PICMG | Hardware Platform Management

Family of Specifications

Hardware Platform Management IPM Controller Firmware Upgrade Specification

LAN-Attached IPM Controller Specification

DHCP – Assigned Platform Management Parameters Specification

Key Benefits & Features

HPM.1 (management controller firmware upgrades):

Implementation-independent firmware upgrade infrastructure for all HPM controllers
Upgrade images tagged with the type of the targeted management controllers, enabling upgrades of heterogeneous configurations
Supports back up firmware copies and automatic rollbacks for upgrade resiliency
Implemented by most HPM management controllers, with upgrade agent in widely used open source ipmitool

HPM.2 (LAN-attached management controllers):

Provides much higher speed LAN (usually Ethernet) connection for management traffic, complementing IPMB
In broadly applicable configurations, takes advantage of widely implemented sideband connections with network controllers to multiplex management traffic onto existing payload-oriented LAN fabrics
Enables order of magnitude performance upgrades for HPM.1 firmware upgrades
Supports IPMI’s serial over LAN (SOL) architecture for remote access to serial dialogue traffic, with extensions enabling up to 255 physical serial ports per board, with up to 15 accessible at a time via SOL
Provides IPMI messaging trace facility to ease visibility of IPMI traffic for diagnostic purposes
Potentially allows substantial portion of IPMB messaging to use LAN transport, instead, with possible performance benefits for HPM layer, overall, as HPM.2 support becomes broad and deep
Provides a standard discovery mechanism for acquiring information about the physical interfaces used by an IPM Controller to attach itself to the in-shelf LAN(s).
Provides a mechanism for IPM Controller-managed failovers between redundant LAN connections.

HPM.3 (DHCP-assigned platform management parameters specification)

Complements HPM.2 by standardizing ways to use DHCP to assign IP addresses and other parameters for LAN-attached management controllers
Allows controllers to fetch parameters directly from DHCP server or rely on proxies (e.g. a Shelf Manager) to do the fetching
Associates IP addresses and other parameters with board or module slot locations, so that the same parameters can be assigned to a particular geographic slot location, independent of the specific board or module occupying that slot, simplifying address assignment configuration

Target Applications

HPM.x specifications define horizontal facilities and are applicable to any industry/application using ATCA, AMCs, or MicroTCA

Hardware Platform Management (HPM) specifications extend the hardware platform management of PICMG standards AdvancedTCA, AdvancedMC, and MicroTCA. They enable monitoring, predictive maintenance, live software updates, and event logging, thus forming the basis for high-availability systems in which individual subsystem failures can be detected and compensated by redundancy.

Key Features and Benefits

The Hardware Platform Management (HPM.x) specifications augment the HPM layer of three key PICMG platforms:

AdvancedTCA (as defined by PICMG 3.0)
AdvancedMC (AMC.0)
MicroTCA (MTCA.0)

The foundation HPM layer for those platforms is defined by hundreds of pages in the corresponding base and subsidiary specifications. PICMG Hardware Platform Management in this broad sense is a key ingredient, enabling system performance monitoring, predictive maintenance, software upgrades in live systems, and event logging.

HPM Specifications Overview.

The HPM layer also enables the construction of High Availability systems, where individual subsystem failures can be detected and repaired using redundant resources.

HPM Specification Classes

1, the Intelligent Platform Management (IPM) Controller Firmware Upgrade specification, was adopted in 2007 and defines firmware file formats and IPMI command protocols for updating the firmware in ATCA, AMC, and MicroTCA management controllers (which are generically referenced as “HPM controllers” below).
2, the LAN-attached IPM Controller specification, standardizes methods for attaching management controllers to in-shelf LANs (usually Ethernet).
3, the DHCP-assigned platform management parameters specification, defines how a DHCP server can be configured to assign HPM parameters, especially IP addresses, for use by the HPM layer, all on an implementation-independent basis. Both HPM.2 and HPM.3 were adopted in 2012.

How HPM Operates

In the context of the image above, HPM.1 is represented by the upgrade agent in the lower left corner; according to HPM.1, it can communicate via a Shelf Manager with any of the listed management controller types to deliver relevant upgrade images for installation on those controllers.

HPM.2 adds standardized ways to those controllers to connect directly with an in-shelf LAN (shown in the figure with dashed red line); these connections allow an HPM.1 upgrade agent to communicate directly with any LAN-attached controllers, bypassing its owning Shelf Manager. The direct connections facilitate additional applications, including serial over LAN, IPMI message tracing, and general communication with system managers and network clients, all as shown in the figure.

HPM.3 provides a standardized DHCP-based paradigm for automatic assignment of IP addresses (and other parameters) to enable all this communication.

Key features and Benefits of Each Specification

HPM.1 (IPM Controller Firmware Upgrade Specification):

Defines standardized firmware image formats (e.g., *.hpm) for upgrading all IPM controllers (“HPM controllers”) in xTCA systems.
Establishes a multi-stage upgrade process (preparation → upload → activation) with integrity checks before activation.
Supports rollback mechanisms – allowing restoration to the previous firmware version if an upgrade fails.
Enables inclusion of heterogeneous component firmware (e.g., bootloader, OS, FPGA, etc.) within one upgrade image and sequential update.
Operates independently of the specific transport mechanism used (IPMB, LAN, UART, etc.).

HPM.2 (LAN-attached IPM Controller Specification):

Allows IPM controllers to connect directly to an in-shelf LAN (typically Ethernet) in addition to or instead of the traditional IPMB bus.
Provides significantly higher data transfer speeds for management traffic such as firmware uploads.
Supports remote functions like Serial over LAN (SOL) and IPMI message tracing for diagnostics and debugging.
Defines mechanisms to detect physical LAN interfaces and supports redundant connections and failover capability.
Enables multiplexing of management traffic over existing LAN infrastructure, improving overall network efficiency.

HPM.3 (DHCP-assigned platform management parameters Specification)

Standardizes the use of DHCP for assigning network and management parameters (e.g., IP addresses) to LAN-attached IPM controllers.
Links network parameters (like IP addresses) to physical or “geographic” slot locations instead of board identity.
Allows an IPM controller to obtain configuration parameters directly from a DHCP server or via a proxy such as a Shelf Manager.
Simplifies scaling and operation of large xTCA systems by automating network parameter distribution.
Provides a vendor-neutral, interoperable approach to DHCP-based management configuration.

Hardware Platform Management (HPM) Overview