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DMTF Hammers Out SMASH 2.0

The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), an industry organization advocating the development of interoperable server management, has released Systems Management Architecture for Server Hardware 2.0. The latest version of the SMASH initiative provides various specifications for streamlined management.

The previous spec, version 1.0, offered a standardized command line protocol for local and remote management of multiple servers in a data center, regardless of machine state, operating system, server system topology or access method. SMASH 2.0 extends the initiative with support for programmatic interfaces and Web services. It pulls this off by leveraging DMTF technologies such as Web Services for Management (WS-Management) and Common Information Model (CIM).

WS-Management leverages Web services as a common method for systems to access and exchange management data. CIM provides a common definition of management information for systems, networks, apps and services to foster easier exchange of information between systems from various vendors.

SMASH is getting active support from representatives of firms such as AMD, Dell, HP and Hitachi, as well as IBM.

"With the introduction of Web services-based management for heterogeneous server platforms, SMASH represents a significant advancement in interoperable systems management," said Tom Bradicich, IBM Fellow and vice president for IBM's Systems Technology, Blade, Rack and x86 Servers, in a prepared statement.

DMTF has more than 4,000 active participants from nearly 200 organizations and works to promote interoperable management standards for enterprise solutions.

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David Kopf is a freelance technology writer and editor.