Controller cuts the cost of remote management

A novel "mini" baseboard management controller for low- and medium-end servers provides the key elements demanded for remote management.

A novel "mini" baseboard management controller (mBMC) for low- and medium-end servers provides the key elements demanded for remote management, a function usually found only in high-end servers due to high cost.

The affordable and easy-to-implement single chip mBMC is the first of several remote management controllers National Semiconductor is developing to support version 1.5 of the intelligent platform management interface (IPMI) specification.

National's PC87431 mBMC consists of a processor, internal sensors, Flash and preprogrammed firmware to monitor a server's baseboard power supply and SCSI termination voltages, other system voltages, temperature sensors and fan failure indicators to provide remote manageability.

National's mBMC boasts all the required functionality of the IPMI specification, allowing manufacturers of low- and medium-end servers to offer IT managers remote access at less than half the cost of other BMCs available on the market today.

"We are pleased to see National Semiconductor drive the adoption of IPMI 1.5 with its new 'mini' BMC", said Barry Kennedy, system architect, enterprise platform and services division at Intel.

"This product makes remote manageability for Intel-based servers affordable even for the most cost sensitive server applications and is particularly suited for LAN-based management of rack servers".

"The IPMI specification is essential in managing complex environments from a single access point", said Ulrich Seif, chief information officer for National Semiconductor.

"National's new 'mini' BMC gives IT managers remote access to their complete server networks via the LAN to manage the systems and receive alerts when there is a problem with a server from wherever the manager is located.

It allows more accurate prediction of hardware failures, diagnoses of hardware problems, initiation of recovery actions, and reduces the total cost of ownership".

The PC87431 mBMC, a member of National's Server I/O family of devices, resides on the motherboard and combines into a single chip, remote manageability, remote alerting and remote BIOS checking/switching functionality as defined by the IPMI specification.

A low cost solution with a small footprint, the mBMC includes preprogrammed IPMI firmware and features secure remote chassis control, system health monitoring (using internal and external voltage and temperature sensors) and alerting, autonomous corrective actions on critical sensor events, LAN alerts on critical events and remote access to fault status.

Samples of National's PC87431 mBMC are available now.

Production quantities will be available in early July.

The PC87431 is available in a 44-pin PLCC package and also in 44-pin LLP and 48-pin TSSOP packages for applications with space constraints.

In 1000-unit quantities, the PLCC costs $8.60, the LLP costs $8.50 and the TSSOP costs $8.55.

Evaluation boards are also available.

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