Integrated onboard technologies, or service processors, are microcontrollers embedded in a motherboard of a server, a PCI card, or on the chassis of a server. Service processor features vary by manufacturer and include remote power-cycling of devices, monitoring of a server’s on-board instrumentation (temperature, CPU status, fan speed, and voltage), remote console access via Serial over LAN (SoL), and the ability to set event traps and perform OS-level shutdown. Some service processors also allow for data logging, KVM control, and virtual media. There are several different types of integrated onboard technologies made by various manufacturers.
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