Support for Intel vPro Enabled Devices - even if the operating system is not running!

The Rescue Team is very excited to announce the support for Intel vPro enabled devices (there is no extra cost associated with this feature).  For those not familiar, vPro is a special processor developed by Intel that allows for remote access connections at the hardware level via Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel EMA) and Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) provisioned devices.  

Regular remote support tools connect to the operating system, but by connecting to the hardware at a deeper level, support agents can resolve issues for devices that would otherwise be unreachable – such as not being powered on, or no functioning operating system is installed. This is referred to as “out-of-band” support as it occurs outside of the operating system and outside normal operating conditions.   With the ability to connect to vPro devices, agents can perform actions like waking the device up, connect directly to the BIOS to perform firmware or configuration updates, resolve “blue screen of death” errors, troubleshoot BitLocker security key issues, or resolve other issues outside of the operating system – unlocking massive capabilities to remotely solve issues for devices that would normally have to be shipped back to a service desk!  Check out this handy guide for further explanation!

Requirements:

• Customer must already have an Intel Endpoint Management Assistant (Intel EMA) server (this is the infrastructure that facilitates the connection to the vPro device)
• Devices must be equipped with Intel vPro Enterprise processors.
• For full system requirements see the details here 
• **NOTE: Dedicated Tech Console version 7.51.0.3805 must be used
  • For this initial release the vPro enabled Tech Console can only be downloaded from the vPro system requirements page above.
  • In a future release, this Tech Console will be merged with the version found on the downloads page

How to configure & use the Intel vPro feature

• Customers must first enable the Intel vPro permission at the Tech Group level in the Admin Center
• In a future release this configuration will be added to the Admin Center
• Next, a user with Rescue admin privileges must login to the dedicated Tech Console version and configure their EMA server
• Once this is done, the Technician will then be able to access a list of available EMA servers within the Computers tab of the Technician Console, as well as the associated vPro devices
• Once a device is connected, the Tech Console will launch the Intel vPro window displaying power options
• The agent can also launch the Intel EMA web application from within the Technician Console, keeping the agent in one tool to service the device.

Features available:

• Manage multiple Intel EMA server configurations from within the Rescue TC (support for EMA using Active Directory or Local User authentication)
• Browse Intel vPro devices provisioned with Intel EMA (including searching and filtering of up to 100k+ devices per server)
• Functions available in the Tech Console when connected to a vPro device:
• Display hardware information, connectivity, and power status
• Execute out-of-band power operations (power up/down, force reboot, reboot to BIOS, ...)
• Functions available in the Intel EMA web app:
• Initiate out-of-band KVM sessions (hardware-based remote screen sharing and control)
• Execute any other vPro out-of-band management operations not yet integrated in Rescue

Documentation Available: 

About the vPro feature – this article contains all the configuration and usage articles

System requirements – contains download links for the vPro capable Tech Console

Intel vPro key terms – learn some new abbreviations like it’s a sport