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CA To Support Intel Active Management Technology

Computer Associates International Inc announced plans to support Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT). The announcement follows a recent demonstration at the Intel Developer's Forum which showed how CA's Unicenter operations management solutions can use Intel AMT to access and monitor distributed systems regardless of their state.

"CA is committed to helping its customers get maximum value out of their distributed assets with minimum investments of administrative time and effort," said Vince Re, senior vice president of Unicenter operations management at CA. "We are looking forward to delivering leading-edge management solutions that fully take advantage of Intel's Active Management Technology as it is integrated into networked computers used by our customers around the world."

Using a newly developed common service -- a software component that performs reusable functions across multiple CA management software solutions - - CA's live proof-of-concept demonstrated enhanced discovery of managed devices; retrieval, clearing and freezing of event logs; a console for monitoring of changes in device state that can remotely power up, power down, and power reset the device in response to management events.

Intel Active Management Technology enables IT managers to remotely access networked systems even if they are powered down, the operating system has locked up, or the hard drive has crashed. This new technology can significantly reduce downtime and operational costs, while maximizing both the productivity of system technicians and the performance of distributed computing assets.

By using CA's Unicenter operations management solutions in conjunction with Intel Active Management Technology, technical staffs would be able to perform tasks that were previously impossible. In response to outages, hardware could be reconfigured and the BIOS of hundreds or thousands of machines distributed across multiple locations could be upgraded and their OS rebooted off-hours by a single technician without disrupting users' workdays. In addition, asset management, software delivery, virus scans and system back-up tasks could all be performed at convenient, low usage times.

Intel Active Management Technology is integrated into tamper-resistant hardware and firmware to prevent intentional or inadvertent removal of inventory, remote control or virus-protection agents. The technology features an out-of-band link that is independent of the operating system, allowing IT managers to access machines even when the operating system is inoperative.

"For IT managers, Intel Active Management Technology promises to greatly improve asset management, while reducing system downtime, technical assistance visits and operational costs," said Gregory Bryant, director of Intel Digital Office Planning and Marketing. "Companies, such as CA, are already developing software that IT managers can use to take full advantage of the capabilities of Intel AMT."