LiPPERT Enhanced Management Technology (LEMT) has been developed to resolve some shortcomings of today's Embedded PC systems. For once, contemporary processors and chipsets have complex needs when it comes housekeeping tasks; for instance, to power up and power save modes. In order to flexibly handle these requirements, the best solution is to integrate a microcontroller on board, which can be freely programmed to handle even the most complex sequences. On the other hand, many applications require that there are means to record up times, maximum temperatures and the like.
LiPPERT solves these intricacies with LEMT. An integrated microcontroller (system management controller, SMC) communicates with the chipset over the system management bus (SMB). In addition to the functions required by the used chipset, this microcontroller also implements a set of functions that can be used by an application program.
LEMT Function Overview:
Identify part number, serial number, BIOS and SMC version
Read total operating hours
Read up-time seconds counter since power on
Read overall power cycles
Read current temperature of CPU and board
Get power-up temperature of CPU and board
Log Min-/Max-Temperature of CPU and board
Set, reset or disable the watchdog timer
Access flash ROM for user data (512B / 1kB)
Save data in write-protectable flash ROM (128B / fused)
Get information about system restart events
Enable, disable and control the LVDS backlight
Read main current and power consumption
Log data for spreadsheet calculation programs
Depending on the specific board type, there might be limited functionality. Refer to the related technical manual for more information. Access to all functions is provided by a software tool, available for Windows and Linux operating systems. In both cases, a command line tool is present. In addition LiPPERT provides a graphical user interface for Windows.
The picture on the right shows the user interface for the CoreExpress-ECO2 specific function set.
Graphical Hardware Monitor
The graphical hardware monitor shows how the boards power consumption and temperature develops over time. There are two temperature curves, one each for the usual two sensors on the boards.
These graphs help to understand the system's behaviour under different load situations.
Browser Interface
LEMT's information can also be remotely viewed using a web browser, To achieve this, a web server must be installed on the embedded PC. A CGI script takes care of the SMB communication and builds a corresponding weg page. The page's refresh time is configurable. The screen shot shows the information page. (Click to enlarge)
Architecture
LEMT's architecture defines two parts: A hardware and an application layer. The hardware (driver) layer accesses an integrated microcontroller (SMC) directly through the appropriate chipset. The means of communication is given by the System Management Bus (SMB). The SMC handles all LEMT functionality as described above. Additionally, it performs system housekeeping, like start up power sequencing and the like.
The application layer part is for user interaction. It reads commands and displays the data fetched by the SMC. As the interface to the driver part is defined independently from the operating system, the application program can be easily ported between various operating systems. Versions for Windows and Linux are readily available.
The video explains LEMT's basic functionality (Change resolution to 720p for best results)
Is LEMT.exe a computer virus?
Several customers reported that their virus scanner has flagged LEMT.exe as a computer virus. We forwarded the issue to Avira Labs, a well-known, reputated manufacturer of anti-virus solutions.
Naturally, their investigation yielded a FALSE POSITIVE result. LEMT.exe is no computer virus; its accesses to hardware details are intended and required for its legal purposes.
