Call in the vProfessionals

By Ed Dawson, PC Authority

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When a helpdesk customer is looking for the any ‘key’, it’s best to take control of their system remotely.

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Intel is famous for it’s blanket brands like Centrino Duo, which means various things to various people. Is it easy to use wireless networking, extended battery life for notebooks, or higher performance computers? It’s intended to be all of the above, but it’d be simplistic to believe one vendor could provide best of breed in all of these areas. Obviously, if people believe that, Intel’s branding has worked. Another blanket Intel brand is of course Viiv, variously a remote control system for media centre PCs, instant power-on ability and an online entertainment service. Intel certainly didn’t invent all of these disparate elements on their own – rather, they’ve acquired technology or set up various forms of partnerships, enabling them to provide all of the features in the ‘all-rounder’ kind of system profile they’re going for (which is likely cooked up by the Intel marketing team). The extent of Intel’s partnering is especially rampant with vPro, with the enormous range of software partners providing their own disparate remote administration tools.

The Intel brand template holds true for Intel vPro, the latest catchy invention from the Santa Clara, California based semiconductor company. vPro is yet another umbrella term that encompasses a collection of various software and hardware elements, this time grouped around support and administration. Like many ambitious projects in their first iteration, it includes a fair number of “expected future capabilities” which are not fully developed at launch.

The promotion for the vPro product line is a series of TV spots called “The PEBKAC Files”. These series show the beginning of several helpdesk calls, where the users have the most minimal knowledge imaginable (actually easy to imagine for those who’ve worked in support), describing their systems as “beige” and what they have running as “just the computer”. With the ability to take control of novice user’s systems, trifling problems can be rapidly mopped up in five minutes, as opposed to what could have been a nightmarish long call comprising part guidance, part education to overcome a basic problem. These amusing pieces highlight the general value of realtime remote system control for helpdesk support, which of course is not only available through vPro. Notably, Dell were not closely involved with the Australian vPro launch, owning as they do their own DellConnect system (announced in August 2006) which allows remote system maintenance via a broadband connection, much as vPro does, but without special hardware requirements.

What is vPro?
vPro is, generally speaking, all about the ability to remotely administrate a user’s PC and take control of it for troubleshooting and maintenance purposes. To distinguish it from the remote administration tools already available, vPro goes one better by (potentially) allowing the administrator the ability to remotely reboot, restart and completely rebuild a machine from the BIOS settings upwards. This technology (collection of technologies, really) is called the Active Management Technology (AMT). From now on, the definition of a dead machine that requires hand-on CPR by a technician will be extended far beyond clinical death and coma, giving our trusty digital surgeons the world over the power of revival at a distance. As long as the customer’s architecture is vPro. In the ideal vPro scenario, the only problems that will require a desktop visit are drastic hardware failures such as power supply or hard drive component failure, but heed this weighty proviso: “As Intel AMT matures, we anticipate that the product’s ability to operate independently of the OS should allow us to extend our control to previously unmanageable situations, such as low power states, non-responsive operating systems, and systems that fail to boot”. Of course, it includes an API to allow partners to help them develop the system’s capabilities and create their own proprietary additions.

BIOS-level configuration
Using traditional remote administration tools, the user’s computer needs to be largely operational, with their operating system intact and typically running a session of Windows XP with broadband Internet access. With vPro, the list of faults that can be restored increases greatly. A system with a total operating system failure can be restored and rebuilt using Intel’s Advanced Management Technology. This would have typically required a deskside visit or at least a tediously long discussion involving location of the Windows disc, the user dictating long error messages and menu screens to the technician. Ideally, if the technician knows the solution, remotely carrying it out ought to be possible within a similar time frame to actually sitting in the room with the customer.

Remote Boot capability
In a business environment, vPro allows streamlined updating of the desktop fleet, as users’ systems can be powered up remotely after hours, then controlled through the AMT interface to update the required software. There is probably scope to even automate this process, when it’s a repetitive action. It’s also easier to take an inventory of software deployed throughout the organisation and maintain correct software licensing. Systems don’t even have to be booted to poll the stored flash memory.

"What kind of computer? It's a beige one."

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