for updating a single server compared to updating manually.
The latest versions of the Dell OpenManage suite of system management tools and the power of iDRAC 8 contained within Dell 13G servers gives administrators increased flexibility and powerful new options for managing their data centers that translate to demonstrable savings in time and administrative effort. These automated enhancements and new technologies enable administrators to manage increasingly larger workloads while reducing the amount of hands-on work required for each system, bringing real value to systems management and datacenter operations.
IT admins can spend considerable time managing employee notebooks. The Dell Client Integration Pack 3.1 for Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 can greatly streamline the management process and allow admins to remotely perform management tasks under a much broader range of conditions.
In our labs at Principled Technologies, we performed a series of remote management tasks on Dell Latitude 7240 notebooks managed with DCIP and on Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks managed only through SCCM. Executing these tasks on a single system with DCIP was quicker and simpler than doing so with only SCCM. The time savings was even more pronounced when we performed the scenarios on two systems because DCIP lets you apply the same changes to multiple systems without taking any additional time. For an organization with large numbers of notebook systems, the economies of scale that DCIP provides would translate to the greatest savings.
Replacing an aging desktop fleet is an important investment in your business. Faster and more reliable systems that offer the latest technology provide your employees an opportunity to be more productive with less waiting while they work. New desktops also benefit your IT staff, with significantly lower power costs and support for out-of-band management to reduce costly deskside visits.
By automating high-touch, routine tasks, Dell EMC OME integrations and plugins empower IT admins to deliver effective and efficient systems management from a single console.
Deploy operating systems and drivers to PCs with a single process regardless ...Principled Technologies
We compared the time and effort two deploy operating systems on laptops with AMD and Intel processors and with two different management approaches
Conclusion
Whether your fleet is in the thousands or the dozens, deploying and managing PCs can be a challenging job, and IT teams can’t afford the time for added complications. We performed a series of tests to determine whether deploying PCs was more complex in a mixed-CPU environment. In testing with two different approaches to deployment and devices from two different OEMs, we found no difference in effort between deploying AMD processor-powered laptops and deploying Intel processor-powered laptops. Within each approach, the work also took similar amounts of time, with the hands-on admin time required varying only slightly across laptops. We also found that with Windows Autopilot, the AMD processor-powered PCs we tested took less system time to complete deployment than their Intel processor-powered counterparts. With the identical process and almost the same hands-on time required regardless of processor, our testing shows that you can set aside your concerns about the need for two disparate deployment processes in a mixed-CPU environment. Predictable and nearly identical experiences can translate to IT teams spending less time learning new processes and more time moving your organization forward with helpful user support, strong security procedures, and new tech initiatives.
Implementing and managing large and distributed enterprise solutions presents unique administrative challenges. Anything that can streamline the process to minimize error and save administrator time and effort can have a strong, positive effect on your company’s bottom line. We found that the Dell Chassis Management Controller made deploying Dell PowerEdge M620 blades in a Dell PowerEdge M1000e chassis much quicker and easier by allowing you to import existing server profiles in just a few clicks. In our test case to configure for a common mission critical application, Citrix XenDesktop, manually deploying a full 16-blade chassis required 800 steps; but only 59 steps with Dell Chassis Management Controller, transforming a multi-hour task to one that took just minutes. Certain demanding applications can require even greater hardware configuration — these would benefit even more from the “all settings” profile capture and replication features of the Dell Chassis Management Controller.
The ability to pre-provision empty slots and export profiles for redeployment on other chassis further increases the value of the Dell Chassis Management Controller in bigger environments by largely eliminating tedious, redundant tasks and decreasing the opportunities for human error, while freeing administrators to perform other mission-critical or innovative activities. Choosing a solution that automates much of the deployment process is an asset to managing your infrastructure and your business.
with the Dell OpenManage Enterprise Services plug-in
In our OME + OMES versus SCG + OME comparison, we found that the OMES plug-in enabled us to do
everything through a single console instead of toggling between the OME and Services consoles through
an adapter. Reducing the number of virtual appliances you need to deploy and manage in your server
environment is an additional advantage. Another is streamlining credential management. These overarching advantages can help companies divert admin resources to other important initiatives.
With new automation tools, tying up your administrator’s time with repetitive processes can become a thing of the past. Our tests showed how Dell ASM, with the ability to build deployment templates, can save significant administrator time and steps compared to a solution that lacks these features. In an age where business IT demands grow rapidly, providing administrators with the right tools to manage their virtualized infrastructure is critical for keeping your datacenter running efficiently.
Microsoft System Center virtual environment comparison: Dell PowerEdge server...Principled Technologies
When repetitive and admin-intensive management tasks are quicker and easier to complete, that’s a win for your datacenter and IT administrators. We found that using Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for SCVMM took 74.6 percent less time to complete four key server management use cases on a single server, compared to performing the same use cases with HP OneView for System Center. When managing many servers, data extrapolated to 100 servers from testing on a second server shows the Dell solution would take 95.8 percent fewer steps and 96.5 percent less time than the HP solution. Dell Lifecycle Controller Integration for Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager also enabled IT admins to perform all of the server management operations through a single console—and staged firmware updates without necessitating a server power-down. Easier to use and less time-intensive, the results of our testing showed that the DLCI for SCVMM and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager can be a more efficient and effective combination for your virtualized datacenter.
The evolution of Dell EMC PowerEdge server systems management - InfographicPrincipled Technologies
Technology that anticipates your infrastructure needs before you realize them may be closer than you think. Over 13 years of hands-on testing, we’ve found that the tools in the Dell EMC™ OpenManage™ Suite have steadily improved the speed and quality of systems management.
Overall, we found Workspace ONE provided administrators with the tools and information they needed to quickly and effectively manage an organization. If admins in your organization could benefit from a feature-rich enterprise platform that manages devices and digital workspaces better, deploys apps more quickly, supports Windows 10 devices fully, and supports better security, consider Workspace ONE powered by AirWatch Unified Endpoint Management.
Faster and more efficient system management with Lenovo XClarity AdministratorPrincipled Technologies
We found that automating provisioning tasks with Lenovo XClarity Administrator saved over 58 minutes total across three use cases—a total time savings of 95 percent—and required 75 percent fewer total steps. Specifically, configuring a compute node required 80 percent less time and 19 fewer steps; deploying VMware ESXi to a bare-metal node required 94 percent less time and 23 fewer steps; and updating firmware required 98 percent less time and 33 fewer steps using XClarity Administrator compared to manually executing these tasks. Automating processes for your Lenovo Flex System chassis and nodes can mean less required time and labor from your administrators. This can translate to simplifying their day and allowing them to devote more time to other projects and sooner than anticipated.
Investing in GenAI: Cost‑benefit analysis of Dell on‑premises deployments vs....Principled Technologies
Conclusion
Diving into the world of GenAI has the potential to yield a great many benefits for your organization, but it first requires consideration for how best to implement those GenAI workloads. Whether your AI goals are to create a chatbot for online visitors, generate marketing materials, aid troubleshooting, or something else, implementing an AI solution requires careful planning and decision-making. A major decision is whether to host GenAI in the cloud or keep your data on premises. Traditional on-premises solutions can provide superior security and control, a substantial concern when dealing with large amounts of potentially sensitive data. But will supporting a GenAI solution on site be a drain on an organization’s IT budget?
In our research, we found that the value proposition is just the opposite: Hosting GenAI workloads on premises, either in a traditional Dell solution or using a managed Dell APEX pay-per-use solution, could significantly lower your GenAI costs over 3 years compared to hosting these workloads in the cloud. In fact, we found that a comparable AWS SageMaker solution would cost up to 3.8 times as much and an Azure ML solution would cost up to 3.6 times as much as GenAI on a Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. These results show that organizations looking to implement GenAI and reap the business benefits to come can find many advantages in an on-premises Dell solution, whether they opt to purchase and manage it themselves or choose a subscription-based Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. Choosing an on-premises Dell solution could save your organization significantly over hosting GenAI in the cloud, while giving you control over the security and privacy of your data as well as any updates and changes to the environment, and while ensuring your environment is managed consistently.
Workstations powered by Intel can play a vital role in CPU-intensive AI devel...Principled Technologies
In three AI development workflows, Intel processor-powered workstations delivered strong performance, without using their GPUs, making them a good choice for this part of the AI process
Conclusion
We executed three AI development workflows on tower workstations and mobile workstations from three vendors, with each workflow utilizing only the Intel CPU cores, and found that these platforms were suitable for carrying out various AI tasks. For two of the workflows, we learned that completing the tasks on the tower workstations took roughly half as much time as on the mobile workstations. This supports the idea that the tower workstations would be appropriate for a development environment for more complex models with a greater volume of data and that the mobile workstations would be well-suited for data scientists fine-tuning simpler models. In the third workflow, we explored tower workstation performance with different precision levels and learned that using 16-bit floating point precision allowed the workstations to execute the workflow in less time and also reduced memory usage dramatically. For all three AI workflows we executed, we consider the time the workstations needed to complete the tasks to be acceptable, and believe that these workstations can be appropriate, cost-effective choices for these kinds of activities.
Enable security features with no impact to OLTP performance with Dell PowerEd...Principled Technologies
Get comparable online transaction processing (OLTP) performance with or without enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Encrypted State
Conclusion
You’ve likely already implemented many security measures for your servers, which may include physical security for the data center, hardware-level security, and software-level security. With the cost of data breaches high and still growing, however, wise IT teams will consider what additional security measures they may be able to implement.
AMD SME and SEV-ES are technologies that are already available within your AMD processor-powered 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers—and in our testing, we saw that they can offer extra layers of security without affecting performance. We compared the online transaction processing performance of a Dell PowerEdge R7625 server, powered by AMD EPYC 9274F processors, with and without these two security features enabled. We found that enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State did not impact performance at all.
If your team is assessing areas where you might be able to enhance security—without paying a large performance cost—consider enabling AME SME and AMD SEV-ES in your Dell PowerEdge servers.
Improving energy efficiency in the data center: Endure higher temperatures wi...Principled Technologies
In high-temperature test scenarios, a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server continued running an intensive workload without component warnings or failures, while a Supermicro SYS‑621C-TN12R server failed
Conclusion: Remain resilient in high temperatures with the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 to help increase efficiency
Increasing your data center’s temperature can help your organization make strides in energy efficiency and cooling cost savings. With servers that can hold up to these higher everyday temperatures—as well as high temperatures due to unforeseen circumstances—your business can continue to deliver the performance your apps and clients require.
When we ran an intensive floating-point workload on a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 and a Supermicro SYS-621CTN12R in three scenario types simulating typical operations at 25°C, a fan failure, and an HVAC malfunction, the Dell server experienced no component warnings or failures. In contrast, the Supermicro server experienced warnings in all three scenario types and experienced component failures in the latter two tests, rendering the system unusable. When we inspected and analyzed each system, we found that the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server’s motherboard layout, fans, and chassis offered cooling design advantages.
For businesses aiming to meet sustainability goals by running hotter data centers, as well as those concerned with server cooling design, the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 is a strong contender to take on higher temperatures during day-to-day operations and unexpected malfunctions.
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a Kubernetes container-based generative AI workload effectively
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a generative AI workload effectively
Conclusion
The appeal of incorporating GenAI into your organization’s operations is likely great. Getting started with an efficient solution for your next LLM workload or application can seem daunting because of the changing hardware and software landscape, but Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors could provide the solution you need. We started with a Dell Validated Design as a reference, and then went on to modify the deployment as necessary for our Llama 2 workload. The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift solution worked well for our LLM, and by using this deployment guide in conjunction with numerous Dell documents and some flexibility, you could be well on your way to innovating your next GenAI breakthrough.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
For organizations running clusters of moderately configured, older Dell PowerEdge servers with a previous version of VCF, upgrading to better-configured modern servers can provide a significant performance boost and more.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Realize 2.1X the performance with 20% less power with AMD EPYC processor-back...Principled Technologies
Three AMD EPYC processor-based two-processor solutions outshined comparable Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based solutions by handling more Redis workload transactions and requests while consuming less power
Conclusion
Performance and energy efficiency are significant factors in processor selection for servers running data-intensive workloads, such as Redis. We compared the Redis performance and energy consumption of a server cluster in three AMD EPYC two-processor configurations against that of a server cluster in two Intel Xeon Scalable two-processor configurations. In each of our three test scenarios, the server cluster backed by AMD EPYC processors outperformed the server cluster backed by Intel Xeon Scalable processors. In addition, one of the AMD EPYC processor-based clusters consumed 20 percent less power than its Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based counterpart. Combining these measurements gave us power efficiency metrics that demonstrate how valuable AMD EPYC processor-based servers could be—you could see better performance per watt with these AMD EPYC processor-based server clusters and potentially get more from your Redis or other data intensive applications and workloads while reducing data center power costs.
Improve performance and gain room to grow by easily migrating to a modern Ope...Principled Technologies
We deployed this modern environment, then migrated database VMs from legacy servers and saw performance improvements that support consolidation
Conclusion
If your organization’s transactional databases are running on gear that is several years old, you have much to gain by upgrading to modern servers with new processors and networking components and an OpenShift environment. In our testing, a modern OpenShift environment with a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7615 servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors and high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs outperformed a legacy environment with MySQL VMs running on a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7515 servers with 3rd Generation AMD EPYC processors and 25Gb Broadcom NICs. We also easily migrated a VM from the legacy environment to the modern environment, with only a few steps required to set up and less than ten minutes of hands-on time. The performance advantage of the modern servers would allow a company to reduce the number of servers necessary to perform a given amount of database work, thus lowering operational expenditures such as power and cooling and IT staff time for maintenance. The high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs in this solution also give companies better network performance and networking capacity to grow as they embrace emerging technologies such as AI that put great demands on networks.
Boost PC performance: How more available memory can improve productivityPrincipled Technologies
With more memory available, system performance of three Dell devices increased, which can translate to a better user experience
Conclusion
When your system has plenty of RAM to meet your needs, you can efficiently access the applications and data you need to finish projects and to-do lists without sacrificing time and focus. Our test results show that with more memory available, three Dell PCs delivered better performance and took less time to complete the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark. These advantages translate to users being able to complete workflows more quickly and multitask more easily. Whether you need the mobility of the Latitude 5440, the creative capabilities of the Precision 3470, or the high performance of the OptiPlex Tower Plus 7010, configuring your system with more RAM can help keep processes running smoothly, enabling you to do more without compromising performance.
Deploy with confidence: VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdg...Principled Technologies
A Principled Technologies deployment guide
Conclusion
Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdge servers brings together critical virtualization capabilities and high-performing hardware infrastructure. Relying on our hands-on experience, this deployment guide offers a comprehensive roadmap that can guide your organization through the seamless integration of advanced VMware cloud solutions with the performance and reliability of Dell PowerEdge servers. In addition to the deployment efficiency, the Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge solution delivered strong performance while running a MySQL database workload. By leveraging VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge servers, you could help your organization embrace cloud computing with confidence, potentially unlocking a new level of agility, scalability, and efficiency in your data center operations.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
Conclusion
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R760 server cluster running VCF 5.1 processed over 78 percent more TPM and 79 percent more NOPM than a Dell PowerEdge R750 server cluster running VCF 4.5. It’s also worth noting that the PowerEdge R750 cluster bottlenecked on vSAN storage, with max write latency at 8.9ms. For reference, the PowerEdge R760 cluster clocked in at 3.8ms max write latency. This higher latency is due in part to the single disk group per host on the moderately configured PowerEdge R750 cluster, while the better-configured PowerEdge R760 cluster supported four disk groups per host. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Based on our research using publicly available materials, it appears that Dell supports nine of the ten PC security features we investigated, HP supports six of them, and Lenovo supports three features.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS ...Principled Technologies
In our tests, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS outperformed similarly configured solutions from Vendor A, achieving more IOPS, better throughput, and more consistent performance on both NVMe-supported configurations and configurations backed by Elastic Block Store (EBS) alone.
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS supports a full NVMe backed configuration, but Vendor A doesn’t—its solution uses EBS for storage capacity and NVMe as an extended read cache—which means APEX Block Storage for AWS can deliver faster storage performance.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWSPrincipled Technologies
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger and more consistent storage performance for better business agility than a Vendor A solution
Conclusion
Enterprises desiring the flexibility and convenience of the cloud for their block storage workloads can find fast-performing solutions with the enterprise storage features they’re used to in on-premises infrastructure by selecting Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS.
Our hands-on tests showed that compared to the Vendor A solution, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger, more consistent storage performance in both NVMe-supported and EBS-backed configurations. Using NVMe-supported configurations, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS achieved 4.7x the random read IOPS and 5.1x the throughput on sequential read operations per node vs. Vendor A. In our EBS-backed comparison, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered 2.2x the throughput per node on sequential read operations vs. Vendor A.
Plus, the ability to scale beyond three nodes—up to 512 storage nodes with capacity of up to 8 PBs—enables Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS to help ensure performance and capacity as your team plans for the future.
Get in and stay in the productivity zone with the HP Z2 G9 Tower WorkstationPrincipled Technologies
We compared CPU performance and noise output of an HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation in High Performance Mode to Dell Precision 3660 and 5860 tower workstations in optimized performance modes
Conclusion
HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users can change the BIOS settings to dial in the performance mode that best suits their needs: High Performance Mode, Performance Mode, or Quiet Mode. In good
news for both creative and technical professionals, we found that an Intel Core i9-13900 processor-powered HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation set to High Performance mode received higher CPU-based benchmark scores than both a similarly configured Dell Precision 3660 and a Dell Precision 5860 equipped with an Intel Xeon w5-2455x processor. Plus, the HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation was quieter while running CPU-intensive Cinebench 2024 and SPECapc for Solidworks 2022 workloads than both Dell Precision tower workstations. This means HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users who prize performance over everything else can do so without sacrificing a quiet workspace.
Open up new possibilities with higher transactional database performance from...Principled Technologies
In our PostgreSQL tests, R7i instances boosted performance over R6i instances with previous-gen processors
If you use the open-source PostgreSQL database to run your critical business operations, you have many cloud options from which to choose. While many of these instances can do the job, some can deliver stronger performance, which can mean getting a greater return on your cloud investment.
We conducted hands-on testing with the HammerDB TPROC-C benchmark to see how the PostgreSQL performance of Amazon EC2 R7i instances, enabled by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, stacked up to that of R6i instances with previous-generation processors. We learned that small, medium-sized, and large R7i instances with the newer processors delivered better OLTP performance, with improvements as high as 13.8 percent. By choosing the R7i instances, your organization has the potential to support more users, deliver a better experience to those users, and even lower your cloud operating expenditures by requiring fewer instances to get the job done.
Maruthi Prithivirajan, Head of ASEAN & IN Solution Architecture, Neo4j
Get an inside look at the latest Neo4j innovations that enable relationship-driven intelligence at scale. Learn more about the newest cloud integrations and product enhancements that make Neo4j an essential choice for developers building apps with interconnected data and generative AI.
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Threats to mobile devices are more prevalent and increasing in scope and complexity. Users of mobile devices desire to take full advantage of the features
available on those devices, but many of the features provide convenience and capability but sacrifice security. This best practices guide outlines steps the users can take to better protect personal devices and information.
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One such alternative that has garnered significant attention and acclaim is Nitrux Linux 3.5.0, a sleek, powerful, and user-friendly Linux distribution that promises to redefine the way we interact with our devices. With its focus on performance, security, and customization, Nitrux Linux presents a compelling case for those seeking to break free from the constraints of proprietary software and embrace the freedom and flexibility of open-source computing.
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Speed up (and simplify) employee device management
1. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018
Speed up (and simplify)
employee device management
Dell Client Command Suite enabled faster and
simpler desktop management by integrating
with Intel Active Management Technology
An administrator’s work is never done. Each day, there’s a
fresh list of tasks to complete. But some tasks—such as device
management—require a significant investment in time and
cause considerable headache.
It can take hours to apply updates to a company’s fleet of
laptops, even with a robust set of tools from Intel®
Active
Management Technology (AMT)-capable devices; hours that
could be better spent on initiatives that require more thought
and care. Fortunately, a tool from Dell™
could help alleviate
the management burden by working with AMT and providing
new functionality.
At Principled Technologies, we investigated how Dell Client
Command Suite could reduce the time and effort required
to manage employee devices. We compared management
through Command Suite on Dell devices to management
through Intel AMT alone on HP devices. Because of
Command Suite, we managed the Dell devices more
quickly and with less effort than the HP devices. Fast, simple
management capabilities can help your admins finish tasks
in a timely manner, enabling them to tackle other mission-
critical work.
Simpler to use
The Dell GUI makes setting
up Intel AMT easier than a
manual approach
Faster device
management
Up to 99.5% less
admin time on several
common tasks
More efficient
management
Update any number of
devices simultaneously
A Principled Technologies report: Hands-on testing. Real-world results.
2. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 2
The technology we used and how we tested
Computers with Intel Core™
vPro™
processors come with Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT), a
set of tools built into the system’s motherboard that enhance management capabilities. Intel AMT, however, is a
complex piece of software. Dell Client Command Suite is a host of integrations that simplify and build upon the
strong foundation of Intel AMT to deliver a streamlined management experience.
In our tests, we compared management in three scenarios: Using Dell Client Command Suite to remotely
manage Dell desktop devices; using only Intel AMT to remotely manage HP desktops; and directly managing
HP desktops without Command Suite or Intel AMT. In each of our tests, it was faster for an administrator to
complete management tasks through Client Command rather than completing tasks with Intel AMT alone, or
through direct, manual management. The diagram below shows our three test scenarios:
Admin
Dell Client
Command Suite
Intel AMT Fleet
Admin Intel AMT Fleet
Admin Fleet
With Dell Client
Command Suite
Without Dell Client
Command Suite
Manual management
Figure 1: Logical diagrams of our test scenarios
Command Suite tools make things easier for admins
Dell Client Command Suite has many features admins can use to manage employee devices with less hassle:
• Task sequences to configure or disable AMT on the target client
• Reports with information on:
yy Out-of-band manageability (BIOS versions, firmware versions, and other information from AMT)
yy Provisioning information (date, time, certificate info)
yy Battery health for laptop devices
yy Hardware inventory (the model names of your entire fleet, as well as information on processors, RAM,
storage, networks, and IP addresses)
• Ability to monitor the state of any device in your fleet
3. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 3
An admin’s story: Saving time with Dell Client Command Suite
Roger just started working as an administrator for a new company, and already he can tell it’s going to be a great
place to work. How does he know? The company stays up-to-date on newer technologies and tools that can help
Roger excel at his job.
Take Dell Client Command Suite for example.
With Command Suite, Roger can finish his device
management tasks far sooner than at his old
company, freeing him up to tackle the company’s
mission-critical initiatives.
Roger’s old company used only HP devices, which
aren’t compatible with Command Suite. Roger had to
spend hours familiarizing himself with Intel AMT—and
any time he had to roll out device updates, he’d
spend hours more updating each desktop one at a
time. It was tedious, frustrating work.
Now, it takes Roger just 48 seconds to configure
Intel AMT on a single device, compared to 51
seconds on an HP device without the Command
Suite. (Table 1 shows time to complete several
common administrative tasks.)
Thanks to the one-to-many capabilities that come
with Command Suite, Roger takes just 48 seconds
no matter how many devices he needs to configure.
Whether it’s five, ten, or a hundred devices, the steps
are identical. Without the Dell suite, the amount of
hands-on time grows with each additional device.
Take a look at Table 2 to see how much time Roger would
spend managing 100 devices. (We estimated these results
based on our two-system tests.)
Managing HP devices through AMT alone would require
hours of administrator time—hours that could be better
spent on other mission-critical work. For example,
changing the admin password for 100 devices would
take just six steps with the Dell suite, but a whopping
1,701 steps when using only Intel AMT. (For a detailed
breakdown of the tasks we tested, see the results
appendix on page 20.)
Task (1 system)
Command
Suite
HP (via
Intel AMT)
Manual
Provisioning
Intel AMT
48s 51s N/A
Changing BIOS
settings
2min 21s 3min 28s 3min 19s
Changing
security settings
28s 57s 50s
Task (100
systems)
Command
Suite
HP (via
Intel AMT)
Manual admin
Provisioning
Intel AMT
46s 1h 26min 39s N/A
Changing BIOS
settings
2min 21s 5h 29min 29s 4h 18min 1s
Changing
security settings
28s 1h 33min 10s 1h 24min 49s
Figure 2: Editing BIOS settings in Command Suite
Figure 3: Editing BIOS settings via Intel AMT
Table 1: Time to manage one system (tested)
Table 2: Time to manage 100 systems (estimated)
4. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 4
How Dell Client Command Suite saves valuable admin time
How does the Dell suite save so much time? A variety of factors add up to make management with Command
Suite less time-intensive than managing through Intel AMT alone. Here are some of the features we tested:
Ease of setup
Command Suite uses a clean GUI
to walk you through Intel AMT
configuration, using information
you provide to set up the solution
for you. Without Command Suite,
setting up Intel AMT can take many
hours of research, trial, and error if
you aren’t already an expert.
One-to-many administration
Traditionally, managing employee
devices requires working with
each device individually. This adds
up to a lot of time wasted for
management tasks that need to be
applied en masse.
Command Suite saves administrators time by
requiring only a single command before pushing said
command out to any number of employee devices.
Through the intuitive GUI, an admin simply specifies
their desired changes and selects the target systems—
that’s the end of their involvement. Command Suite
then goes to work, sending the command to each
targeted system and freeing the admin to take care of
whatever’s next for the day.
Thanks to this one-to-many capability, Roger takes the
same amount of time no matter how many devices
he configures. Whether it’s five, ten, or a hundred
devices, Roger’s time commitment is the same:
minimal and streamlined. Without the Dell suite, the
amount of hands-on time would grow proportionally
with each additional device.
Out-of-band administration
A feature of Intel AMT, out-of-band
management means administrators
can push updates to employee
devices regardless of whether
they’re turned off or disconnected
from your office network. Combined
with one-to-many administration, this means Roger
can push updates to hundreds of machines and not
have to worry about whether someone’s computer is
offline or out of power.
Task sequences
In Command Suite, task sequences
are automated scripts that run
locally on the target client. The Dell
suite comes with a task sequence
that configures Intel AMT on target
systems. Without the task sequence,
Roger would have to manually configure each device,
taking up hours of his time.
All these features add up to a more manageable
management solution for admins. By the end of the
day, Roger is glad his company chose to invest in
the technology.
Manage devices from anywhere with Intel AMT
Management with Intel AMT can take place from any of your offices, no matter
how remote. As long as the target device is connected to the corporate network,
you can manage it just as you would your local fleet.
5. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 5
Conclusion
Device management can be a challenging and time-consuming affair for your administrators to handle. But with
the right tools, admins could finish their management tasks faster and dedicate their valuable time to other
mission-critical work.
We found that the tools Command Suite offers can speed up and simplify device management compared
to management through just Intel AMT on an HP device. The ease of configuring Intel AMT combined with
task sequences, out-of-band management capabilities, one-to-many administration, and other features make
Command Suite an attractive management solution for fleets equipped with Intel AMT.
6. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 6
On January 17, 2018, we finalized the hardware and software configurations we tested. Updates for current and
recently released hardware and software appear often, so unavoidably these configurations may not represent
the latest versions available when this report appears. For older systems, we chose configurations representative
of typical purchases of those systems. We concluded hands-on testing on February 1, 2018.
Appendix A: System configuration information
System Dell OptiPlex™
7050 Micro Desktop HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
Processor
Vendor Intel®
Intel
Name Core™
i5 Core i5
Model number 7500T 7500T
Core frequency (GHz) 2.7 – 3.3 2.7 – 3.3
Number of cores 4 4
Cache 6 MB L3 6 MB L3
Memory
Amount (GB) 8 GB 8 GB
Type DDR4 DDR4
Speed (MHz) 2,400 2,400
Graphics
Vendor Intel Intel
Model number HD Graphics 630 HD Graphics 630
Storage
Amount 1 TB 1 TB
Type 7,200 RPM 7,200 RPM
Connectivity/expansion
Wired internet Intel I219-LM Intel I219-LM
USB
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Port
5 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port
1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C Port
6 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port
Video
1 x DisplayPort 1.2
1 x HDMI
3 x DisplayPort 1.2
Display
Size (in.) 22 22
Type LED Backlit LED Backlit
Resolution 1,920 x 1,080 1,920 x 1,080
Touchscreen No No
7. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 7
System Dell OptiPlex™
7050 Micro Desktop HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
Operating system
Vendor Microsoft Microsoft
Name Windows®
10 Pro Windows 10 Pro
Build number or version Build 16299 (1709) Build 16299 (1709)
BIOS
BIOS name and version Dell 1.6.5 HP P21 Ver.02.11
8. Speed up (and simplify) employee device management April 2018 | 8
Appendix B: How we tested
Setting up the tests
Setting up the Microsoft SCCM environment
Configuring Windows Server 2016
After installing Windows Server on our golden VM and installing all updates up to 01/19/2018, we configured Windows by making the
following changes. We then cloned the VM to a template to use for all VMs.
Configuring Windows Update
1. In the left pane of the Server Manager window, click Local Server.
2. In the main frame, next to Windows Update, click Not configured.
3. In the Windows Update window, in the main pane, click Let me choose my settings.
4. Under Important updates, select Never check for updates (not recommended), and click OK.
5. In the left pane, click Check for updates, and install all available updates.
6. Close the Windows Update window.
Configuring Windows Firewall
1. In Server Manager, click ToolsWindows Firewall with Advanced Security.
2. In the Overview section, click Windows Firewall Properties.
3. In the Domain Profile tab, for Firewall state, click Off.
4. In the Private Profile tab, for Firewall state, click Off.
5. In the Public Profile tab, for Firewall state, click Off.
6. Click OK.
7. Close the Windows Firewall Properties window.
Setting up Remote Desktop
1. In the Local Server tab of the Server Manager window, next to Remote Desktop, click Disabled.
2. In the System Properties window that appears, in the Remote Desktop section, select the Allow remote connections to this computer
radio button, and click OK when the warning message appears.
3. Uncheck Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (recommended) and
click OK.
Disabling IE Enhanced Security Configuration
1. In the Local Server tab of the Server Manager window, next to IE Enhanced Security Configuration, click On.
2. In the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration window, select the Off radio buttons for both Administrators and Users, and
click OK.
Installing and configuring the infrastructure server
We cloned our Windows Server 2016 DC VM to create an Active Directory VM, a Certificate Authority VM, and a System Center
Configuration Manager VM.
Configuring AD/DNS/DHCP
1. Power on the Active Directory VM.
2. On the Active Directory server, open Windows PowerShell®
as administrator.
3. Run the following command: Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-ADDS
4. When the installation is finished, close PowerShell.
5. Open Server Manager.
6. On the Welcome screen, click 2, and click Add roles and features.
7. At the initial Before you begin screen, click Next three times.
8. At the Server Roles screen, select Active Directory Domain Services.
9. On the pop-up window, click Add Features.
10. Click Next three times.
11. Verify the desired role is being installed, and click Install.
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12. Once installation has finished, close the Add roles and features wizard.
13. In Server Manager, click the flag at the top, and select the Promote this server to a domain controller link.
14. Select Add a new forest, enter a root domain name of test.local, and click Next.
15. On the Domain Controller Options screen, enter a password, and click Next.
16. On the DNS Options screen, click Next.
17. On the Additional Options screen, click Next.
18. On the Paths screen, click Next.
19. On the Review Options screen, click Next.
20. On the Prerequisites screen, verify all prerequisites have passed, and click Install.
21. Once Active Directory Domain Services finishes installing, click Finish, and restart the system.
Adding DHCP
1. Open Server Manager.
2. On the Welcome screen, click 2, and click Add roles and features.
3. At the initial Before you begin screen, click Next three times.
4. At the Server Roles screen, select DHCP Server.
5. On the pop-up window, click Add Features.
6. Click Next three times.
7. Verify the desired role is being installed, and click Install.
8. Once installation has finished, close the Add roles and features wizard.
9. In Server Manager, click the flag at the top of the screen and select Complete DHCP configuration.
10. In the DHCP Post-Install configuration wizard window, click Next.
11. At the Authorization Screen, click Commit.
12. At the Summary screen, click Close.
13. In Administrative Tools, open the DHCP service.
14. Expand ad.test.local, then right click IPv4 and select New Scope
15. In the New Scope Wizard window, click Next.
16. At the scope name screen, name the scope Laptops, and click Next.
17. In the IP Address Range, enter the desired scope settings for your network.
18. Click Next four times.
19. At the Router screen, enter the gateway address to be used by the clients, and click Next.
20. Click Next three times.
21. At the Completing the New Scope Wizard screen, click Finish.
Creating Containers and Extending the AD Schema
1. On the Domain Controller, run ADSI Edit.
2. On the toolbar, select ActionConnect to…
3. Accept the defaults by clicking OK.
4. Under Default Naming ContextDC- test, DC=local, right-click CN = System, and select NewObject…
5. Select Container, and click Next.
6. Under Value, enter System Management. Click Next, and click Finish.
7. Run Active Directory Users and Computers.
8. On the toolbar, select View, and click Advanced Features.
9. Under test.localSystem, right click System Management. Choose Delegate Control.
10. Click Next.
11. Click Add.
12. Click Object Types and select Computers, and click OK.
13. Enter CM, the computer account for the configuration server, as an object name, and click OK.
14. Click Next.
15. Select Create a custom task to delegate, and click Next.
16. Choose This folder, existing objects… and click Next.
17. Click Full Control, and click Next.
18. Click Finish.
19. Attach the SCCM installation media to the VM.
20. From the installation media, navigate to SMSSETUPBINX64. Right-click extadsch, and run as administrator.
21. Review extadsch.log at the root of the system drive to confirm the operation was successful.
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Creating Active Directory accounts for System Center Configuration Manager
1. On the Domain Controller, open Active Directory Administrative Center
2. Under test (local), in the Tasks panel, click New, and select Group from the drop-down menu.
3. In the Create Group window, use the following options:
• Group name: Kerberos Admins
• Group type: Security
• Group scope: Global
4. Add Kerberos Admins as a member of the Domain Admins group.
5. Add the computer account of the SCCM server to the Kerberos Admins security group, and click OK.
6. Create an Organizational Unit for AMT managed systems called AMT Managed.
7. Create a security group called AMT Control.
Configuring the environment
Configuring Post Active Directory deployment
1. On the Certificate Authority and Configuration Manager servers, change the name of the server. For Certificate Authority, name it CA.
For the Configuration Manager server, name it CM.
2. Set a static IP address for each server.
3. Join each server to the domain using the Join domain option.
Adding the configuration manager server as a trusted server
1. On the Certificate Authority and Configuration Manager servers, run lusrmgr.msc
2. Select Groups.
3. Right-click Administrators, and click Properties.
4. Click Add.
5. Select Object Types, check the box for Computers, and click OK.
6. Add the computer name for the management server.
Installing Microsoft SQL Server®
2016
1. Log into the Configuration Manager server as domainadministrator.
2. Attach the installation media for SQL 2016, and run the setup.exe file.
3. In the SQL Server Installation Window, select Installation from the menu on the left, and select New SQL Server stand-alone installation
or add features to an existing installation.
4. In the SQL Server 2016 Setup Window, allow it to check prerequisites. When this is process is complete, click Next.
5. In the SQL Server 2016 Setup Window, at the Product Updates screen, click Next.
6. At the Install Setup Files screen, allow the wizard to install the files.
7. At the Setup Support rules screen, click Next.
8. At the Product Key screen, enter a valid product key, and click Next.
9. At the License Terms screen, accept the license terms, and click Next.
10. At the Setup Role screen, select SQL Server Feature Installation, and click Next.
11. At the Feature Selection screen, under Instances Features, select Database Engine Services with Full-Text and Semantic Extractions for
Search and Data Quality Services, Reporting Services - Native, and SQL Client Connectivity SDK. Click Next.
12. Allow the Installation Rules check to run, and click Next.
13. At the Instance Configuration screen, select Default Instance and leave the default Instance ID.
14. At the Disk Space Requirements screen, click Next.
15. At the Server Configuration screen, set Startup Type for Server Agent, SQL Server Database Engine, and Server Browser as Automatic,
and click Next.
16. At the Database Engine Configuration screen, select Mixed authentication mode, and add a password.
17. Click Add Current user.
18. Click Next three times.
19. Verify that the Summary is correct, and click Install.
20. Click finish when prompted.
21. Download Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio 17.4 from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/ssms/download-sql-server-
management-studio-ssms, and install using all defaults.
22. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio.
23. Sign into your SQL database.
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24. Right-click your SQL host, and select Properties.
25. Select the memory page.
26. Change the minimum server memory to 8192.
27. Change maximum server memory to 16384. Click OK.
28. Click SQL Server Services in the tree.
29. Right-click SQL Server (Instance Name).
30. On the Log On tab, change the Account Name to testadministrator.
31. A popup will request to restart the service. Select Yes.
Installing the Certificate Authority
1. On the Certificate Authority Server, log in using the test.localadministrator account.
2. Launch Server Manager.
3. Click Add roles and features.
4. In the Add Roles and Features Wizard, click Next three times.
5. Select Active Directory Certificate Services. On the pop-up, click Add Features. Click Next.
6. Click Next until you reach the confirmation screen.
7. Click Install. When complete, click Close.
8. In Server Manager, click the flag, and select the Post-deployment Configuration task.
9. In the AD CS Configuration Window, click Next.
10. Check the box for Certification Authority, and click Next.
11. Select Enterprise for the setup type, and click Next.
12. Choose Root CA for the CA type, and click Next.
13. Select Create a New Private Key, and click Next.
14. Accept all remaining defaults, and click Next through the remaining screens.
15. When prompted to begin configuration, click Configure.
16. To exit the wizard, click Close. Restart the server before continuing to the next steps.
Creating certificate templates for out-of-band management
1. Sign into ca.test.local using the domainadministrator account.
2. Open the Certification Authority.
3. Right-click the test-CA-CA, and click Properties.
4. On the General tab, click View Certificate.
5. On the Details tab, scroll to and select Thumbprint. Copy the 40-character code displayed in the details. You will add this information to
the AMT BIOS later.
6. Click Ok to close the Certificate Authority properties.
Create the AMT provisioning certificate
1. Expand the Certification Authority, and select Certificate Templates.
2. Right-click Certificate Templates, and select Manage.
3. Locate Web Server in the list of available certificate templates. Right-click the template, and select Duplicate Template.
4. Select Windows 2003.
5. In the General tab, change the template name to AMT Provisioning.
6. On the General tab, choose the option Publish Certificate in Active Directory.
7. On the Subject Name tab, select Build from this Active Directory Information. Select Common Name, and choose the option UPN.
8. On the Request Handling tab, check the box for Allow private key to be exported.
9. On the Security tab, add Kerberos Admins and domain computers. Add the Enroll permission for the security group. Ensure
administrators and domain computers have Enroll permissions.
10. On the Extensions tab, select Application Policies, and click Edit.
11. Click Add. Click New. Type AMT Provisioning for the name, and 2.16.840.1.113741.1.2.3 as the Object Identifier. Click OK.
12. Ensure AMT Provisioning and Server Authentication are listed, and click OK.
13. Click OK to close the template properties.
Create the AMT Web Server Certificate
1. Right-click the web server template, and select Duplicate Template.
2. Select Windows 2003AMT.
3. On the General tab, change the template name to AMT Web Server Certificate.
4. On the General tab, choose the option Publish Certificate in Active Directory.
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5. On the Subject Name tab, select Build from this Active Directory Information. Select Common Name, and choose the option UPN.
6. On the Security tab, ensure Domain Admins and Enterprise Admins have Enroll permissions.
7. Click OK to close the template properties.
Issue the certificate templates to Issue
1. In Certification Authority, expand test-CA-CA.
2. Right-click the Certificate Templates and select NewCertificate Template to Issue. If it is not available, restart the virtual machine.
3. Select the AMT Provisioning Template.
4. Click OK.
5. Repeat steps 2 through 4 for the AMT Web Server Certificate Template.
Request the certificates on the Configuration Manager server
1. Log into the Configuration Manager server as domainadministrator.
2. Click StartRun. Type mmc, and press Enter.
3. In the mmc console, click FileAdd/Remove Snap-in…
4. Select Certificates, and click Add. Select Computer account. Click Next.
5. Select Local computer, and click Finish.
6. Click OK.
7. Expand CertificatesPersonal.
8. In the right panel, click More ActionsAll TasksRequest a new certificate…
9. Click Next.
10. Accept the defaults, and click Next.
11. Select the AMT Provisioning and AMT Web Server Certificate. Click Enroll.
Installing required Windows features and roles for System Center Configuration Manager
1. Sign into cm.test.local using the domainadministrator account.
2. Download the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 10 from the following Web site: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/
p/?linkid=859206
3. Run adksetup.exe.
4. Select Install the Assessment and Deployment Kit to this computer, and choose an installation path. Click Next.
5. Select Deployment tools, Windows Pre-installation Environment features, and User State Migration Tool. Click Install.
6. When the install finishes, click Close.
7. Run the following commands in Windows PowerShell with administrator privileges:
Get-Module servermanager
Install-WindowsFeature Web-Windows-Auth
Install-WindowsFeature Web-ISAPI-Ext
Install-WindowsFeature Web-Metabase
Install-WindowsFeature Web-WMI
Install-WindowsFeature Web-DAV-Publishing
Install-WindowsFeature BITS
Install-WindowsFeature RDC
Install-WindowsFeature NET-Framework-Features -source yournetworkyoursharesxs
Install-WindowsFeature Web-Asp-Net
Install-WindowsFeature Web-Asp-Net45
Install-WindowsFeature NET-HTTP-Activation
Install-WindowsFeature NET-Non-HTTP-Activ
8. Run Windows Update, and install updates.
9. Restart the server.
Installing System Center Configuration Manager 1702
1. Sign into cm.domain using the domainadministrator account.
2. Attach the SCCM 1702 Installation media to the management server.
3. Open splash.hta.
4. Click Install.
5. Read the Before You Begin section, click Next.
6. Choose Install a primary site. Choose use typical options.
7. Enter the product key.
8. Check the box to accept the License Terms, and click Next.
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9. Accept the license agreements, and click Next.
10. Enter a path for the prerequisite file downloads. We used C:Downloads
11. Select a language, and click Next for both server and client.
12. Enter a site code for the primary site. We used PTT.
13. Enter a Site Name. We used PT Test.
14. Click Next twice.
15. On the Settings Summary Screen, click Next.
16. Ensure that the console will be installed, and click Next.
17. Install as a primary stand-alone site.
18. Enter the SQL server name, and click Next.
19. Leave the default Database information, and click Next.
20. Accept the default SMS provider, and click Next.
21. Select the option to Configure the communication method on each site system role.
22. Select Clients will use HTTPS when they have a valid PKI certificate and HTTPS-enabled site roles are available, and click Next.
23. Select HTTP for Management Point and Distribution point, and click Next.
24. Select I don’t want to join the program at this time, and click Next.
25. Click Next.
26. Run the prerequisites check, and resolve any issues displayed.
27. Click Begin Install, and click Close when the installation is complete.
28. Download and install the installation for System Center R2 SP1 Configuration Manager from the following website: support.microsoft.
com/kb/2922875/en-us
29. Download and install the cumulative update.
Configuring SCCM for Intel AMT testing
This is not required for testing DCCS and is completed only for the Intel AMT use cases.
1. In the SCCM console, under AdministrationSite Configuration, click Server and Site System Roles.
2. Right-click cm.test.local, and select Add Site System Roles.
3. In the Add Site System Roles Wizard, click Next twice.
4. Select the Fallback status point, and click Next.
5. Click Summary.
6. Click Next.
Installing Intel Setup and Configuration Software (SCS) 11.1
1. Download IntelSCS_11.1.zip from https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/26505.
2. Extract the contents to C:IntelSCS_11.2.
3. Browse to C:IntelSCS_11.2IntelSCSRCS.
4. Run IntelSCSInstaller.exe.
5. At the Welcome screen, click Next.
6. Select I accept the terms of the license agreement, and click Next.
7. Check the Boxes for Remote Configuration Service (RCS), Database Mode, and Console.
8. Enter the credentials of the Domain account that will run the service. We used test.localadministrator. Click Next.
9. Select cm.test.local as the location for the SCS database. This information may populate automatically. Select Windows Authentication,
and click Next.
10. On the Create Intel SCS Database pop-up, click Create Database.
11. On the confirmation screen, click Close.
12. On the confirmation screen, leave the default Installation Folder, and click Install.
13. Once the installation is complete, click Next.
14. Click Finish.
Installing the provisioning certificate
1. Open MMC, and add the certificates snap-in, targeted at the local computer.
2. Navigate to Personal, Certificates.
3. Right-click the AMT Provisioning Certificate, and choose Open.
4. On the Details tab, click Copy to file.
5. On the Welcome screen, click Next.
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6. On the Export Private Key screen, choose Yes, export the private key, and choose Next.
7. On the Export File Format screen, check the boxes for Include all certificates in the certification path if possible and Export all extended
properties. Click Next.
8. On the Password screen, enter a password to protect the private key.
9. On the File to Export screen, enter C:Install_Filesscs-prov-cert.pfx, and click Next.
10. On the Completed screen, click Close.
11. From an elevated command prompt, run the following commands:
SCS_download_pacakge_11.2.0.35utilsRCSutils.exe
/Certificate Add c:Install_Filesscs-prov-cert.pfx Password1
net stop rcsserver
net start rcsserver
12. To verify, run the following command, and make sure the expected certificate is listed:
RCSUtils.exe /certificate view /RCSuser NetworkService /log file C:rcsout.txt
Creating the AMT configuration profile
1. On the management server, launch the Intel Setup and Configuration Console.
2. Click Profiles.
3. To construct a profile for deployment, click New.
4. For Profile Name, enter a description of the target clients. We used wireless. Click OK.
5. On the Getting Started Screen, choose Configuration / Reconfiguration.
6. On the Optional Settings screen, choose the options Active Directory Integration, Access Control List (ACL), and Transport Layer
Security (TLS), Network Configuration, Wired 802.1x and click Next.
7. On the AD Integration screen, browse for the OU created for the AMT managed devices. We used OU=AMT, DC=test, DC=local.
Click Next.
8. On the Access Control List screen, click Add.
9. Select Active Directory User/Group. Click Browse.
10. Add Kerberos Admin, Domain Admins, or other administrative users groups. Click OK.
11. For Access Type, select Remote.
12. Choose the option for PT Administration. Click OK.
13. Click Next.
14. On the TLS screen, from the drop-down menu, select the Enterprise Certificate Authority, ca.test.local.
15. Select the Server Certificate Template to be used to generate certificates for the AMT devices. We selected AMTWebServerCertificate.
Click Next.
16. On the Network Configuration Screen, select Allow Wired connection with the following WiFi setups.
17. Click Add…
18. On the 802.1x Setup screen, click Edit list.
19. Click Add, then use the test-CA certificate authority. Click OK.
20. Click OK.
21. On the System Settings screen, choose the options Web UI, Serial Over LAN, IDE Redirection, and KVM Redirection.
22. Select Use the following password for all systems. Enter the password for use after provisioning is complete. We used P@ssw0rd
23. Enter the RFB Password for KVM sessions. We used P@ssw0rd
24. Enter the MEBX password. We used P@ssw0rd
25. Click KVM Settings…, uncheck User Consent required before beginning KVM session, and click OK.
26. Check the boxes for the following options:
a. Synchronize Intel AMT clock with operating system
b. Enable Intel AMT to respond to ping requests
c. Enable Fast Call for Help (within the enterprise network)
27. To Edit IP and FQDN settings, click Set.
28. In the Network Settings window, select Use the following as the FQDN, and choose Primary DNS FQDN from the drop-down menu.
29. Choose the option that indicates the device and the OS will have the same FQDN (Shared FQDN).
30. Select Get the IP from the DHCP server.
31. Select Update the DNS directly or via DHCP option 81. Click OK.
32. Click Next.
33. Click Finish.
Adding the configurator to a shared folder
1. Create a shared folder called amtshare
2. Copy the file at C:IntelSCS_11.3IntelSCSConfigurator to the shared C:amtshare folder.
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Installing certificates on target systems
Configuration for our laptop varied from this since we used a self-signed certificate. In order to configure the system, we first manually input
our configuration information into the pre-boot MEBx menu. This work around will not be necessary for users who purchase their certificates.
1. On each target system, during boot, press Ctrl + P to enter the Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension.
2. Enter the Intel ME Password. The default is admin. We changed ours to P@ssw0rd
3. Navigate to Intel ME General SettingsRemote Setup and Configuration, TLS PKI, and select Manage Hashes.
4. Press the insert key to add a certificate hash.
5. Enter a name for the hash.
6. Enter the 40-character thumbprint recorded before.
7. Exit the MEBx menu.
Testing methodology
Before each test, ensure all target desktops are powered on and are signed out of the user account. Ensure that all systems are domain
joined and that they have the configuration manager client installed prior to running the provisioning command. Ensure all systems are
connected to a monitor.
Dell with DCCS
At the beginning of all tests, the administrator is logged into the management server at the desktop. Tests in this section require additional
time for the commands to complete during which the administrator is not actively inputting commands. We refer to this as system time. We
have recorded both admin time and system time in Appendix C.
Configuring AMT
Prior to this test, ensure all target clients have been added to the target collection.
1. On the Configuration Manager server, open the configuration manager console.
2. Open the Assets and Compliance panel.
3. Open Device Collections.
4. Right-click the collection that you wish to deploy to, and select DeployTask Sequence.
5. In the Deploy Software Wizard, next to Task Sequence, click Browse.
6. Select the vPro-AMT Configure Client task sequence, and click OK.
7. In the Deploy Software Wizard, click Next.
8. Next to Purpose, select Required, and click Next.
9. Select a time when the deployment will become available, and click Next.
10. On the user experience screen, click Next.
11. On the Alerts screen, click Next.
12. On the Distribution Points screen, click Next.
13. On the Summary screen, click Next.
For timing purposes, we used RDP to connect to the target system and ran a Machine Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle using the
Configuration Manager Properties menu in Control Panel to trigger the install.
For the two-system test, we completed steps 1 through 13 once, but added the additional client to the collection prior to running the test.
1. Change BIOS Settings
2. Open the Dell Intel vPro Out of Band plugin.
3. Under Client Configuration, select BIOS Settings.
4. On Active Processor Cores, select All, and check the Apply checkbox. Click Next.
5. Add the target system, and click Next.
6. Add a description, and click Next. We typed test
7. Click Finish.
For the two-system test, we completed steps 1 through 7 once, but selected all systems in step 5.
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Changing 10 BIOS settings
1. Open the Dell Intel vPro Out of Band plugin.
2. Under Client Configuration, select BIOS Settings.
3. For Auto On, check the box, and select Every day.
4. For Active Processor Cores, check the box, and select All.
5. For Enable Audio, check the box, and select Enabled
6. For SATA-0, check the box, and select Enabled.
7. For Trusted Execution, check the box, and select Enabled.
8. For Intel TurboBoost, check the box, and select Enabled.
9. For Front USB Ports, check the box, and select Enabled.
10. For USB Rear Port 1, check the box, and select Enabled.
11. For VT for Direct IO, check the box, and select Enabled.
12. For Wake on LAN, check the box, and select LAN or WLAN. Click Next.
13. Select the clients to add.
14. Click Next.
15. Add a description.
16. Click Finish
For the two-system test, we completed steps 1 through 16 once, but selected all systems in step 13.
Changing the boot order
1. Open the Dell Intel vPro Out of Band plugin.
2. Under Client Configuration, select Boot Order.
3. Select only Internal HDD (IRRT) boot and click Next.
4. Add the target system and click Next.
5. Add a description, and click Next. We typed test.
6. Click Finish.
For the two-system test, we completed steps 1 through 6 once, but selected all systems in step 4.
Setting a system password on the target system
1. Open the Dell Intel vPro Out of Band plugin.
2. Under Client Configuration, select Passwords.
3. Select Set, and select Administrator.
4. Enter and confirm a BIOS Password, and click Next. We used Password1.
5. Add the target system, and click Next.
6. Add a description, and click Next. We typed test.
7. Click Finish.
For the two-system test, we completed steps 1 through 7 once, but selected all systems in step 5.
Wiping the Client Data on the target system
1. Open the Dell Intel vPro Out of Band plugin.
2. Under Operations, select Wipe Client Disk.
3. Add the target system, and click Next.
4. Add a description, and click Next. We typed test.
5. Click Finish.
We do not include time or steps for this task, but did complete it to verify functionality.
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Enabling Intel vPro without the Dell Command Integration Suite
We completed this test for the Dell desktops and recorded it as a manual task.
1. Log into the target system over RDP using testadministrator.
2. Navigate to the shared folder on the configuration server, and copy the Configurator folder onto the desktop.
3. Open the target folder.
4. Click File, navigate to Open command prompt, then click Open command prompt as Administrator.
5. Run the following command in the elevated command prompt:
ACUConfig.exe /Verbose /Output console ConfigViaRCSOnly cm.test.local test
After starting the previous command, stop the admin time timer, and start the system time timer. Stop the system time timer and once the
command stops running and exits with code 0, indicating a successfully provisioned system.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1-5 for the second system. Immediately start repeating the above steps on the second system and do
not start the system time timer till you complete the steps for the second system.
Conducting the Intel vPro and manual tests
We used the steps in the sections below for both vPro and Manual tests. vPro tests use vPro’s KVM feature to complete the task. Manual tasks
are completed at the target desktop’s console.
For all vPro tests, we use Intel Manageability KVM to complete the task.
1. Open the Intel Manageability Connector.
2. Connect to the target system.
3. Click Remote Desktop.
We added these steps to the total steps for all vPro tasks. Additionally, all two-system tests repeat steps 2 through 3 for the second system.
Changing one BIOS setting
For vPro tests, use Intel Manageability Commander to connect to the target system. For non-vPro tests, complete the actions when
connected via the Intel Manageability Commander.
Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro Desktop
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under Performance, select Multi Core Support.
3. For Multi Core Support, select All.
4. Click Exit and click Yes when prompted to save changes.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1 through 4 on the second system.
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under Advanced, select System options.
3. For Core Multi-processing, select Enabled.
4. Press F10 and click Yes to save Changes.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1 through 4 on the second system.
Change 10 BIOS settings
For Intel vPro tests, use Intel Manageability Commander to connect to the target system. For non-vPro tests, complete the actions when
connected via the Intel Manageability Commander.
Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro Desktop
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under System Configuration, select Drives.
3. For SATA-0, check the box for SATA-0.
4. Under System Configuration, select USB Configuration.
5. Check the box for Enable Front USB Ports.
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6. Under System Configuration, select Front USB Configuration.
7. Check the box for Front Port 1 w/ Power Share(Bottom)*.
8. Under Onboard Audio Controller, click Audio.
9. Check the box for the Enable Audio option.
10. Under Performance, select Multi Core Support.
11. For Multi Core Support, select All.
12. Select Intel TurboBoost.
13. Check the Box for Enable Intel TurboBoost.
14. Under Virtualization Support, select Virtualization.
15. Check the box for Enable Intel Virtualization Technology.
16. For Direct I/O, Select VT.
17. For Direct I/O, Check the box for Enable VT.
18. Select Trusted Execution.
19. Check the box for Trusted Execution.
20. Under Power Management, select Wake on LAN/WLAN.
21. For Wake on LAN/WLAN, select LAN or WLAN.
22. Click Exit, and click Yes when prompted to save changes.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1 through 22 on the second system.
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under Security, for Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), check the box.
3. Under Advanced, click System options.
4. For Turbo-boost, check the box.
5. For Multi-processor, check the box.
6. For Virtualization Technology (VTx), check the box.
7. For Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VTd), check the box. Click back.
8. Select Built-In Device Options.
9. For Wake On LAN, select Boot to Normal Boot Order.
10. For Audio Device, check the box. Click Back.
11. Select Port Options.
12. For SATA1, check the Box.
13. For Front USB ports, check the box.
14. For Front USB Port 1, check the Box.
15. Press F10 and click Yes to save Changes.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1-15 on the second system.
Changing the boot order
For Intel vPro tests, use Intel Manageability Commander to connect to the target system. For non-vPro tests, complete the actions when
connected via the Intel Manageability Commander.
Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro Desktop
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under General, select Boot sequence.
3. Select the Onboard NIC and uncheck the box.
4. Click Exit and agree to save changes.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1 through 4 on the second system.
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under Advanced, select Boot Options.
3. Uncheck the checkbox next to Network (PXE) Boot.
4. Press ESC, and click Yes to Save and Exit.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1 through 4 on the second system.
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Changing the system password
For Intel vPro tests, use Intel Manageability Commander to connect to the target system. For non-vPro tests, completed the following actions
at the console.
Dell OptiPlex 7050 Micro Desktop
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. In the Dell OptiPlex 7050 setup menu, under security, select Admin Password.
3. Enter and confirm and the new Password. We used Password1.
4. Click Exit, and click Save when prompted.
For the two-system test, repeat steps 1 through 4 on the second system.
HP EliteDesk 800 G3 Mini
1. Reboot the target client to System Setup.
2. Under Security, select Create BIOS system password.
3. For Enter BIOS Administrator Password, enter a Password. We used Password1.
4. Confirm the Password.
5. Press F10, and click Yes to save Changes.
For the two-systems test, repeat steps 1 through 5 on the second system.
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Appendix C: Our results
The tables below show the admin time required to manage one, two, and 100 systems.
Admin time to complete
management tasks (mm:ss)
Single-system tests Two-system tests
Task Dell AMT only Manual Dell AMT only Manual
Provisioning AMT 0:48 0:50 N/A 0:46 1:42 N/A
Changing a BIOS setting 0:25 0:52 0:39 0:25 1:39 1:16
Changing 10 BIOS settings 1:35 1:45 1:51 1:35 3:24 3:39
Changing the boot order 0:21 0:52 0:49 0:21 1:43 1:35
Changing the system password 0:28 0:57 0:50 0:28 1:53 1:41
Admin time to complete management tasks - 100-system extrapolation (hh:mm:ss)
Task Dell AMT only Time saved
Percent
savings
Manual Time saved
Percent
savings
Provisioning AMT 0:00:46 1:26:39 1:25:53 99.1% N/A N/A N/A
Changing a BIOS setting 0:00:25 1:18:43 1:18:18 99.4% 1:01:40 1:01:15 99.3%
Changing 10 BIOS settings 0:00:95 2:45:26 2:43:51 99.0% 2:59:28 2:57:54 99.1%
Changing the boot order 0:00:21 1:25:20 1:24:59 99.5% 1:16:53 1:16:32 99.5%
Changing the system password 0:00:28 1:33:10 1:32:42 99.5% 1:24:49 1:24:20 99.4%
The tables below show the admin steps required to manage one, two, and 100 systems.
Admin steps to complete
management task
Single-system tests Two-system test
Task Dell AMT only Manual Dell AMT only Manual
Provisioning AMT 13 5 N/A 13 10 N/A
Changing a BIOS setting 6 7 4 6 13 8
Changing 10 BIOS settings 16 18 15 16 35 30
Changing the boot order 6 7 4 6 13 8
Changing the system password 7 8 5 7 15 10
Admin steps - 100-system extrapolation
Task Dell AMT only Steps saved
Percent
savings
Manual Steps saved
Percent
savings
Provisioning AMT 13 500 487 97.4% N/A N/A N/A
Changing a BIOS setting 6 601 595 99.0% 400 394 98.5%
Changing 10 BIOS settings 6 1,701 1,685 99.0% 1,500 1,484 98.9%
Changing the boot order 16 601 595 99.0% 400 394 98.5%
Changing the system password 7 701 694 99.0% 500 393 98.6%
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