— Open session explains role of Yocto Project layer, meta-picmg, in improving modern platform management across diverse vendor ecosystem
WAKEFIELD, Mass. October 27, 2026 — PICMG, the leading consortium for open modular computing specifications, will offer an open meetup session, Tales from Y2K38: Creating a Custom Meta Layer to Replace IPMI for Cross-Industry Open Standards, November 13 at edge lab LIVE! (November 10-13 at electronica in Munich, Germany).
The session explains the criticality of migrating to PICMG’s next-generation hardware platform management (HPM) standard — metaHPM — and meta-picmg, a custom Yocto Project layer that translates common management requirements into reusable software integration. Since embedded hardware is often in service for decades, it outlives the firmware that manages it. The internal clocks of systems based on the legacy Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) are 32-bit, which makes them susceptible to the Year 2038 (Y2K38) limit.1
“Older IPMI firmware implementations were written decades ago and rely on signed 32-bit variables in chips with low processing power to log events, schedule maintenance, and track system uptime. As these systems are rarely touched once a server is deployed, their internal clocks are directly vulnerable to the Y2K38 limit,” said Doug Sandy, CTO, PICMG. “That’s not acceptable in the embedded systems industry. And it’s why PICMG encourages developers to use metaHPM and meta-picmg to modernize their systems now.
“Building on OpenBMC’s existing Yocto/OpenEmbedded foundation and Redfish’s standardized management interfaces, PICMG’s approach aims to bring consistent inventory, telemetry, power and thermal management, and firmware lifecycle operations to platforms serving industrial, telecommunications, medical, and defense applications,” added Sandy. “I look forward to taking a deep dive into this complex technical topic at edge lab LIVE!”
“Doug Sandy’s session on metaHPM and meta-picmg at edge lab LIVE! exemplifies the importance of PICMG’s ongoing modernization standards in the embedded systems industry,” said Brandon Lewis, co-founder of edge lab LIVE! and president of ThroughPut Marketing. “Session attendees will learn how to mitigate a timing issue that could set the clock back to 1901, causing failures in the essential embedded systems on which we depend.”
Attend PICMG session at edge lab LIVE!
Doug Sandy’s session, Tales from Y2K38: Creating a Custom Meta Layer to Replace IPMI for Cross-Industry Open Standards, takes place from 12:00-2:30 p.m. on November 13, 2026 at edge lab LIVE! at electronica. Register now for the all-access early bird discount: https://www.edgebench.io/go-elli?session=pass-get-involved
Visit PICMG at Booth C5.100/34 at edge lab LIVE!, November 10-13, 2026 during exhibition hours. Schedule an onsite meeting with representatives of PICMG by email: [email protected] or phone: +1-781-246-9318
About edge lab LIVE!
edge lab LIVE! is a multi-faceted program designed for technical leaders and developers in the fields of embedded systems, the IoT and edge artificial intelligence (AI). edge lab LIVE! is jointly hosted by ThroughPut Marketing and Messe München. It takes place November 10-13, 2026 at electronica (Trade Fair Center Messe München, Munich, Germany). For more information visit: https://electronica.de/en/trade-fair/program/edge-lab/
About PICMG
Founded in 1994, PICMG is a not-for-profit 501(c) consortium of companies and organizations that collaboratively develop open standards for high-performance automation, industrial IoT, military & aerospace, telecommunications, test & measurement, medical, and general-purpose embedded computing applications. There are more than 100 member companies that specialize in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and thermal design, single board computer design, high-speed signaling design and analysis, networking expertise, backplane and packaging design, power management, high-availability software, and comprehensive system management. Key standards families developed by PICMG include COM-HPC, COM Express, CompactPCI, AdvancedTCA, MicroTCA, AdvancedMC, CompactPCI Serial, InterEdge, ModBlox7, SHB Express, MicroSAM, and HPM (Hardware Platform Management).
For more information, visit: https://www.picmg.org, or follow PICMG on LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
Media Contacts:
PICMG
Jessica Isquith
ThroughPut Marketing
Coline Pourtier
1 Kaminsky, S. (2026, January 19). Epochalypse Now — or how to deal with Y2K38. Kaspersky Daily. https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/mitigating-y2k38-vulnerability-in-organization/55150/