AMD Announces Specification for Open Platform Management Architecture.SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AMD) today announced the release of the Open Platform Management Architecture (OPMA OPMA Open Platform Management Architecture (open interface specification for the connection of platform management subsystems to server motherboards) OPMA Open Public Meetings Act OPMA Ontario Podiatric Medical Association ) specification that defines a common hardware interface between the server platform and its server management subsystem. This specification will provide hardware vendors with a more flexible approach to system management when designing their commercial grade server products. AMD has worked closely with technology partners to develop and publish this specification. The OPMA defines a robust connector-level interface that allows a wide range of management subsystems to be attached to server motherboards in a standardized way. Ultimately, the end-user will benefit from open standards Specifications for hardware and software that are developed by a standards organization or a consortium involved in supporting a standard. Available to the public for developing compliant products, open standards imply "open systems;" that an existing component in a system can be replaced like those provided in the OPMA. A standard management subsystem infrastructure makes server management technology more accessible and cost effective. It enables a common infrastructure that results in a variety of solutions that span a range of capability and price levels. "As a customer-centric company, we embrace and promote a collaborative, connected business model," said Marty Seyer, corporate vice president and general manager, Microprocessor Business Unit, Computation Products Group, AMD. "The OPMA specification is just one more example of how AMD innovates within industry standards to provide real solutions to real problems. Open standards puts the power of choice back in the hands of customers." "One of the biggest challenges today facing IT managers, server OEMs and motherboard manufacturers is the lack of common interface standards for embedded system Any electronic system that uses a CPU chip, but that is not a general-purpose workstation, desktop or laptop computer. Such systems generally use microprocessors, or they may use custom-designed chips or both. management," said Dr. Christian Paetz, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Raritan Computer's OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and division, Peppercon. "Raritan-Peppercon is proud to work closely with AMD and its partners in the development of the OPMA specification that will help improve server manageability. The initial market feedback to our OPMA-compliant KVM-over-IP embedded solution has been extremely positive, and it has had a great reception from the OEM server market. AMD's initiative and leadership in the creation of the OPMA specification is a true testament to its understanding of changing trends in the server market and commitment to meeting customer needs with innovative solutions." The OPMA connector provides the interface between manageability components including baseboard management controller A baseboard management controller (BMC) is a specialized microcontroller embedded on the motherboard of many computers, especially servers. The BMC is the intelligence in the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) architecture. devices (BMCs), network interface controllers (NICs), standardized system busses between sensor devices and the system microprocessors. OPMA feature cards contain BMC (BMC Software, Inc., Houston, TX, www.bmc.com) A leading supplier of software that supports and improves the availability, performance, and recovery of applications in complex computing environments. firmware that communicates with software such as BIOS, drivers, manageability software suites, system management frameworks and operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. . By taking a collaborative approach to producing a standardized specification, AMD and its partners have helped to reduce server platform development risk, cost and time to market. OPMA also enables a multi-vendor approach for sourcing the manageability subsystem with minimal impact to BIOS firmware. In contrast, proprietary manageability hardware subsystems can inhibit collaboration and ultimately result in inconsistent designs and a complex upgrade path for servers as manageability requirements change. The public OPMA specification defines the connector, electrical, mechanical and firmware interfaces for a flexible, modular, card-based platform management subsystem. It is available for download from AMD's website at http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/ 0,,30_118_8796_12498,00.html (Due to its length, this URL URL in full Uniform Resource Locator Address of a resource on the Internet. The resource can be any type of file stored on a server, such as a Web page, a text file, a graphics file, or an application program. may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) About AMD AMD (NYSE:AMD) designs and produces innovative microprocessors, Flash memory devices and low-power processor solutions for the computer, communications and consumer electronics industries. AMD is dedicated to delivering standards-based, customer-focused solutions for technology users, ranging from enterprises and governments to individual consumers. For more information visit www.amd.com. AMD, the AMD Arrow logo, and combinations thereof, are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. |
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