đź•’ 8 min read (Quick)
One nice feature to have in any lab environment is good out-of-band management for various devices. Enterprise servers have IPMI, iDRAC, & iLO (Supermicro, Dell, HP) for remote power control, BIOS access, and KVM, but most “consumer hardware” doesn’t come with that level of control.
That’s where Intel AMT (Active Management Technology) comes in. If your hardware supports vPro, AMT gives you similar out-of-band management without needing IPMI. And with MeshCommander and MeshCentral, created by Ylian Saint-Hilaire, you can unlock a lot more of the same capabilities you’d get with enterprise IPMI implementations. Big thanks to Yilan for the work he’s put into MeshCommander and MeshCentral to be able to take advantage of more of the great features Intel AMT has to offer and making it overall easier to manage and interface with these devices. These are 2 awesome, open-source projects that I definitely wished I had known about earlier:
What’s Intel AMT & Why Should You Care?
Intel AMT is built into vPro-enabled Intel CPUs and chipsets, letting you remotely control machines even when the OS is unresponsive. This means you can:
- Power on/off machines remotely
- Access BIOS settings without a monitor
- Mount ISOs and reinstall the OS over the network
If you’re using something like the Minisforum MS01 (or another vPro-supported mini PC), AMT is a great way to enable enterprise-style remote management features without spending cash on new hardware.
Which CPUs & Chipsets Support vPro?
Not all Intel processors support vPro, so check before buying. Look for:
- Intel Core i5, i7, or i9 with vPro Enterprise (non-vPro/standard versions lack AMT).
- Intel Xeon E-series (only certain models support AMT).
- Chipsets like Q570, Q670, W680, and some Z690 boards (verify vPro support).
If vPro isn’t listed in the CPU specs, AMT won’t be available. Check this list.
MeshCommander vs. MeshCentral: What’s the Difference?
Both tools are designed to manage AMT-enabled machines, but they serve different needs:
- MeshCommander – A lightweight desktop-based application that lets you control multiple AMT systems. Great if you’re managing just one or two machines locally.
- MeshCentral – A web-based, self-hosted solution that allows you to control multiple AMT devices from a single dashboard, making it ideal for larger environments.
If you’re just running a small homelab with one or two vPro enabled machines, MeshCommander may be all you need. But if you’re managing several, I really mean like half a dozen machines or have multiple clusters of devices, MeshCentral could make more sense. Also, if you are managing the endpoint systems with a team, you’re going to want to go with MeshCentral for its ability to be able to manage multiple devices by multiple admins with individual logins. MeshCentral even supports Single Sign-On (SSO) with a lot of the popular identity providers.
How AMT Compares to IPMI, iDRAC, iLO & External KVMs
If you’ve used IPMI, AMT works similarly but isn’t the same. Both allow remote access even when the OS is down, IPMI requires a dedicated management port and a BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) built into the motherboard. AMT, on the other hand, is built into Intel vPro-enabled CPUs, uses the main network interface, and works with tools like MeshCommander, making it easier and cheaper for home labs or small networks. That said, in my experience, vPro can be finicky and unreliable without good management tools, this is just my opinion. While AMT offers remote KVM and power control, it’s not as feature-rich as most vendors’ IPMI implementations, which are designed for managing fleets of servers and give more insites into the overall health of the system. But check out this chart to get an idea of what to expect from these different remote management solutions.
| Intel AMT with MeshCommander or MeshCentral | IPMI, iDRAC, & iLO (Supermicro, Dell, HP) | IP KVMs (JetKVM / Pi-KVM) | |
| Dedicated Management Port | No, it uses the main physical NIC | Yes, typically uses a dedicated NIC | Yes, requires an external device with a NIC |
| Remote KVM | Yes, Via WebUI | Yes, Via WebUI | Yes, Via WebUI |
| Power Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BIOS Access | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with Consumer Hardware? | Yes, if the CPU supports vPro | No, requires enterprise-grade or high-end workstation hardware. | Yes, works with most systems |
| Extra Equipment Required? | No | No | Yes, external KVM device |
| Central Management of Multiple Devices | Yes, with MeshCommander and MeshCentral | Yes, with Supermicro IPMI Viewer, Dell OpenManage Enterprise, HPE Active Health System, & HPE Agentless Management | No, also consider you’ll need some type of switch or multiple of these devices to manage multiple nodes. |
Why Consider AMT Over an External KVM Device?
Devices like JetKVM or Pi-KVM can provide remote access to almost any system, but they come with the extra cost of buying the hardware and other setup requirements. If you already have Intel vPro-enabled hardware, AMT offers a built-in solution with no need for additional cables or external components. It’s a cleaner, more integrated way to manage devices you may be using as servers in your lab, assuming your devices support vPro. Also, as mentioned in the chart above, you’ll need multiple IP KVM devices to manage multiple servers. With Intel AMT and IPMI/iDRAC/iLO implementations, all of the needed hardware to manage the system is built into either the motherboard in the case of IPMI/iDRAC/iLO and the CPU & chipset in the case of Intel AMT. And this is no knock-on IP KVM devices like the JetKVM & Pi-KVM. They certainly have their place, especially in home labs and potentially some small business environments that have a few servers or PCs that act as servers that may not have some form of built-in out-of-band management. Just food for thought, but I believe that if you are building a home lab, looking out for hardware that supports vPro isn’t a bad idea, as coupling it with MeshCommander and/or MeshCentral would make for a better out-of-band management solution than adding an IP-KVM device to an existing device.
Conclusion
I’d say If you have hardware in your lab with vPro-support, AMT + MeshCommander/MeshCentral is a no-brainer. It’s not quite a full IPMI replacement, but for a simple headless server in your lab, it’s more than perfect; and I have found it to be VERY stable easy to use, and the documentation is really good!
Instead of spending money on an external KVM device or server-grade hardware for these features, check if your existing mini PCs or desktops have vPro. If they do, you already have a built-in Out-of-Band remote management solution you just need the right tools to use it.