Enable AMT&VT on HP dc7800 & dc7900

The HP Compaq dc7800/dc7900 Business PC uses Intel vPro technology to simplify back-office management and reduce IT-related expenditures. Intel vPro technology is a combination of Active Management Technology (AMT) and Intel Virtualization Technology (IVT), which allows for improved management of PC systems and better security.

AMT provides Out-of-Band (OOB) remote access to a system regardless of the state of the operating system or power state as long as the system has AC power and is connected to a network. AMT is a hardware and firmware platform resident solution relying upon the Manageability Engine (ME) within the chipset.

By default, AMT is disabled in the ME firmware. AMT must be enabled in the ME firmware and configured before the system can benefit from it features.

Below are the specific steps to enable AMT on your dc7800/dc7900 machine:

On first boot: 
When prompted, press F10 to enter the system BIOS configuration

• Select Storage-> Boot Order
  • disable hard drive and network controller booting options.
  • the only option remaining should be 
    USB device, if you're using a usb stick. 
    CD-ROM device, if you're using a CD-ROM.
• Select Security -> System Security
  • Virtualization Technology (VTx) == Enabled
  • Virtualization Technology Directed I/O (VTd) == Enabled
• Select Advanced-> Power-On Options
  • For DC7800:
    • After Power Loss == On
    • MEBx Setup Prompt == Displayed
  • For DC7900:
    • After Power Loss == On
    • Select Advanced -> Management Operations
      • MEBx Setup Prompt == Displayed
• Select File -> Save Changes & Exit

Reboot system. 
When prompted, press Ctrl-P for MEBx configuration (i.e. AMT).

• The default username/password is admin/admin.
• You are immediately prompted to configure a new password.
• This are guidelines for the Intel ME strong password:
  • between 8- and 32-characters long
  • contain both upper and lower case Latin characters
  • have at least one numeric character
  • have at least one ASCII non-alphanumeric character: (!,@,#,$,%,^,&,*,),()
• Save new password.

In the main MEBx menu Select Intel(R) ME Configuration

• Select 'Intel(R) ME State Control'
  • Set it ENABLED
  • Select Return to Previous Menu
• Select 'Intel(R) ME Firmware Local Update Qualifier'
  • Set it to ALWAYS OPEN
  • Select Return to Previous Menu
• Select 'Intel(R) ME Features Control'
  • Select 'Manageability Feature Selection'
    • Choose 'Intel(R) AMT'
  • Select Return to Previous menu
• Select 'Intel(R) ME Power Control'
  • Select 'Intel (R) ME ON in Host Sleep States'
    • Set the 'widest' range of Sleep States
    • Hit 'ESC' to Exit.
• The system will automatically reboot now.

When prompted, press Ctrl-P for MEBx configuration (i.e. AMT). 
Select 'Intel(R) AMT Configuration'

• NOTE: If you are choosing static IP, you have to have separate Host Name & IP Address for Intel ME than your host CPU. If you are choosing DHCP, you can use the same Host Name and IP Address for Intel ME as the host CPU.  The directions below are for DHCP configuration.
  
• Select 'Host Name' and enter the same name as for the OS Host name
  • For instance, if your hostname is 'planetlab1.site.edu', enter 'planetlab1'.
• Select 'TCP/IP' 
  
  • For the DC7800
    
    • Hit 'N' to enable the Network Interface
  • For BOTH
    
    • Hit 'N' to enable DHCP
    • provide your domain name as set (or to be set) in the OS.
    • For instance, if your hostname is 'planetlab1.site.edu', enter 'planetlab1.site.edu'.
• Select 'Provision Model'
  • For the DC7800
    
    • Hit 'N' to not change to AMT 1.0 Mode
    • Hit 'Y; to change to Small Business
  • For the DC7900
    • Select 'Small Business' and hit ENTER.
• Select 'SOL/IDE-R'
  • Hit 'Y' to confirm the warning
  • Set Username & Password to ENABLED (if it's set to ENABLED don't hit just 'ENTER' because you disable it)
  • Set Serial Over LAN to ENABLED
  • Set IDE Redirection to ENABLED
• Select 'Secure Firmware Update'
  • Set it to ENABLED
• Hit 'ESC' to Exit. The system will reboot again.

Power off the system. 
Power back on, to boot from the PlanetLab BootImage.

Other useful links on AMT:

• Provision HP dc7800 vPro EEP systems for AMT support (with screenshots) (PDF)
• Thinkwiki page