Intel® AMT makes it possible to redirect serial and IDE communications from a managed client to a management console regardless of
the boot and power state of the managed client. The client need only have the Intel AMT capability, a connection to a power source, and a
network connection. Intel AMT supports Serial Over LAN (SOL, text/keyboard redirection) and IDE Redirection (IDER, CD-ROM redirection) over
TCP/IP.
Serial Over LAN Overview
Serial Over LAN (SOL) is the ability to emulate serial port communication over a standard network connection. SOL can be used for most
management applications where a local serial port connection is normally required.
When an active SOL session is established between an Intel AMT-enabled client and a management console using the Intel AMT redirection
library, the client's serial traffic is redirected through Intel AMT over the LAN connection and made available to the management console.
Similarly, the management console may send serial data over the LAN connection that appears to have come through the client's
serial port.
IDE Redirection Overview
IDE Redirection (IDER) is capable of emulating an IDE CD drive or a legacy floppy or LS-120 drive over a standard network connection.
IDER enables a management machine to attach one of its local drives to a managed client over the network. Once an IDER session is established,
the managed client can use the remote device as if it were directly attached to one of its own IDE channels. This can be useful for remotely
booting an otherwise unresponsive computer. IDER does not support the DVD format.
For example, IDER is used to boot a client with a corrupt operating system. First, a valid boot disk is loaded into the management
console disk drive. This drive is then passed as an argument when the management console opens the IDER TCP session. Intel AMT registers
the device as a virtual IDE device on the client, regardless of its power or boot state. Both SOL and IDER may be used together
since the client BIOS may need to be configured to boot from the virtual IDE device.
