Wired for management initiative gets a boost

Electronic News, Feb 23, 1998 by Gale Morrison

Hillsboro, Ore.--IBM and Intel last week took the wraps off their new jointly-developed computer systems management and asset protection offering called "Alert on LAN," a follow-on to their "Wake on LAN" offering and a component of a larger, Intel-led "wired for (IS) management" initiative.

Separately, Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), formally released three Pentium II motherboard PC "Life Guard" devices that, as reported earlier (EN, Dec. 8, 1997) support the wired for management initiative. In what ADI CEO Gerald Fishman views as a coup for ADI, the company secured this first Intel high volume voltage regulator slot from fierce competitor Linear Technology

By the end of the 2Q98, Intel will be providing a companion "Alert on LAN" ASIC to its 82558 "LAN on motherboard" chipset, a Fast Ethernet two-chip offering. According to Taizoon Doctor, network product group director of OEM sales and marketing here in Hillsboro, by the end of the year the new functionality will be integrated as a part of a single 82558 chip.

When Intel's companion ASIC is ready next quarter, IBM will use it and the 82558 in certain of its commercial desktop PCs, including the PC300 line, as well as in the IBM IntelliStation line of Windows NT/Intel Pentium II workstations. Rod Adkins, GM of IBM Desktop Systems, added that IBM plans "to have an Alert on LAN-enabled Token Ring (product) available later this year."

Alert on LAN engineering provides notification of system configuration changes and OS or hardware failures including when the PC is powered off, the operating system is not operational, or the system is remotely located.

IBM and Intel noted that the ICs providing these functions can also be used for monitoring servers or unattended clients such as kiosks, two applications into which it's not designed yet.

Impressively, Intel went from sampling its 82558 Fast Ethernet offering last April, in 1997, to shipping some 972,000 units in the fourth quarter of the same year, according to Diane Myers, networking analyst with In-Stat. Intel said the predecessor Wake on LAN technology has been enthusiastically embraced by the PC industry, having been built into Intel network adapters and LAN on motherboards since January 1997. To date, more than 20 PC manufacturers are shipping business systems featuring Wake on LAN capability.

Meanwhile, Analog Devices formally released the three Pentium II motherboard PC "Life Guard" devices that support the wired for management initiative. In a hard-won coup ADI CEO Gerald Fishman is very proud of, ADI secured this first Intel high volume voltage regulator slot from fierce competitor Linear Technology.

The ADM9240 is compliant with the Desktop Management Interface (DMI) 2.0 specification for hardware monitors, and the ADP3152 and ADP3153 power controllers meet VRM 8.2 specifications for voltage regulation modules.

"The PC industry's constant drive to higher performance, smaller size and reduced power consumption poses significant challenges for the analog IC manufacturer," according to Bulent Celebi, VP/GM of ADI's Sunnyvale, Calif., operation which is spearheading this supply relationship with Intel. Mr. Celebi is a favorite son at ADI thses days.

On-chip resistive attenuators support direct voltage measurement, and ADI says the packaged component is 66 percent smaller than the competing LM 78 designs. The shutdown mode and DAC for linear fan speed control are ACPI-compliant, and the LM 78/79 backward-compatible register set ensures compatibility with legacy applications. Available for immediate delivery, the ADM9240 is priced at $2.45 in OEM quantities.