ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AMI^®, the global leader in Dynamic Firmware for worldwide computing, is excited to announce its participation in the upcoming 2024 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit on October 15-17 in San Jose, California. This year’s Summit theme, “From Ideas to Impact,” reflects OCP’s commitment to fostering industry partnerships and showcasing collaborative, cutting-edge advancements that drive openness, efficiency, sustainability, scalability, and growth in the data center industry.

Following suit, AMI is poised to make a mark at this year’s Summit, delivering dynamic and intelligent firmware and software solutions at the heart of the compute supply-chain ecosystem. Aimed at bridging the gap between manufacturers and data centers through a simplified, secure, and resilient firmware experience while enabling cutting-edge technologies, AMI is at the forefront of OCP collaborations with a record number of over 20 different industry partners represented at this year’s Summit.

AMI Presentations and Panel Discussions

• • • Executive Presentation (Sanjoy Maity, CEO): Modular Firmware for Modern Data Centers: A Collaborative Approach to Scalability and Sustainability – Tue, October 15, 3:00 PM – 3:20 PM | SJCC – Concourse Level – 210CG
    • Expo Hall Session (Kelly Bryant, CPO): Firmware Management for Tomorrow’s Data Centers – Wed, October 16, 11:20 AM – 11:35 AM | SJCC – Concourse Level – Expo Hall Stage
    • Special Focus: OCP Market Impact & Supply Chain (Stefano Righi, SVP): Device Security in the OCP Supply Chain: Overview of How OCP SAFE Addresses the Challenges of Device Firmware – Thu, October 17, 9:45 AM – 10:25 AM | SJCC – Concourse Level – 220C
    • Open Platform Firmware (OPF) Panel Discussion (Srini Narayana, Sr. Director): Overcoming industry challenges in at-scale system firmware life cycle – Thu, October 17, 2:45 PM- 3:20 PM | SJCC – Concourse Level – 210DH
    • Open Platform Firmware (OPF) Breakout Session (Zach Bobroff, VP): Advancing Arm Custom-Built Silicon with Open-Source Firmware – Thu, October 17, 1:10 PM – 1:30 PM | SJCC – Concourse Level – 210DH
    • Open Platform Firmware (OPF) Breakout Session (Brian Vandecoevering, Sr. Director): DC-Wide Rack Management and Beyond: Exploring Scalable Rack Management Solutions for Gen AI Infrastructure – Thu, October 17, 1:30 PM – 1:50 PM | SJCC – Concourse Level – 210DH

Let us know your thoughts on the insights shared during our presentations. Be sure to stop by our booth (A27) for deep dives and conversations with our team. Our experts will be on hand to provide in-depth demonstrations and answer questions. To learn more about AMI’s participation in this year’s event, please visit AMI 2024 OCP Global Summit page.

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AMI is a registered trademark in the US and/or elsewhere. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

In an effort to greatly reduce the threat of device tampering of compute devices that are in transit from manufacturing to their end-user application, AMI and Colorado State University have created a methodology to secure platform firmware in a Cerberus framework.  This process is being presented in a paper entitled, “The PIT-Cerberus Framework: Preventing Device Tampering During Transit” at the 24^th IEEE International Conference on Software Quality, Reliability and Security (QRS 2024).

IEEE QRS

The IEEE QRS Conference pulls scientists and engineers in industry and academia together into a single forum to present work related to the best and most efficient techniques for the development of reliable, secure, and trustworthy systems.  Program selection involves a detailed review by 3 committee members across a pool of 209 other papers.  AMI and Colorado State’s methodology for preventing device tampering during transit was one of 50 papers selected to be presented at the conference.

Protection in Transit (PIT)

In order to tamper with or modify device platform firmware in transit, a hacker would need to either write to the firmware’s storage location or physically replace the firmware code. This paper addresses writing to the firmware storage location, which necessitates the device being booted up to a minimal state where firmware memory I/O is enabled.  Therefore, securing platform firmware requires that the first boot of the BIOS/UEFI or BMC following shipping is exclusive to the authorized downstream user.

To achieve this, AMI and Colorado State propose a mechanism where the device manufacturer implements a BIOS or BMC lock post-production that can only be unlocked by a Hardware Root of Trust (HRoT) device during the BIOS/UEFI or BMC boot process.  Unlocking of the BIOS or BMC firmware would only occur after a successful authentication by the HRoT.

Extension of Project Cerberus

This methodology is an extension of the Project Cerberus, open-source initiative that establishes a hardware root of trust for servers.  Adopting the protection in transit (PIT) methodology greatly enhances Cerberus security; where today it focuses on attestation of platform firmware at boot and during runtime, Cerberus does not currently address user authentication.

Efforts by AMI and Colorado State University

In order to ensure the highest level of security for the PIT-Cerberus framework, AMI and Colorado State have leveraged strong data encryption techniques and have implemented the solution within a trusted HRoT microcontroller. These efforts put forth by AMI and Colorado State can be sampled through the PIT-Cerberus framework’s libraries, available on Project Cerberus today.

The presentation of “The PIT-Cerberus Framework:  Preventing Device Tampering During Transit” paper can be seen July 1^st through the 5^th at the IEEE QRS, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, UK. 

This paper will be available to read in the IEEE Xplore digital library upon approval.

At AMI, ushering in the era of top-tier performance for Arm-based systems is always at the forefront of our mission. Today, we spotlight the achievement of ASUS’ latest Arm SystemReady SR certification on the ASUS RS720QN-E11-RS24U platform, a 2U Multi-Node NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip-based server, leveraging our renowned Aptio V System Firmware. The ASUS RS720QN-E11-RS24U is a powerful Arm-based platform that is fine-tuned for compute-intensive workloads, including high-performance computing (HPC), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML). This system from ASUS, an NVIDIA-Certified data center partner, also supports NVIDIA NIM inference microservices, part of the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform. Its Arm SystemReady SR certification signifies adherence to stringent industry standards, ensuring compatibility, stability, and performance within the Arm ecosystem. The journey to achieving the certification re-affirms our commitment to providing tailor-made solutions that steer Arm ecosystem partners towards unprecedented performance and quality in platform design. The ASUS’ Arm SystemReady SR certification is a testament to our technological prowess in developing reliable, robust, and innovative firmware solutions that are pivotal in resolving technical complexities, capturing security enhancements, and maximizing hardware compatibilities.

“We are proud to announce that our platform has achieved an advanced-level SystemReady SR Certification, which is a testament to the progress and innovation of all our products. Our ASUS RS720QN-E11-RS24U, featuring the NVIDIA GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip and Aptio V UEFI Firmware, represents best-in-class performance for Arm systems.” – Paul Ju, ASUS Corporate Vice President, CTO of Data Center, OP BG General Manager of Data Center Solution BU, ASUS

Our contribution through Aptio V paves the way for seamless operating system (OS) interoperability, secure boot capabilities, advanced power management, system monitoring and diagnostics, and platform customization options. By leveraging Aptio V, ASUS was able to ensure that the platform met the rigorous requirements of the Arm SystemReady program, guaranteeing system reliability and robustness, seamless user experience, and optimal performance for end-user workloads. Dedicated to propelling the Arm ecosystem forward, AMI aims to equip our partners with tools and firmware solutions that not only accelerate their Arm platform designs but also redefine what’s possible in terms of performance and innovation. Our collaboration with ASUS serves as a cornerstone example of this commitment.

“Our partnerships within the Arm ecosystem through SystemReady ensures consistent standards and simplifies validation for Arm-based platforms, empowering the industry with our future-proof solutions.” – Puran Nallagatla, Senior Vice-President, AMI

In conclusion, AMI’s involvement with the Arm SystemReady SR certification program stands as a sheer demonstration of our unwavering dedication to cultivating an ecosystem that thrives on performance, accuracy, and quality, as clearly reflected in the ASUS ASUSRS720QN-E11-RS24U’s platform accomplishments. We are excited about the future prospects we are creating for Arm-based solutions, and we look forward to continuing to revolutionize the ecosystem. Stay tuned for future updates on how AMI continues to empower the Arm ecosystem with its cutting-edge firmware solutions.

AMI is excited to announce its participation in Computex 2024, where we will be showcasing an array of innovative products. The event will take place at the Marriott Courtyard Nangang in Taipei, Taiwan on June 4th – 7th, 2024. The showcased demos will enable attendees to explore AMI’s latest innovations in an exclusive setting.

Showcase Highlights

If you are heading to Computex 2024, join us at the Marriott Courtyard Nangang to experience these pioneering technologies firsthand:

• Aptio® on Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite: Experience the advanced firmware capabilities of Aptio running on the powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite platform, enabling AIPC to deliver exceptional performance and efficiency.
• Aptio on NXP: Discover the integration of Aptio with NXP solutions, showcasing UEFI BIOS for embedded systems and IoT applications.
• Tektagon™ on AMD Turin Platform: Explore the Tektagon on ASPEED 1060, demonstrated on AMD’s latest Turin platform, highlighting its robust platform root of trust (PRoT) security features for the newest enterprise, cloud, and AI application platform.
• Tektagon on Caliptra: Witness the capabilities of the Tektagon on Caliptra, showcasing a silicon-level root of trust as envisioned by Open Compute Project. This technology ensures secure and trustworthy operations for your cloud computing platform, providing foundational security properties for hardware.
• Tektagon on Microchip 1736: Learn about the Tektagon on Microchip 1736, featuring PRoT on embedded systems, laptops, and PCs. This demonstrates advanced security measures and versatile application support, ensuring secure firmware operations across different devices.
• GPU and CDU Management by AMI Data Center Manager™: Engage with our data center management simulation, illustrating efficient GPU and CDU (Coolant Distribution Unit) management solutions. This simulation addresses the current high energy demands and cooling requirements faced by modern data centers. By optimizing cooling and energy usage, the simulation showcases how data centers can achieve greater efficiency, reduce operational costs, and enhance sustainability.
• MegaRAC OneTree™ on AST2700: Discover the innovative MegaRAC OneTree, demonstrated on the AST2700 platform. This represents the latest OpenBMC firmware on the latest BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) hardware, showcasing advanced Redfish/IPMI remote management capabilities for enterprise environments.

Join Us!

For more information and to schedule a meeting, please visit AMI suite 2524 during Computex at Marriott Courtyard Nangang. We look forward to meeting you!

AMI®, Tektagon™, MegaRAC OneTree™, Aptio®, and AMI Data Center Manager™ are trademarks and registered trademarks of AMI in the US and/or elsewhere. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Atlanta, Georgia – AMI^®, the global leader in Dynamic Firmware for worldwide computing, announces the latest release of AMI Data Center Manager (DCM). With the rapid expansion and heightened compute density of data centers, environmental impact has emerged as a critical focus. In response, AMI DCM offers robust tools to enhance performance, lower operational expenses, and effectively manage and reduce the carbon footprint of data centers.

The latest release further enhances key features:

1. 1. Enhances sustainability and reduces OpEx¹: Identifies and reduces ghost servers by up to 15%, saves up to 32% of cooling power consumption, optimizes rack density by up to 30% to utilize allocated power, and identifies opportunities for server consolidation and replacement to reduce energy consumption and e-waste.
   2.  Carbon reporting to meet regulatory compliances: Provides detailed and aggregated reports on energy consumption, performance, and other key metrics to enable data centers to set monthly and annual carbon emission thresholds, helping comply with regulations such as the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) for the Financial sector or the EU Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).
   3. Supports vendor agnostic/silicon agnostic platforms: In addition to Intel-based platforms, AMI is expanding supportability to AMD platforms, with Arm and GPU support planned in upcoming releases. This agnostic approach ensures that data centers can select the best platforms for their specific needs while having a single-pane-of-glass solution to monitor and manage them.
   4. Real-time monitoring and analytics: Provides real-time monitoring of data center infrastructure, allowing administrators to quickly identify and resolve issues before they impact operations. Advanced analytics tools offer actionable insights into performance trends, enabling proactive management and optimization.
   5. Builds upon open standards: Compatible with industry standards such as Redfish and IPMI, making it compatible with a wide range of servers and extendable through API-driven customization, simplifying integration with third-party applications and tools.
   6. Intelligent Automation:  Streamlines routine tasks and optimizes resource utilization. Automation of tasks such as provisioning, monitoring, and maintenance allows data center administrators to focus more on strategic initiatives and innovation.

“Our team is excited to introduce the latest release of AMI Data Center Manager. AMI is committed to providing data center managers with the necessary tools to efficiently assess, monitor, and manage their diverse array of devices to meet sustainability objectives,” – says Arvind Jayabal, GM of AMI DCM.

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AMI is a registered trademark and AMI Data Center Manager is a trademark of AMI in the US and/or elsewhere. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

¹Data Center figures based on 3MW and 300 racks.

AMI, a leader in open-source-based UEFI, manageability, and platform security solutions, is gearing up to showcase its latest advancements in modern-day data center solutions. Under the theme of “Sustaining Data Centers of the Future,” AMI is leading the charge toward environmentally responsible data centers with its cutting-edge products, such as AMI DCM. Attendees can test its robust features at the AMI booth (A21), such as carbon emission measurement, system utilization monitoring, and many more. By providing energy efficiency and enhanced manageability, AMI is helping create the sustainable data center of tomorrow, today!

Manageability Supporting OCP Composable Architecture

With the growing interest in interoperable and composable hardware design, AMI is working closely with several DC-MHS and DC-SCM hardware vendors to define, design, and deliver robust manageability solutions to the market. A defining feature being “Single BMC image with Multiple Server Silicon support” which addresses platform vendors and data centers’ varying technological and business needs. Attendees at the show will get an update on our latest BMC manageability solution, MegaRAC OneTree, along with our latest OCP contributions from MegaRAC Community Edition.

Security at the Heart of Innovation

Security is one of the pillars of OCP. AMI’s commitment to firmware security extends beyond delivering a production-grade platform root-of-trust solution, AMI Tektagon. This year, AMI showcases a security-first cloud service for vulnerability management and automated testing that leverages Arm® SystemReady test suites. Attendees are encouraged to visit the AMI booth to view the SPDM-based firmware attestation demos and the other AMI Meridian Security Services.

Thought Leadership

Lastly, AMI will be presenting/co-presenting on various technology topics. The key messaging focuses on the need for flexible platform manageability design, data center sustainability through firmware, enhanced supply-chain security leveraging SBOM, and open-source-friendly custom-compute development. Among these topics, AMI is partnering with Jabil to present on improved interoperability for achieving a plug-and-play design on DC-MHS platforms. In addition, AMI is partnering with Arm to present on accelerated time-to-market of purpose-built hardware designs using open-source firmware, Arm virtual platforms, and Compute Subsystems (CSS).

The complete list of OCP featured presentations are below:

• [Sanjoy Maity, AMI CEO] Executive Session: Enabling Sustainability, Scalability, and Security via Platform Firmware (Wed, April 24, 1:28 pm – 1:43 pm | Floor 1 – Auditorium II)
• [AMI/Arm] Technical Session: Leveraging OCP to Create a Purpose Built ARM Processor (Thu, April 25, 10:50 am – 11:10 am | Floor 1 – Pavilion 5, Room A)
• [AMI/Jabil] Technical Session: Sensor Discovery and Manageability for Pluggable DC-MHS Designs (Thu, April 25, 1:40 pm – 2:00 pm | Floor 1 – Pavilion 5, Room A)
• [AMI] Technical Session – Empowering Firmware Security: The Indispensable Role of SBOM for End Users (Thu, April 25, 8:30 am – 8:50 am | Floor 1 – Auditorium IV)

Visit AMI Booth A21!

We are excited about this year’s OCP Regional Summit! AMI is poised to contribute significantly to the data center landscape with sustainable and innovative solutions. We look forward to meeting all the ODMs, OEMs, Hyperscalers, and Cloud Service Providers attending the conference and sharing insights!

 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AMI^®, the global leader in Dynamic Firmware for worldwide computing, has announced the availability of AMI’s Aptio^® V on the new AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 for SolidRun Bedrock fanless industrial PCs. This collaboration further expands boundaries on the support for AI at the distributed edge with power-efficient and high-performance industrial PCs.

The modularity and flexibility of Aptio V enable seamless zero-configuration compatibility to hundreds of SolidRun Bedrock variants, including the incorporation of AI accelerators, different CPUs, multiple add-on cards, and changing RAM, storage, and network adapters in the field. Because of this versatility, SolidRun Bedrock with AMD Ryzen and Aptio V can be widely deployed in edge AI, robotics, industrial control and automation, healthcare, automotive, and many other edge applications.

The remarkable efficiency of AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000 is enhanced in Aptio V on Bedrock using a custom BIOS menu for high granularity control of CPU power, allowing consistent system performance at the full industrial temperature range of -40ºC to 85ºC ambient.

“Aptio V built around a modular, flexible core, hardened on billions of compute devices, provides a wealth of customization and value-added capabilities for today’s embedded devices. We are proud to partner with SolidRun to help bring one of the first industrial PCs to the market on the latest AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000, “ says Puran Nallagatla, SVP Global Boot Firmware at AMI

“The ongoing partnership with AMI is key in unleashing the full potential of SolidRun Bedrock,” says Irad Stavi, IPC Product Line manager at SolidRun. “Thanks to AMI expertise with the inner workings of the CPU and the robustness and flexibility of AMI Aptio V, SolidRun is first to market with an industrial PC based on the latest AMD Ryzen Embedded 8000.”

This collaboration between SolidRun, AMD, and AMI enables immediate deployment of efficient, high-performance edge AI solutions and ruggedized industrial PCs tailored for specific applications. These Bedrock edge analytics systems are self-contained and minimize dependence on cloud computing. SolidRun Bedrock with AMI Aptio V is available now from SolidRun and SolidRun authorized resellers.

AMI’s firmware support for SolidRun Bedrock on Aptio V is available now. For more information, contact AMI sales.

AMI is a registered trademark and Aption V is a trademark of AMI in the US and/or elsewhere. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About SolidRun:

SolidRun is a leading developer of ruggedized industrial PCs, SOMs (System-on-Module) and Edge-AI ready platforms for scalable inferencing in miniature, robust and easy-to-deploy systems. SolidRun’s diversified hardware portfolio encompasses both x86 and ARM in a variety of standard and optimized form-factors. To speed-up development and integration, all SolidRun products are released with customized BIOS / bootloader, OS distributions and a complete drivers suite. For more information, visit www.solid-run.com.

Embedded World, one of the world’s largest embedded technology exhibitions and conferences, presents an opportunity for AMI to demonstrate technological leadership, innovative solutions, and key industry collaborations that drive value to the computing world. This year is no different! AMI’s focus at Embedded World (EW24) revolves around three main pillars:

• • Windows IoT on Arm
  • Silicon-agnostic, Multi-architecture UEFI Support
  • Cloud Firmware Solutions

Windows IoT on Arm (WoA)

It’s no secret that Windows IoT on Arm has been slowly gaining traction in the Enterprise and Industrial Edge spaces for some time. One aspect that makes this idea appealing is the ability to reuse engineering resources, intellectual Property (IP), drivers/kernels, orchestration services, and testing frameworks across x86 and Arm projects. Following the WoA demo at EW23 on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Compute Platform, this year, AMI is partnering with industry giants Microsoft, NXP, and SECO to showcase Windows IoT support on NXP’s i.MX 8M Plus Evaluation Kit and SECO’s SOM-SMARC-MX8M-Plus low-power design platform for higher-level embedded Machine Learning (ML) applications.

The goal is to offer comprehensive UEFI solutions that empower Arm platform vendors to attain support for Windows IoT OS and industry-standard certifications like Arm SystemReady and Windows Logo. This is achieved by offloading firmware development, validation, and support responsibilities to AMI, allowing vendors to concentrate on developing end-user features that set their technologies apart.

“The message is clear. Leverage our decades of expertise in platform firmware and OS enablement to achieve a faster time to market.” Julien Witassek, Managing Director, AMI Germany

Silicon-agnostic, Multi-architecture UEFI Support

The current development process for Arm-based Enterprise Edge and Industrial Edge/IoT platforms includes silicon vendors releasing their foundational silicon-enablement firmware code as open-source. Platform vendors then undertake tasks such as feature enhancements, platform porting, system validation, and production support for each generation of silicon from different vendors. This leads to process inefficiencies, support scarcity, and implementation inconsistencies.

How has AMI solved this in the x86 world? We worked closely with silicon vendors to create a modular design that decouples the silicon-enablement stack from the rest of the core boot firmware architecture. We can utilize widely-adopted open-source projects like EDK II to create a plug-and-play design. This design enables platform vendors to effortlessly tailor their boot firmware with additional features based on their requirements, and expand their offerings across various silicon vendors and generations.

AMI is partnering with SECO to showcase multi-silicon support of Aptio V UEFI solution by enabling their NXP-based SOM-SMARC-MX8M-Plus and Rockchip-based SBC-3.5-RK3568 embedded platforms. Furthermore, to achieve firmware readiness at “Day 0”, developing firmware solutions on pre-silicon virtual platforms is critical. Accordingly, AMI will showcase their Aptio V UEFI solution enabling muti-OS support on the Arm Neoverse RD-N2 Fixed Virtual Platform (FVP).

“Bringing silicon agnostic firmware solutions in the ARM world, will significantly expand the interoperability across different OS and simplify this architecture’s adoption for many different use cases.” Marco Sogli, Global Embedded Software R&D Manager, SECO

Cloud Firmware Services

AMI delivers dynamic firmware to our customers supporting our vision of sustainability, scalability, and security. In our attempts to march forward to the mission, we are introducing two new web-based services – Meridian Vulnerability Management Service (VMS) and Meridian Aptio Utilities Delivery Service – at EW24. Attendees will get a first-hand view of these UI dashboards and interact with the functionalities.

“We are thrilled to introduce two transformative proof of concepts. The enhanced Security Advisories through the VMS and Firmware Utilities have the potential to reshape how we engage with our partners and serve our end-users, setting a new benchmark for excellence in the industry.” Sudan Ayanam, Vice President of Technology and Architecture, AMI

Visit Us in Booth 2-200!

Come engage with our team, explore our demos, and discover how AMI enables your customers’ success. We look forward to welcoming you to booth 2-200!

For more information, contact: EmbeddedWorld@ami.com