National baseboard management controller upgrades servers

A single-chip baseboard management controller (BMC) from National Semiconductor Corp. is billed as offering remote management capabilities of the kind usually found only in high-end servers.

The PC87431M is the first in a series of remote management controllers that will support version 1.5 of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) spec.

Ulrich Seif, National's CIO, said the chip will let makers of low- and medium-end servers offer IT managers remote access at less than half the cost of other BMCs. "The IPMI specification is essential in managing complex environments from a single access point," he noted.

The device consists of a processor, internal sensors, Flash memory, and preprogrammed firmware to monitor a server's baseboard power supply and SCSI termination voltages as well as other system voltages, temperature sensors and fan failure indicators.

Additionally, it combines remote manageability, alerting and BIOS checking/switching as defined by IPMI, and secure remote chassis control; system health monitoring; autonomous corrective action on critical sensor events; and LAN alerts.

The PC87431 is in production, packaged in a 44-pin LLP or a 48-pin TSSOP. It is priced from $8.50 in lots of 1,000.

EE Times