Intel vPro technology

Intel today announced new vPro technology, due in the third quarter, that will help business and IT staff. Intel's vPro brand, the newest addition to the company's brand portfolio and the first targeting businesses and IT customers, will feature an Intel Core microarchitecture dual-core processor with a 64-bit microarchitecture that offers significant gains in performance and reductions in power-consumption, according to the company. Intel vPro technology also includes the second-generation of Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) as well as Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT). Intel VT will be integrated into the dual-core processor while the next-generation Intel AMT will be integrated into the new platform chipset. Intel says the hardware innovations, when combined with industry-enabled software solutions, will offer superior manageability and improved security.

"Like Intel Centrino mobile technology and Intel Viiv technology, Intel vPro technology will bring together world-class innovations throughout the processor, chipsets, networking and software," said William A. Swope, Intel vice president and director of Digital Enterprise Brand Management. "This technology significantly advances desktop PCs and will quite simply offer businesses security and manageability like never before -- all on one of the most powerful and energy-efficient PCs in the market."

Future versions of Apple's Power Macs may feature the new vPro technology. Expected to be the final product line transitioned to the new Intel architecture, the Intel-based Power Macs are rumored to be introduced at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference in August. The new virtualization technology may also be part of Mac OS X Leopard, the next generation of Apple's operating system expected to be shown at WWDC.

Intel vPro features Intel AMT

Offering businesses avenues to reduce PC support costs, Intel AMT helps manage, inventory, diagnose and repair PCs even when systems are turned off or have crashed operating systems or hard drives. The second generation Intel AMT technology offers the ability to isolate infected PCs before they impact the network and alert IT when threats are removed.

Delivering improved PC security, Intel VT allows for separate independent hardware-based environments inside a single PC so IT managers can create a dedicated, tamper-resistant service environment -- or partition -- where particular tasks or activities can run independently, invisible to and isolated from PC users.

Proclaiming industry support for Intel vPro technology, Intel noted that Symantec today announced plans to build security solutions creating an isolated environment outside of the main PC operating system for the purpose of managing security threats. The tamper-resistant virtualized environment will deliver stronger control and protection in the data infrastructure, according to the companies.

Other industry partners such as Adobe, Cisco, Computer Associates, Microsoft, and Skype are expected to support the new technologies.

Intel vPro technology will be available in the second half of the year and will be identified by a new logo on PCs from major system manufacturers and channel resellers worldwide.

by MacNN Staff