CTOvision.com » Intel

Making vPro Work For You

BryanHalfpap — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 10:13:59 +0000

vPro is a suite of high-impact technology that has just begun to make its presence known in mainstream IT organizations. vPro can help you bring your organization’s security structure into shape with features that make a dramatic positive difference.

vPro technologies are implemented in the hardware and firmware of the Intel chipset in Intel Core 2 Duo computers and above (at the bottom of this post is a link to a list of vPro-enabled processors) which can provide everything from secure remote management to hardware-assisted virtualization. This suite of technologies holds many computer security advantages for the corporations willing and able to take advantage of them.

When you hear vPro think of Active Management Technology (AMT) and Trusted Execution Technology (TXT). There are other capabilities in vPro but these are the first two we recommend implementing to dramatically enhance your enterprise security.

Active Management Technology

AMT is the Intel implementation of the open DASH standard (DASH stands for Desktop and Mobile Architecture for System Hardware) of the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF). Consider an enterprise where computers may need to have a significant amount of reliable up-time through business hours. Most of the machines when they are left for the night are shut off, which means that at 1:00am, the only time that IT has to push security updates, most of the computers are off and only receive updates when turned on the next day by students, causing up-time issues.

By utilizing AMT with vPro-enabled chipsets, the enterprise IT shop could turn on all the computers on the network, allow them to receive the update, and then turn them back off when it is finished. This saves the organization time, money, and vulnerability exposure from the thousands of users browsing the internet from the machines each day.

Other AMT technologies that have security uses/implementations are remote KVM at BIOS and the ability to remotely isolate PC’s from the network at a hardware level

Trusted Execution Technology (TXT):

The Intel Trusted Execution Technology is instrumental in detecting and preventing malware from running on a vPro-enabled computer. At boot-time, the computer checks the validity of the configurations against stored configurations in protected memory in the processor. If the two don’t match, then it can be safely assumed that some tampering has occurred.

The same sort of approach is also taken with encryption key management. The keys are encrypted within hardware, but will only be decrypted when the environment is the same as when the keys were first encrypted. Thus preventing key theft in the event of exploitation.

The TXT system also allows for increased protection with the both the display and the input of data to a system with TXT-developed software. USB keyboards can be configured to have encrypted communications with the system, and software applications can be developed using more secure system calls to the computer display, preventing applications that sniff internal communications from stealing sensitive information.

Theft Protection:

Theft protection is one of the biggest and most-developed areas of the vPro technology suite. By utilizing the out-of-band communication capabilities built-in the to vPro system, some proprietary Intel technologies, and a 3G wireless connection built into the laptop, fears about stolen laptops and desktops can be alleviated quickly and efficiently using a “poison pill”.

The poison pill is a code that can be sent remotely by system administrators from an asset management console to the device to render it inaccessible and useless by deleting encryption keys and disabling key boot processes. This code can be sent via wireless 3G, wired, WiFi, or SMS to the target device. When the poison pill is sent, the target computer. Different conditions can be set for the computer to activate its theft mode locally as well, such as a specified number of login failures, or failure to check in with the remote server after a designated time interval.

Beyond the Boundaries:

Today’s businesses are more and more often placing people outside of the relative safety of the internal corporate network and into unknown and sometimes even dangerous locales. By setting up a secure method of communications with the corporate network, companies can be more assured of the integrity, confidentiality, and accessibility of their data. But how does a company go about implementing this?

By building a network from the ground-up with compliant hardware, and utilizing a vPro gateway, properly configured clients will be able to establish highly secured and encrypted communications throughout their travels. By combining the security and management features with the roaming security tunnels, a fairly secure system with high accessibility could be achieved by a determined organization.

Comparisons to “Current” Tech:

Most of the issues with current tech is the lack of high-level integration with the hardware, firmware, and software of a computer in the sense that usually a software breach can compromise firmware and sometimes hardware. What the vPro system has done is reduced the available information to be gained from exploiting the operating system, automatically disabled infected and stolen computers, and created a remote viewing and on/off switch that has a high degree of manageability.

Current solutions generally don’t stand up to the same kinds of tasks because the solutions require complex hardware solutions that Intel is offering here in the form of AMT and their Third Party Protected Storage system. Sure, a company could continue to use full disk encryption, VPN’s, and Active Directory, but these solutions lack Out-of-Band communications with hardware, and are all software solutions with their own separate flaws and vulnerabilities that could each be exploited to affect the others (even the full disk encryption has methods for being defeated. vPro technologies could mitigate or negate many current attacks).

More Resources for vPro technology application:

List of processors supporting vPro: http://www.intel.com/support/vpro/sb/CS-030703.htm#core17m

Intel vPro Whitepaper: http://www.intel.com/technology/vpro/pdf/intelcorevprowhitepaper.pdf

More about AMT and its features: http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/32/09/320960_320960.pdf

Configuring Your Enterprise Hardware to NIST Standards (ctovision.com)

Hardware Really Matters for Computer Functionality and Security

BobGourley — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:24:37 +0000

It may be stating the obvious to say that the hardware you use has a direct impact on the functionality of your IT. That is so fundamental of a statement it really goes without saying. But for some reason decision-makers gloss over the importance of hardware to security design. Why? The hardware you pick has a direct impact on the security of your enterprise.

This matters at even layer of your enterprise. From devices to networks to servers and storage. The hardware you use has security ramifications.

Consider, for example, Intel Corporation’s vPro technology. This is a capability that comes with modern PC’s. This component of hardware provides management features that enable systems administrators to exert control over devices to ensure computers are operating well and to ensure they are working securely. This capability enables remote management, security monitoring and updating of PCs. vPro has several components (my favorites are Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) and Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT). AMT is hardware that enables the secure remote management of enterprise PCs. TXT is the only technology I know of that verifies the launch environment and establishes a root of trust. TXT enables trust at a fundamental/foundational layer. Without it, no PC can be secure. With it, more secure, resilient systems can be configured and operated and entire enterprises can be made more resilient.

For more on AMT and TXT see: http://ipip.intel.com/go/fedgov/

And for more on hardware and security see: http://www.intel.com/technology/security/index.htm

Datacenter Refresh Advice from Intel's IT CTO

RyanKamauff — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 08:39:57 +0000

The new Xeon processors figure into Gregg's refresh cycles

Gregg Wyant, Intel’s IT CTO is in the process of refreshing his data centers. Like every other CTO, he has limited resources. Not even he gets free CPUs and motherboards. Gregg recently explained to me and a few others on a teleconference his Data Center Strategy. He focused on the 8 principles that drive Intel’s strategy;

Proactive Refresh – All data centers need refreshing, one of Gregg’s focuses is determining the appropriate timeline for this. He derived a 4-year refresh cycle that ensures efficiency and capability gains. Intel is finding regular server refreshes providing tangible business results, realizing huge, value gains.
Virtualizing Resources – New Intel Xeon 5600 server processors offer 6 cores and are used as the virtualization standard (i.e. enterprise private cloud). Utilizing these cores for standard server tasks allows more done with less. Virtualized servers are also easily re-configured, cutting down on configuration timetables. New Intel Xeon 7500 server processors offer 8 cores and ared used where reliability and large memory are vital to application performance and availability. Examples of this type of usage are large application instances in ERP and design of their silicon as part of the high performance computing platform.
Right-sized Server Purchase – Underpowered servers can create cost overruns, requiring additional IT staff and cycles. Likewise, overpowered servers require great cost outlays at the start of the cycles, and if under-used never create the ROI they advertised.
Improvement of Energy Efficiency – Intel has been focusing on achieving extremely powerful yet energy efficient server processors. This is achieved by smaller footprints and more efficient architecture around the processor as well.
Facility Upgrades/Updates – Upgrading your facilities to the latest datacenter designs can help cut down on costs and increase efficiency. In addition, upgrading facilities can make IT investments last longer.
Modular Additions for Capacity – Adding capacity modularly cuts down on “Fork Lift” style updates. The ability to just add small stacks of capability when it is needed creates flexibility and agility.
Optimization of Networks – Managing networks can take an awful lot of computing power and rack space. Optimized network management can reduce computing demands and IT administration needs.
Enhancing Storage Solutions – Storage servers often take a large amount of datacenter floorspace. Hard drives are getting more and more inexpensive, and there are many data de-duplication devices solutions on the market. This enables datacenter designers to compress storage into less floorspace, liberating racks for other uses.

Correct Sizing Promotes Efficiencies

So what has dedication to these 8 principles brought Gregg? Well he’s finding that with every refresh, they gain 250% capability, at 60% of the cost. Through consolidation, he aims to pay off the upgrades within a year. Intel is finding they need 45% more computing power and 35% more storage capacity every year. Keeping up with these demands is tough, but as Gregg continues to increase capabilities, meeting needs is possible.

Changes to the Tech Landscape

BobGourley — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 00:33:26 +0000

The CTOvision.com Tech Titans list has just been updated with a new snapshot of the globe’s top Information Technology (IT) firms by market cap.

April 2010 Tech Titan List

The firms on the list are all important for enterprise chief technology officers (CTO) and chief information officers (CIO) to track. Links to financial information and news sources are provided with the list. More comments are at: CTOvision.com Tech Titans list

For reference, links are also provided below. Click on the links to bring up news on each:

More on Light Peak: Very high data rate from the grid to your computer

BobGourley — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 12:55:06 +0000

Intel Corporation’s Light Peak technology is an new optical communication capability that will be a universal connector for almost all commodity IT. It is designed in about the same form factor as a USB cable, and it will be replacing everything that USB cables are used for today. But its incredibly high data rates means it will also link monitors, TVs and entire networks together.

The marketplace gets to decide if this is really going to take off, but all indications are that it will. Look for it to replace USB, FireWire, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, Ethernet and any other cable you can think of, to any device.

Demos have been given of Light Peak, and some companies are already building components, so we are going to see offerings with Light Peak this year.

Here are two aspects to consider about Light Peak:

1) With chip and PC architectures continuing to improve, the Light Peak capability will soon allow 10 Gig optical connections directly into your processor. Lots of goodness can run over optical data but lots of badness/malicious code can as well. I’m hoping the security technology marketplace keeps up with the optical comms to processor marketplace. Look for cloud-based security providers and offerings like those at Verizon Business to increase in importance in the marketplace.

2) We should consider what this capability will do for media dissemination. If you can download an entire movie in a matter of seconds would you download more movies? Consider that question in the context of the 1.5B computers connected to the Internet. That will be a lot of media whoosing around the net. And that media will need to be stored. So what will Light Peak do for licensing models and the storage market?

For a bit more on Light Peak see the embedded video below.

Update of the CTOvision.com Tech Titans List

BobGourley — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:18:27 +0000

The CTOvision.com Tech Titans list has just been updated with a new snapshot of the globe’s top Information Technology (IT) firms by market cap.

For reference, links are also provided below. Click on the links to bring up news on each:

Announcing: The CTOvision.com Technology Titan List

BobGourley — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:18:08 +0000

I’ve long sought to track disruptive IT on the CTOvision.com site, and have featured several firms on the CTOvision.com Disruptive IT list. A new feature on the site is the CTOvision.com Technology Titan List, where I’ll more closely track the activities of the Information Technology firms with the largest market cap. This is the first entry on this theme.

One thing has become very clear through the years. The great powerhouse’s of the Information Technology industry continue to drive innovation- either through their own R&D or through purchasing innovative technologies for integration into their offerings. Those who want to track what is coming next should closely watch the big IT firms.

But which ones should we watch? The bad news is there is no perfect method. But a key measure of note is the market capitalization of a company. The market cap is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares of a company (share price times shares outstanding). It is a market consensus of a company’s equity. For a CTO or other technologist, it can also be a general indicator of staying power, vision and ability to deliver, since you don’t get a high market cap in the IT world without those factors.

The CTOvision.com list of Tech Titans includes IT firms with a market cap of over $16B. I’ve built a Google spreadsheet, tied it to live financial data, and now have a dynamic graphic of the market cap of the biggest tech firms. I also use automated search tools to scrub news feeds from these sources and use that information to help drive assessments elsewhere on the CTOvision.com site, including assessments on the future of IT.

The companies tracked on the initial list are: Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Google, Cisco, Intel, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Qualcomm, SAP, EMC, Dell, Yahoo, Adobe, VMware and Symantec.

The following graphic is a up to date snapshot of the market cap of these top tech titans:

Did you find that graphic surprising? Isn’t Apple’s rise incredible? Another thing that jumps right out at you from this list is the power of American IT. Only one of the firms on this list is a non-US company (SAP). There are other foreign firms that are helping shape the future of IT and after more evaluation I may add others (Sony Corporation, with a Market Cap of $30B, is a player, but I’m evaluating its business segments before placing them on this tracking list).

Want to kick off a search for more data/news on these Technology Firms? Click on the links below to bring up news on each:

Finally: A (real) Dual Monitor Laptop

RyanKamauff — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 21:26:13 +0000

2 Beautiful 15.4" Screens, on the go.

gScreen, a small but ambitious laptop maker, is preparing to release 15.4″ laptops that actually have two screens. The screens slide apart, allowing you to use either 1 screen or 2.

Currently, the specs include 2 LED back-lit screens (should help cut down on power usage), Intel’s Core 2 Duo mobile line, DDR2 RAM, and NVIDIA graphics, either 9800M GT or the Quadro FX 1700M. The 9800M GT would be suited for gaming/everyday desktop use, while the Quadro for the Workstation/Photoshopping crowd.

One, it is just plain cool to have that much screen on the go. I am sure that there will be many people (photographers, programmers, and analysts) who will appreciate the ability to have that much screen real-estate. Most manufacturers are moving to smaller, lighter, and more portable, but gScreen is offering us 12 lbs. of dual 15.4″ goodness.

This is not the first attempt at a dual screen laptop. There is Lenovo’s W700ds laptop with a little slide out screen (here). It has received decent reviews, but in my opinion is not worth the premium ($5,000) for just little bit of added space. The quality of screen doesn’t look quite as good as the original (and neither is an LED).

Personally, after adopting to a dual monitor setup myself (2 22-inch screens), it is tough to drop down to a single screen (all of my multi-tasking is just shot!). I can’t really imagine taking this on the road with me – I find the netbook perfect for note-taking anywhere, but it could have a lot of value for the right users.

gScreen is trying to ship this machine for under $3,000. Quite a high price-point, but according to their website they have received interest from DoD, Banking, Finance, and Investing sectors (although I was under the impression that they didn’t have too much money to spend).

Most enterprises focus on one portable endpoint solution for the large part of their employees, I would hazard that as more solutions are available a tiered laptop approach be adopted. As I previously suggested, netbooks could be given to most users, and only individuals who need this workspace (and power) would warrant these. This laptop would be a waste if it were tied to a desk, because dual monitor solutions are far cheaper. Rather, it needs to be used on the road, regularly.

Adopting a tiered technology plan for your enterprise allows you to save money (where possible) and ensure that power-users have powerful capabilities. Stay tuned to gScreen’s website for more information on the Spacebook 2009 (Q4 release).

What will your Laptop will look like in 2015?

RyanKamauff — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:03:19 +0000

Slides, just like your cellphone.

CIO magazine recently published a great review of laptop technologies titled “Meet the Laptop You’l Use in 2015″ (available here: article). With this post I’ll provide a review of that article and insert some thoughts from a technology early adopter and disruptive IT analyst. First some concepts from the CIO Magazine article:

The Slider

Much like a sliding cellphone, this laptop is two OLED (organic light emitting diode) displays that slide one into the other. The sleeve acting as the monitor, and the lower as a keyboard and a mousepad/drawing surface.

Is this a menu...or a laptop?

Dual Touch Screen Clamshell

This device is two touchscreens in your typical clamshell. It is a transforming device – looking like a laptop, a piano, a sketch pad, or even a book. All of these applications sound good – but I am not sold we will still be in this state.

What would the Adult industry do with this???

Seeing Impaired Device

There was one device that used “Magneclay, an oil-based synthetic material that instantly forms shapes in response to electrical fields.” I guess it would basically be a re-writable braille tablet, which sounds great, and will hopefully be available sooner than 2015, but I am sure it won’t be the norm.

I'm riding the bus if this is legal.

Carrying/multi-purpose hinged screens

The Cario a hinged, touchscreen device is interesting. It has a mini-projector to create a HUD on your windshield (but definitely looks a little dangerous for the other drivers on the road). It links with your car and can provide useful points of interest.

CIO Magazine continues to discuss some of the technologies these laptops will possess (six or eight cores, shapeable batteries, flash memory, and OLED screens), but in my opinion, falls short of what our portable computing sources will provide to the user.

My thoughts

In my opinion, computing power is not going to be even a question. As Intel is readying their launch of the Nehalem processor for mobile computing, it will provide a substantive boost over all but the most powerful desktop replacements. However, these chips won’t be limited to 17″, 15 lb, battery draining behemoths, but will be utilized in everything from netbooks, to “ultraportables” (whatever that means anymore), and standard laptops.

Incredible today. So what about tomorrow?

I’ll point to a few things that make be believe that all of these images are no where near ‘cool’ enough, nor accurate depictions.

Storage

The first is Kingston’s 256GB Data Traveler flash drive due out by the end of the year. It is simply inconceivable to me that 1TB flash memory will not be the standard come 2015 (maybe even multiple terabytes). The cost of flash memory is skyrocketing down – Intel’s newest SSD drive offers 80GB for around $200USD.

Wearability?

The second is iKey’s AK-39 wearable keyboard. Of course, this is a little tongue in cheek, but I can’t believe in 6 years I’m going to be alright without computing on the go. Already I am completely tied to my WinMo Motorola Q9h (yes I know it’s probably possessed), but being able to compute in motion is what the next generation laptop is all about. This keyboard might be almost as dorky as the “Wolf Shirt” or Comic-Con, but it shows that we are realizing our need to access data (and networks) anytime, and anywhere.

Network connectivity

This is almost completely ignored in Nadel’s article, but I hope, believe, demand that we will have gigabit wireless in 2015. We will minimally be around the 100Mb world – which brings to mind – do we even need localized storage? If I have 100Mb connection, why would I ever move anything out of the Cloud? Currently AT&T offers 7.2Mb service. If AT&T can figure out 7.2Mb service in 2009, it’s hard to believe we won’t have 1Gb or 100Mb figured out in 2015.

Imagine a sleeker, civilian form of this.

User Interfacing

Most of the design in CIO magazine focused on touchscreens and prototypical qwerty setups. After watching this video (MIT’s wearable projecting computer) I can’t imagine we’d ever do anything different. It utilizes teaching the computer 4 fingers as control devices, and interacting with what is projected onto any surface. Extrapolate 4 to 10 (yes all of your digits), and project a keyboard ANYWHERE. In fact, project whatever you want ANYWHERE. Obviously there would have to be some sort of privacy filter, so what about a nice little heads up display (HUD) that is just a tiny wearable monocle.

Power/Connectivity

So if you’re hooked up to the Cloud, you have 100Mb connection, and it is all being streamed to your right (or left) eye, what is left? I’d say power supply, and interconnectivity to other devices. The HDMI 1.4 standard sounds enticing, with HD video, HD sound, and Ethernet, you could plug in and share anything you travel with. In terms of battery power – we see that processors are more powerful and use less energy than ever before (see Intel’s Core i7). I presume at some point battery power will keep up, but to be honest, I’d be willing to carry a 40lb ruck with a car battery in it for these features. I might see my twitter and facebook fanbase decimated, but I’d be happily connected to anyone still willing to connect with me. Most likely you won’t even need to chance pariah status, with kinetic power making a rise (here) it would be possible to power your phone just by walking.

In the long run, I see that the laptop of 2015 (better yet, portable personal computing device) will integrate a phone (Skype or Google Voice), connection to the Cloud, and easy to operate control devices. The rest will be up to the consumer – “ask and ye shall receive” might be the rule of thumb here. It will most likely be a highly customizable, wearable, and maybe even self-powered device.

Are Netbooks the Solution for You and Your Firm?

RyanKamauff — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:01:36 +0000

Netbooks, the hugely popular and (surprisingly) successful mini-notebooks are taking the workforce by storm. These lightweight accessories are becoming a must-have for the professional on the go. A combination of processing speed, hard drive space, and portability, they are what laptops were meant to be. But are they right for you, or your end-users? Here at CTOvision.com, we have created a little quiz to see if a netbook can fulfill your needs.

The Netbook Quiz

Question 1:

Do you travel (a lot)?

Question 2:

Do you find yourself wishing you had your computer with you all the time?

Quesiton 3:

Do you use Office, Browsers, and iTunes, but not much else?

Question 4:

Does your laptop’s battery die/go critical when you need it most?

Question 5:

Do you find yourself more and more annoyed trying to find a way to transport your laptop? Is carrying that extra bag all the time getting quite irritating?

Drumroll Please…

If you’re finding yourself nodding along with those questions, saying yes yes yes, then a netbook is probably a good option for you. Netbooks, from the 7″ to the 10″ size allow you to do your work (especially cloud computing) from whereever you are. Their small size and footprint take up almost no room in your bag/purse (or even a large pocket), plus they weigh about 3lbs (on average). No more lugging around 10 lbs, 17″ laptops for you!

The standard for Netbooks is a 1024×600 pixel screen, an Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 100GB hard drive, and Windows XP SP3. The sum total of those parts is a zippy machine that will run Office (or Open Office) flawlessly, connects instantly to any WLAN, and cruises the Internet with grace.

The main competitors in the netbook market are the two giants (HP/Dell), The incipient netbook producer (Asus), as well MSI, Samsung, and Acer. A quick Newegg.com search returns 48 netbooks, ranging from $279.99 for an Acer EEE PC to $899.99 for a Sony 8″ VAIO.

Netbooks as an IT Solution

So what can a netbook do for you, the CTO, of your firm? Well, they are cheap. Really cheap. Less than $500 per machine usually. Think about all those end users with $1500-$2000 powerhouse computers that only are used to type, email, and browse. Netbooks also use roughly 50% of the power of regular laptops. They pull in about 40W instead of the 75W+ standard A/C adapter. Not only do they require less power, but they have larger battery life, requiring they spend less time charging. Some netbooks have battery life of up to 10.5 hours – let’s see if your 15.4″ notebook can compete with that.

Some people won’t like the small form factor, which is completely understandable. However, there are a few way to mitigate this – use one the new netbook docks allowing one to incorporate a full size mouse/keyboard and monitor at their desk. Some even have full sized keyboards, the Samsung N120 has a 98% full sized keys that make typing a breeze.

In total, how do netbooks help firms achieve that magic buzzword – ‘Green’? It’s easy, they use less power, require few resources to create, and give off less heat. These are 3 attributes that are basic requirements to creating a green environment and workplace.

So think about integrating netbooks into your firm’s IT offerings. They can give you new capabilities while cutting costs and energy bills.

CTOvision.com » Intel

Making vPro Work For You

Active Management Technology

Trusted Execution Technology (TXT):

Theft Protection:

Beyond the Boundaries:

Comparisons to “Current” Tech:

More Resources for vPro technology application:

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CTOvision.com » Intel

Making vPro Work For You

Active Management Technology

Trusted Execution Technology (TXT):

Theft Protection:

Beyond the Boundaries:

Comparisons to “Current” Tech:

More Resources for vPro technology application:

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