Hi, I just heard about this today and did a bit of research on it, but the things I found were too technically savvy for me, and some were quiet ambiguous in their explanations. Before I ask the question, I would like to say that I do understand technical terms relating to computers and their hardware, but I might not fully get some of the acronyms. That being said, my main questions are:
What the hell is Intel ME and also AMDs PSP? What do they do – what’s the point of having them? Why can’t we just integrate all the management software onto the CPU and must rely on a separate independent processor (is that what it is)? What protection ring would it be classified as (might help to explain how the layers may interact with one another)? Finally, how big of a security risk does it pose?
I know those are a bunch of questions and they will implicit a large and thought-out response, but to anyone who has knowledge about this specific niche and has the time, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks again.
In: 58
I’d like to address the point of Management Engine. Yeah, it can be used for DRM, but it’s actually intended to be used for, you know, management.
If you work with a lot of server-grade hardware, they have something called an IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface, goes by different names with different manufacturers). This lets you manage the machine remotely regardless of the state of the machine. For example, you can power the machine on and off through this interface. You can also look at the “screen” (these systems usually don’t have a monitor plugged in). You can also do a lot of hardware diagnostics and other setup.
Intel’s Management Engine brings this to “regular” PCs. If you manage a lot of desktops, this can be a _huge_ plus for your support infrastructure.
Latest Answers