NOTICE: Broadcom utilities are
for use only with Broadcom NICs.
ASF functionality is disabled by default on Dell computers. There are several ways to enable and configure ASF on your system, including a VBScript, using a WMI browser such as Dell OpenManage™ IT Assistant,
running the Broadcom ASF Configuration Utility, or using the Broadcom
Remote Configuration
Utility to configure the solution. If you are familiar with scripting, it is
recommended that you use VBscript to configure and enable ASF.
Table 1 lists the ASF configuration settings and their defaults.
Enables hardware-generated pulse from the client that the management station may monitor to determine if the client is present on the network (default = disable).
Heartbeat Interval
Time between heartbeat pulses from the client (default 0 seconds).
WoL on ARP/RMCP
Enables Wake-on-LAN when ARP or RMCP packet is sent to the client station
(default = disable).
Management Console IP
IP address of the management station (default = 0.0.0.0).
IP Address (not configurable)
IP address of the client station (default = 0.0.0.0).
Subnet Mask (not configurable)
Subnet Mask (default = 0.0.0.0).
Default Gateway (not configurable)
Gateway IP address (default = 0.0.0.0).
PET Retransmit Interval
Number of seconds between alert retransmissions (default 10 seconds).
SNMP_Community
Identifier (default = public) that matches the client computer with the remote management
program.
WMI provides a scripting interface. Using VBScript, you can write scripts that connect to WMI services locally or remotely, retrieve information, or execute methods. Because ASF configuration can be accessed through WMI, you can use the script to achieve all tasks that ASF
Remote Configuration Utility can accomplish. By using software tools such as the Microsoft® System Management Services (SMS) to deliver the script, you can remotely enable and configure ASF on any client system.
Among the options for using Visual Basic scripts to configure ASF throughout the enterprise are the following:
Have the user login script run a script to enable and configure ASF.
Use deployment software, such as SMS, to deploy and run a script to enable and configure ASF.
Create a batch file that serially runs a script on each computer on the network to enable and configure
ASF.
You can view ASF properties and change configuration settings using a WMI browser, such as that available with the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant.
For information on using IT Assistant, see the Dell OpenManage IT Assistant User's Guide.
From the root/cimv2 namespace, navigate to the class name BRCM_ASFOOBAlertService. Perform a search for this "class name" if your browser supports searches. Otherwise, use the following derivation:
The managed object format (mof) is part of the Common Information Model (CIM) standard. A .mof file contains compatible definitions of CIM classes and includes the properties, qualifiers, and descriptions that are a part of each class. A class entry in a .mof file is a definition only; any code that services the class must be implemented elsewhere.
The Broadcom ASF Configuration Utility (ASFConfig.cpl) allows you to configure the Broadcom NIC
to use ASF functions and is located in the Microsoft Start/programs/Broadcom
ASF Configuration folder. The user interface components of the Broadcom ASF Configuration
Utility are described below:
ASF
Enable
Allows the user to enable or disable
the ASF function inside Broadcoms Network
Interface Controller (NIC). When more than one ASF-capable NIC exists in a
system, only one ASF NIC should be enabled.
Network
Adapters
Displays all ASF-capable Broadcom NICs that are found in the system. If more than
one such NIC is found, only one is allowed to have the ASF functionality enabled.
NOTICE: ASF is only supported on a single NIC.
Currently, it is not possible to designate which NIC will act as the
Master Alert Sending Device.
Remote
Management Control Protocol (RMCP)
Enables or disables the handling of the RMCP network
packets.
The Remote Management Console uses RMCP packets to communicate with the ASF
NIC. When enabled, the ASF NIC responds to the following RMCP commands:
ping,
Capability Request, and System State Request. When
disabled, the ASF NIC does not respond to any RMCP commands.
Heartbeat and Heartbeat Interval
Enables, disables, or sets the generation of heartbeat PET (Platform Event Trap) packets.
The ASF NIC is capable of periodically generating heartbeat PET packets
that get transmitted to the Remote
Management Console. A heartbeat
PET packet follows the SNMP trap format and can be viewed via any
industry-standard SNMP browsers.
When disabled, the ASF NIC does not generate any heartbeat PET packets. When enabled, the ASF NIC
generates a heartbeat PET periodically, determined by the value in the Heartbeat
Interval field.
WoL
on ARP/RMCP
Controls how ASF NIC handles the Wake On LAN (WoL).
Almost all Windows operating systems have the capability to
conserve power by entering standby or hibernate mode. They also have the capability to
wake up the system when an external event occurs. One such event is when the NIC receives
an Interesting Network Packet. Typically, Windows operating system can be
woken up by one of three Interesting Packets: Direct-IP, Uni-cast,
or NetBIOS Name Query.
The Windows WoL
feature creates a conflict with ASF NIC operation, because when
the system enters a powersaving mode, the ASF NIC is still operational,
sending PETs, receiving RMCP packets, and responding to ARP requests. ARP and RMCP packets are Direct-IP packets and
can wake up the system, but this may not be desirable to some users. By
selecting this option, you can choose to wake up the system when
the ASF NIC receives an Interesting Packet.
When ASF is enabled but the Wol on ARP/RMCP field is disabled, the ASF NIC does not wake up the system
when an Interesting Packet is received. When the Wol on ARP/RMCP field
is enabled, the ASF NIC wakes up the system when an Interesting
Packet is received.
SMBus Address of the Adapter
Displays the SMBus address used by the ASF NIC. This field
is read-only and is set by Dell.
PET
Retransmit Interval
Controls the duration between retransmission of a PET
packet.
According to the ASF standard, each PET packet (except the heartbeat PET)
must be retransmitted three times to ensure successful delivery of the PET packet
to the Remote Management Console. Typically, this value should be set between 10
and 20 seconds.
Legacy
Device Poll Interval
Controls how frequently the ASF NIC monitors system
sensors, such as the chassis intrusion sensor. This field is read-only and is set to 4 seconds.
Management
Console IP
Sets the IP address for the Remote Management Console. The ASF NIC sends all
PETs to this IP address through the network.
The Remote Management Console IP address should be
statically assigned. When the Remote Console
IP address is changed, the Management Console IP field must be updated with the new IP
address.
IP
Address
Displays the local IP address of the system.
This is a read-only field that runs in the Windows background.
Subnet
Mask
When the Remote Management Console is located on a different subnet, connected
via a Gateway Router, the ASF NIC uses this read-only field with the Default Gateway field
to communicate with the Remote Management Console.
Default
Gateway
When the Remote Management Console is located on a different subnet, connected
via a Gateway Router, the ASF NIC uses this read-only field with the Subnet
Mask field to communicate with the Remote Management Console.
ASF
Firmware Version
This read-only field displays the version of the ASF firmware that is
running inside the ASF NIC.
SNMP
Community
Set the SNMP community string. The default value is public.
View
Detailed ASF Configuration
Displays detailed ASF configuration information stored
inside the ASF NIC.
ASF Diagnostics
ASF diagnostics test
the proper operation of the hardware.
EEPROM
Checks the integrity of the
configuration data and the ASF firmware code that is stored in the NICs
EEPROM.
ASF
Test
Checks all hardware inside the NIC
that is required to support the ASF function, such as SMBus
signaling, all hardware timers, and control registers.
The Broadcom ASF Remote Configuration Utility (ASFRCfg.exe) does not require an installation program.
The ASFRCfg.exe
file is located in the c:\WINNT\system32 folder.
The Broadcom ASF Configuration Visual Basic script (BASFRCfg.vbs) is
an example of a Windows Visual Basic script.
The following link contains the sample script. If you are familiar with
scripting, you can modify this text file for use in your organization. To save
the file to your hard drive, right-click the link and save the file in the
location you desire with a .vbs extension.
NOTE:
The sample script is provided as an example only, and has not been
tested, nor is warranted in any way by Dell; Dell disclaims any liability
in connection therewith. Dell provides no technical support with regard to
such scripting. For more information on WMI scripting, refer to applicable
Microsoft documentation.
