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Introduction
Active Management Technology (AMT) allows for out of band management (OOB) of systems regardless
of their current power state. The initial version of AMT shipped with the HP Compaq dc7700 Business PC
with vPro technology systems is referred to as AMT version 2.0. Version 2.0 will keep the management
engine (ME) active executing the AMT firmware during sleep and power off states when OOB manage-
ment is configured. With this configuration, the HP Compaq dc7700 Business PC with vPro technology
will draw power during these states to provide the OOB capabilities. In some business configurations,
power draw is a big concern. AMT 2.1 addresses this concern by allowing the ME to be placed into a
lower power state to greatly reduce the power draw during system sleep and power states when OOB
management actions are not taking place.
The procedure for updating system firmware is different than on past products. The ME firmware is a sep-
arate entity which can be updated independent of the system BIOS firmware. In the ME sections, the term
“provisioned” describes a vPro AMT system that has been configured by the customer (user or administra-
tor). Please consult the HP white paper “vPro Setup and Configuration for the dc7700 Business PC with
Intel vPro Technology” (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/DocumentIn-
dex.jsp?contentType=SupportManual&lang=en&cc=us&docIndexId=179911&taskId=101&prod-
TypeId=12454&prodSeriesId=3232028#7) for information regarding the vPro provisioning process.
This white paper outlines Hewlett-Packard business PC BIOS flashing and ME update options for the
2006 vPro products. Users or administrators can choose the best method depending on the operating
environment of the computer(s). BIOS and ME updates are available in a downloadable softpaq contain-
ing the BIOS image and upgrade instructions for the various methods. Regardless of the BIOS flash
method, business PC products provide a high degree of upgrade reliability and offer failure safe recov-
ery.
The remaining sections of this document answer frequently-asked questions concerning typical BIOS and
ME flash scenarios.
AMT 2.1 Specific Changes
What is changing in the system upgrade process for AMT 2.1?
To properly configure the HP Compaq dc7700 Business PC with vPro technology for the AMT 2.1 func-
tionality, the system must be altered in the following order:
1. Update the ME firmware to 2.1.0.1029 or later.
2. Update the system BIOS firmware to version 2.0x or later.
3. Configure the ME firmware “Idle Timeout” to allow lower ME power states during OOB inactivity.
ME firmware “Idle Timeout” determines the minutes the ME will wait for management activity during OOB
situations (system in a sleep state) before the ME will transition to a lower power state. This feature allows
the ME to draw less power during inactive OOB situations. If a remote console requests management
information, the ME wakes the system, reconfigures the ME, and places the system back into the original
sleep state. After this operation, the ME will respond to any management query and begin the wait cycle
again before going back to a lower power state. The section “How do I configure the ME Idle Timeout?”
on page 6 provides a detailed description of how the feature is configured.
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