If you have AMT-based computers that have been provisioned and managed outside Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later (referred to as “the other management solution” in the following table) and you want to manage these computers using out of band management in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later, you will need to decide on a migration strategy.

Note
The information in this topic applies only to Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later.

The available choices are listed in the following table.

Migration Strategy Procedures More Information

Use in-band provisioning with Configuration Manager.
  • Remove the provisioning information from the AMT-based computers either by using the other management solution or manually for each computer by configuring the BIOS extensions and selecting the option for a full or partial removal of provisioning information. Install the client for Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 or later, and assign the client computers to the site running Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 or later.

  • If the provisioning information was partially rather than fully removed, specify the remote admin account and password as an AMT Provisioning and Discovery Account on the Provisioning Settings tab of the Out of Band Management component properties.

  • Provision these computers by using the in-band AMT provisioning method in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later.

This method requires that the Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 (or later) client is installed and that the AMT version is natively supported by Configuration Manager. For information about supported versions of AMT, see Overview of Out of Band Management.

In-band provisioning is more secure than out of band provisioning. For more information, see Out of Band Management Security Best Practices and Privacy Information.

Use out of band provisioning with Configuration Manager, with an export utility.
  • Use an export utility from the other management solution to remove the provisioning information from the AMT-based computers and capture the computer information into a comma-separated values (CSV) file.

  • Provision these computers using the out of band AMT provisioning method in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later, using the CSV file with the Import Computer for Out of Band Management Wizard.

This method automatically provides all the computer information required to import multiple computers, so you do not need to provide this information yourself.

Important
Store the CSV file securely, and ensure that you can access it securely when you run the Import Computer for Out of Band Management Wizard.

There might be a time limit between running the export utility and importing the CSV file into the Configuration Manager database, so you might need to plan these two procedures carefully so that you allow enough time for the AMT-based computers to be provisioned by Configuration Manager. For example, you might need to export and import in batches, performing these procedures during a time when there is plenty of available network bandwidth.

Refer to the documentation accompanying the export utility provided by the other management solution for more information about how to use the export utility and to identify any time-limit requirements.

When you use the exported CSV file, an instruction is automatically sent to Configuration Manager to prevent automatic in-band provisioning if the Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 (or later) client is installed. If you want to override this behavior, right-click the resource, click Out of band management, and then click Enable automatic provisioning.

Use out of band provisioning with Configuration Manager, without using an export utility.
  • Fully remove or partially remove the provisioning information from the AMT-based computers by using one of the following methods:

    • Centrally, using the other management solution.

    • Locally, manually selecting the option to remove provisioning information in the BIOS extensions.

  • Provision these computers using the out of band AMT provisioning method in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and later, using the Import Computer for Out of Band Management Wizard.

This method requires that you manually provide all the computer information required to import the computers into the Configuration Manager database, such as the FQDN and SMBIOS GUID (also known as the UUID). If you partially removed the provisioning information, you must also manually provide the AMT remote admin password, either in the wizard or as an AMT Provisioning and Discovery Account. You can create a CSV file to use with the wizard to import multiple computers, or you can enter the information in the wizard for a single computer.

Important
If you manually specify the AMT remote admin password in the wizard, it cannot be specified in clear text but must instead be encoded by using Base 64. For more information about how to encode text by using Base 64, see the knowledge base article about sample base 64 encoding and decoding (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122491).

When the following condition applies, use in-band provisioning with Configuration Manager:

If all of the following conditions apply, use out of band provisioning with Configuration Manager and an export utility:

If any of the following conditions apply, use out of band provisioning with Configuration Manager without using an export utility:

For information about removing the AMT provisioning information from the other management solution and running the export procedure, see the documentation that accompanies this management solution.

For information about provisioning AMT-based computers in-band using the client from Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 or later for provisioning AMT-based computers out of band without an export utility, see How to Provision Computers for AMT.

For information about importing the AMT-based computers from another management solution into Configuration Manager, see How to Migrate AMT-Based Computers to Configuration Manager After Running an Export Utility.

See Also