Specifications

CompuLab Ltd. IPC2 – Hardware Specification Page 24 of 83
3.4 Intel Management Engine
This embedded operating environment is called the Intel Management Engine (Intel ME). The key
properties of Intel ME:
 Connectivity
— Integration into I/O subsystem of PCH
— Delivery of advanced I/O functions
 Security
— More secure (Intel root of trust) and isolated execution
— Increased security of flash file system
 Modularity and Partitioning
— OSV, VMM and SW Independence
— Rapid response to competitive changes
 Power
— Always On Always Connected
— Advanced functions in low power S3-S4-S5 operation
— OS independent PM and thermal heuristics
Intel ME FW provides a variety of services that range from low-level hardware initialization and
provisioning to high-level end-user software based IT manageability services. One of Intel ME
FW’s most established and recognizable features is Intel Active Management Technology (Intel
AMT). For more information on various Intel ME FW features supported by Intel ME FW, such as
Intel Active Management Technology refer to chapter 7.2.
The following list of components compose the Intel® ME hardware infrastructure:
 The Intel ME is the general purpose controller that resides in the PCH. It operates in
parallel to, and is resource-isolated from, the host processor.
 The SPI flash device stores Intel ME Firmware code that is executed by the Intel ME for its
operations. The PCH controls the flash device through the SPI interface and internal logic.
 In the M0 power state, the Intel ME Firmware code is loaded from SPI flash into DRAM
and cached in secure and isolated SRAM. In order to interface with DRAM, the Intel ME
utilizes the integrated memory controller (IMC) present in the processor. In the lower
Intel ME power state, M3, code is executed exclusively from secure and isolated Intel ME
local RAM.
 The LAN controller embedded in the PCH as well as the Intel Gigabit Platform LAN Connect
device are required for Intel ME and Intel AMT network connectivity.
 BIOS provides asset detection and POST diagnostics (BIOS and Intel AMT can optionally
share same flash memory device).
 An ISV software package, such as LANDesk*, Altiris*, or Microsoft* SMS, can be used to
take advantage of the platform manageability capabilities of Intel AMT.