PORTLAND, Ore. – August 24, 2021 – DMTF today announced that its Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) specifications have garnered industry-wide support and are actively helping to solve end-user concerns in a common, standardized way. DMTF’s Platform Management Communications Infrastructure (PMCI) Working Group defines specifications that address customer needs through a simple standardized way. By using solutions based on PMCI standards, customers can anticipate reduced downtime, a secure and reliable platform, lower total cost of ownership, and interoperability at both the system and component levels. These widely used standards include PLDM for Firmware Update and PLDM for Redfish® Device Enablement (RDE). 

The PLDM Firmware Update specification supports firmware updates of devices by using a standard method for obtaining current firmware version details, transferring a new code image to the device, and a consistent packaging format regardless of what type of device is being updated. 

The PLDM for RDE specification enables a management controller to present Redfish-conformant management of I/O adapters in a server, without the need for code specific to each adapter family/vendor/model. 

Both specifications can also be used in conjunction with other PMCI standards to provide a comprehensive, common architecture for improved communication between management subsystem components.

“DMTF standards provide common management infrastructure components for instrumentation, control and communication in a platform-independent and technology neutral way,” said Jeff Hilland, president of DMTF. “These two specifications are examples of delivering value to our members, customers and the industry by building an ecosystem that is truly interoperable and will ultimately improve efficiencies and provide areas for cost reduction.” 

Several key industry leaders are solving end user concerns in a common way by utilizing DMTF standards. 

“The Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) Firmware Update specification will unify the industry’s approach to out-of-band device firmware updates. Cisco believes implementing this specification will minimize downtime in customers’ environments, by staging firmware updates from the management/out-of-band interfaces. PLDM for RDE allows devices to participate through Redfish without additional software requirements enabling a single, holistic and consistent point of management,” said Bhaskar Jayakrishnan, Vice President Engineering - Cisco Systems.

“Open standards and simplified management systems continue to be important for both us and our customers,” said Drew Schulke, vice president of Product Management at Dell Technologies. “Today, we continue to see demand for standards-based management to any device, while eliminating downtime and interoperability issues. DMTF’s PLDM standards help pave a path for us to meet these demands.”

“DMTF’s PLDM standards are key to enabling device management features in an open standards-based approach across the industry,” said Scott Shaffer, vice president of Server Advanced Development and US COE at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. “HPE has successfully adopted PLDM for Redfish Device Enablement (RDE) and PLDM for Firmware Update across HPE servers. As a result, option cards are now unleashed with a rich set of DMTF Redfish capabilities through out-of-band communication with HPE iLO5 technology.”

“By utilizing the DMTF PLDM Firmware Update and Redfish Device Enablement specifications, Intel is able to provide additional value to customers seeking downtime, interlock dependency, platform HW manageability, and total cost of ownership improvements,” said Patty Kummrow, Vice President in Intel's Network and Edge Group. 

“DMTF’s latest PLDM specifications brings forward new levels of industry interoperability that meet the pressing needs of customers today. Lenovo is committed to simplifying platform management through open and interoperable standards to better enable our customers to implement and deliver infrastructure while meeting ever-increasing security and scalability requirements,” said Patrick Caporale, Distinguished Engineer, Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group.

“Supporting open standards enables NVIDIA’s BlueField DPUs to deliver the most powerful software-defined networking, storage and cybersecurity acceleration capabilities available for data centers,” said Yael Shenhav, vice president of Ethernet NIC and DPU at NVIDIA. “NVIDIA’s support for DMTF’s PLDM standards for Redfish® Device Enablement and Firmware Update provides unrivaled management functionality and interoperability to enable the best user experience and flexibility for our customers and partners.”

“DMTF’s Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) specifications are total customer focused, and those companies that implement the specifications will provide customer benefits that will allow them to increase their productivity and hardware availability,” said Fernando Tavares, regulation specialist, Positivo Tecnologia.

To learn more about the PMCI Working Group and the platform management standards it defines, or to get involved in this work, please visit https://www.dmtf.org/standards/pmci. Detailed information on DMTF standards can be found at www.dmtf.org/standards. Those interested in supporting and joining DMTF’s efforts can learn more at www.dmtf.org/join.

About DMTF

DMTF, an industry standards organization, creates open manageability specifications spanning diverse emerging and traditional IT infrastructures including cloud, virtualization, network, servers, and storage. Member companies and alliance partners worldwide collaborate on standards including Redfish, SMBIOS, MCTP, SPDM, and more to improve the interoperable management of information technologies. Nationally and internationally recognized by ANSI and ISO, DMTF standards enable a more integrated and cost-effective approach to management through interoperable solutions. Simultaneous development of Open Source and Open Standards is made possible by DMTF, which has the support, tools, and infrastructure for efficient development and collaboration. For a complete list of our standards and initiatives, visit the Standards and Technologies section of the DMTF website.  

DMTF is led by a diverse board of directors from Broadcom Inc.; Cisco; Dell Technologies; Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Intel Corporation; Lenovo; NetApp; Positivo Tecnologia S.A.; and Verizon.