computer science

Open Platform Management Architecture

Open Platform Management Architecture is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Open Platform Management Architecture rather than just read about it. In short: Open Platform Management Architecture (OPMA) is an open, royalty free standard for connecting a modular, platform hardware management subsystem (an "mCard") to a computer motherboard. Platform hardware management generally refers to the remote monitoring of platform hardware variables such as fan speed, voltages, CPU and enclosure temperatures along with a wide range of other sensors.

Key takeaways

Open Platform Management Architecture belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Open Platform Management Architecture to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Open Platform Management Architecture from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Open Platform Management Architecture (OPMA) is an open, royalty free standard for connecting a modular, platform hardware management subsystem (an "mCard") to a computer motherboard. Platform hardware management generally refers to the remote monitoring of platform hardware variables such as fan speed, voltages, CPU and enclosure temperatures along with a wide range of other sensors. It also implies the ability to remotely control the power state of the platform and to reset the system back into an operational state should it "hang". A significant advantage of OPMA over previous generation management subsystem attachment methods is that OPMA does not consume a PCI socket. OPMA cards are also smaller and lower cost than their PCI predecessors. The OPMA specification, which can be freely downloaded from the web, specifies a signal list, connector and pin out, power requirements, mechanical form factor, BIOS and management controller firmware interfaces, and a detailed division of management subsystem resources between the motherboard and the mCard. OPMA enables a wide variety of mCards to individually interface to a given motherboard. It also enables a single mCard to individually interface to multiple motherboard models. OPMA is mainly targeted at server platforms where the cost of a card based management subsystem is more easily borne, but high end workstations may also leverage the specification to handle cases where remote workstation platform management is required. The OPMA interface is flexible enough to handle multiple mCard price points and capabilities ranging from basic IPMI based management to those that support KVMoIP, remote virtual media, and newer external interface standards that require a larger on-card resource footprint such as WS-Management. OPMA supports two basic management subsystem connection paradigms. The first is where virtually the entire management subsystem resides on the mCard. Using this paradigm, the platform contains no basic management controller of any sort and relies on the presence of an OPMA card for all remote hardware management capabilities. In the second paradigm, the basic management module is soldered to the motherboard and the OPMA connector is used as an upgrade path for advanced platform management features. In this case, which is known as "upgrade kit mode", the OPMA card is able to access all sensors supported by the soldered down management controller using an SMBus link over which the Intelligent Platform Management Bus (IPMB) protocol is employed. OPMA also leverages the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification in order to provide a basic plug and play capability. Using IPMI-defined OEM command extensions, the system and the mCard exchange basic information during system boot such as mCard/motherboard make and model, specification version compliance, and optional capabilities defined by the OPMA specification.

History OPMA was created as a joint technology development effort between AMD and various platform management subsystem technology companies such as Agilent, AMI, Avocent, and Raritan Embedded Solutions (formerly called Peppercon). When OPMA was first released in February 2005, platform hardware management was being treated as a value added feature by OEMs. This resulted in a constant redesign of the management card infrastructure such that no two motherboard manufacturers could use the same card. Lack of standards and constant redesign resulted in higher end user costs. While PCI based management cards were available which could be plugged into a variety of platforms, the PCI bus did not provide direct access to all of the sensors needed to manage the hardware aspects of a platform. To gain full sensor access, custom headers had to be added to motherboards. Custom cables then linked these sideband signals between the card and the motherboard. PCI based platform management cards also consume a PCI slot which is a premium resource for many servers. This is especially true of those using the 1U rack format and those which need PCI slots for RAID interface cards that enhance system hard disk throughput. AMD engineering teams were internally tasked with building server reference designs to support Opteron server processor evaluation by customers. During these early internal server design efforts it was determined that a standard management card subsystem that was reusable across many platforms would decrease time to market while saving design and support costs for AMD reference design platforms in the field. Such an interface would also allow AMD to outsource the design and test of the management card to industry experts. AMD reasoned that external audiences would derive these same benefits as its internal engineering teams and so OPMA was documented and released.

Adoption According to AMD's press releases, there has been significant interest in OPMA by the server industry platform and infrastructure providers. Some of the motherboards may be seen using links in the external links section. To date, no tier one computer OEMs have offered OPMA enabled motherboards for sale.

External links OPMA enabled channel motherboards

http://www.tyan.com/product_board_spec.aspx?pid=157 OPMA mcards

http://www.ami.com/news/meganews/mn6-08.pdf http://www.raritan.com/_downloads/pdfs/products/sa_opma-m3-g4_02en_datasheet.pdf http://www.aten.com/products/productItem.php?pcid=20061106173036003&psid=20061106173448002&pid=2006110617367007&layerid=subClass7 http://www.arima.com.tw/server/Product/ViewProduct.asp?View=Arima%20Aquarius Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine http://www.arima.com.tw/server/Product/ViewProduct.asp?View=Arima%20Scorpio2 http://www.coreipm.com: coreIPM Project: Free & Open Source firmware for OPMA mcards Standards

http://www.intel.com/design/servers/ipmi http://www.intel.com/technology/manage/downloads/ws_management.pdf SIG

http://www.opma-sig.org

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Open Platform Management Architecture

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Open Platform Management Architecture claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Open Platform Management Architecture before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Open Platform Management Architecture ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Open Platform Management Architecture

In research: Open Platform Management Architecture appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Open Platform Management Architecture in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Open Platform Management Architecture is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer hardware standards, Out-of-band management, System administration, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Open Platform Management Architecture outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Open Platform Management Architecture in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Open Platform Management Architecture means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Open Platform Management Architecture out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Open Platform Management Architecture in simple terms?

Why does Open Platform Management Architecture matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Open Platform Management Architecture?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Open Platform Management Architecture.