AMT is handy….

It’s just a shame that you can’t use it easily on Linux due to the lack of a driver to communicate directly with the hardware. It’s the replacement for IPMI. Complete remote management of your servers (and desktops and laptops) through an always-on network connection (that is as long as you have power going to the box). All it needs is to be configured (not for the faint hearted) and then you need a machine to talk to it. Unless you’re using a half decent windows server box (something that can at least pretend to be a provisioning server), you’re screwed as you’ll only be able to use it in small bunnies mode (business :). You can make a local ISO image on your computer act like it’s in the CD drivce of the remote machine, you can PXE boot it from the command line (easy installs; easy cleanup!). It cooks, it cleans and it even sends out SNMP traps when something goes wrong (except of course for when the power goes out). It supports a watchdog (but it’s not as easy to program for as the linux watchdog). Unfortunately you have to talk to the damned thing over SOAP. I mean really, wot are you like? It’s like using a butcher’s knife to perform and appendectomy.