What is Dell Data Protection Encryption?

Dell Data Protection Encryption is a number of applications that allow you to:
1. Detect data security risks on desktops, laptops and external media.
2. Protect data on these devices by enforcing access control policies, authentication and
encryption of sensitive data.
3. Manage data centrally with policies using collaborative tools that integrate into existing
user directories.
4. Support key and data recovery, automatic updates and tracking for protected devices.

Dell Data Protection Encryption

Dell Data Protection Encryption is a "Full-System Data Protection Solution" (HW, SW, Services)
that provides Encryption. Multi-OS supported (XP, Vista, Linux and Windows 7). It uses local
(or remote) management console for selected OptiPlex, Latitude and Precision ensure portability
and reliability. The most secure, integrated data protection solution focused on ease of use and
performance (less deterioration of speed compared to other solutions in market).
It provides an integrated, comprehensive data protection solution that delivers encryption to our
customers while providing the single point of contact for sales and service issues. Also, to
integrate the management of DDPE with Microsoft's System Center Configuration Manager
(SCCM).
Key functional components are the following:

Encryption
o Endpoint Middleware (abstraction layer)
o Endpoint Software (policy manager and local enforcement)
o Remote Management Console (remote policy manager)

Port Control
o Endpoint Middleware
o Endpoint Software (policy manager and locale enforcement)
o Remote Management Console (remote policy manager)

Intel Rapid Recover Technology

Part of feature set available on the Latitude E6230, E6330, E6430S, E6430, E6430 ATG and E6530 is Intel Rapid
Recover Technology (IRRT). IRRT offers a type of RAID which utilizes eSATA.
Intel Rapid Recover Technology (IRRT) is a feature of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager. It uses RAID 1 (mirroring)
functionality to copy data from a designated master drive to a designated recovery drive. The master drive data can
be copied to the recovery drive either continuously or on request.
When using the Continuous Update policy, changes made to the data on the master drive while the system is not
docked are automatically copied to the recovery drive when the system is re-docked.
When using the On Request update policy, changes made to the master drive data can be copied to the recovery
drive at a time of the user's choice. Also, the master drive data can be restored to a previous state by copying the
data on the recovery drive back to the master drive.

Intel Rapid Storage Technology provides new levels of protection, performance, and expandability for desktop and
mobile platforms. Whether using one or multiple hard drives, users can take advantage of enhanced performance
and lower power consumption. When using more than one drive, the user can have additional protection against data
loss in the event of a hard drive failure.
Intel Rapid Storage Technology was formerly known as Intel Matrix Storage Manager. Starting with version 9.5, a
brand new user interface makes creating and managing your storage simple and intuitive. Combined with Intel Rapid
Recover Technology, setting up data protection can be accomplished easily with an external drive.
Valuable digital memories are protected against a hard drive failure when the system is configured for any one of
three fault-tolerant RAID levels: RAID 1, RAID 5, and RAID 10. By seamlessly storing copies of data on one or more
additional hard drives, any hard drive can fail without data loss or system downtime. When the failed drive is removed
and a replacement hard drive is installed, data fault tolerance is easily restored.
Intel Rapid Storage Technology can also improve the performance of disk intensive retrieval applications such as
editing home video. By combining from two to six drives in a RAID 0 configuration, data can be accessed on each
drive simultaneously, speeding up response time on data-intensive applications. Also, due to drive load balancing,
even systems with RAID 1 can take advantage of faster boot times and data reads.
Intel Rapid Storage Technology provides benefits to users of a single drive as well. Through AHCI, storage
performance is improved through Native Command Queuing (NCQ). AHCI also delivers longer battery life with Link
Power Management (LPM), which can reduce the power consumption of the chipset and Serial ATA (SATA) hard
drive.

4K Hard Drive
Overview

Historically, hard drives read and write data in fixed chunks. For several decades those chunks have always been
512 bytes sector. As adopting larger drive capacities, there is a requirement to transition to transferring data in larger
chunks. Thus hard drive manufacturers have agreed with a new standard adopted by IDEMA (The International Disk
Drive Equipment and Materials Association) for a new data structure format that defines an increase in the basic
sector size used on the media of hard drives. This new IDEMA standard mandates that a hard drive sector size will
change from 512 bytes to 4096 (4K) bytes.

Legacy 512B Sector Architecture

The 512B sector comprise a few basic components:
1.

Sync/DAM (lead-in)

2.

Inter-sector gaps

3.

ECC (Error Correction Code) blocks

The crux of the problem is that there are 3 factors that are in constant need of balancing when it comes to hard drive
design: areal density, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in reading from drive platters, and the use of Error Correcting
Code (ECC) to find and correct any errors that occur. As areal density is increases, sectors become smaller and their
SNR decreases. To compensate for that, improvements are made to ECC (usually through the use of more bits) in
order to maintain reliability. So for hard drive manufacturers to add more space, they ultimately need to improve their
error-correction capabilities, which mean the necessary ECC data requires more space.
At some point during this process drive manufacturers stop gaining any usable space - that is, they have to add as
much ECC data as they get out of the increase areal density in the first place - which limits their ability to develop
larger drives. Drive manufacturers dislike this both because it hinders their ability to develop new drives, and because
it means their overall format efficiency (the amount of space on a platter actually used to store user data) drops. Drive
manufacturers want to build bigger drives, and they want to spend as little space on overhead as possible.
But all is not lost. The principle problem here is that ECC correction takes place in 512B chunks, while ECC can be
more efficient when used over larger chunks of data. If ECC data is calculated against a larger sector, even though
more ECC data is necessary than for a single 512B sector, less ECC data than the sum of multiple sectors is needed
to maintain the same level of operational reliability.
Maintaining the multiple blocks of ECC has proven to require a lot of overhead and reducing the number of these per
sector can improve the efficiency of the drive.

4K Sector or Advanced Format

With Advanced Format technology, it is possible to eliminate Sync/DAM blocks, inter-sector gaps, and ECC blocks,
improving error rate within the same available capacity shown as below:

Advanced Format technology will help the hard drive industry deliver higher capacity hard drives and also provides an
increase in data reliability by providing a more powerful error correction scheme using longer ECC code words.
Hard drive makers are transitioning specifically to a 4K sector, the rationale is based on the earlier problems. The 4K
sector are much larger than 512B sector, which mean they benefit more from our earlier ECC optimizations, which in
turn brings a greater increase in format efficiency than using smaller sectors.
4K also happens to be a magical number elsewhere when it comes to computers this is primarily rooted in the fact
that a normal page of memory on an x86 processor continues to be 4KB (ed: 4MB pages also exist). The x86 page
size in turn has also lead to file system clusters (the smallest unit of storage in a file system) becoming 4KB as 4KB
clusters neatly fit in to a page of memory, while the need for smaller clusters has subsided amidst a general increase
in file size (i.e. fewer files are smaller than 4KB and waste space). So, 4KB physical sectors map perfectly with 4KB
file system clusters, which in turn map perfectly with 4KB memory pages. And hence 4KB is the largest practical size
for a hard drive sector at this time.

512B Emulation
With all of that said, to make this kind of advancement practical, a transition period is necessary. That transition
period will be done through the use of 512B emulation technology, which will expose Advanced Format drives to the
drive controller and operating system as having 512B sector, when in reality they will have 4K sector as shown below:

With the 512B emulation, theres the risk that a partition could be misaligned compared to the 4K physical sector where it would be unwittingly started in the middle of such a sector(refer to the below images). As a result, the
clusters of a file system on that partition would end up straddling 4K sector, which would cause performance
problems. Specifically, in testing IDEMA found that random writes in would be particularly impacted, as a ReadModify-Write (RMW) would need to take place to update each sector, rather than a straight write. Although this isnt

mechanically or electronically harmful in any way, the performance hit compared to a straight write makes it
undesirable.

512 byte sector emulation: how the drive is laid out (physical) and what the OS sees (logical)

A single unaligned 4K cluster straddling 2 physical sectors

Let's look at more examples of the un-aligned drive and the possible performance degradation discussed earlier. The
following example is partitions created in a Windows XP environment are place on a non-4K aligned boundary will
impact the Read-Modify-Write (RMW) to an additional 11ms based on a 5400RPM hard drive.

1.

One 4K sector is written starting at

logical sector 63

2.

To change the information contained in

logical sectors 63 through 70, the
following actions occur:

3.

a.

Write command requested to

Host

b.

Data passed to buffer

c.

Sectors 56 through 71 are

read into the buffer

d.

Sectors 63 through 70 are

modified in the buffer

e.

Sectors 56 through 71 are

written

Net result => 2 operations are

required : 28.5ms in total

4.

An extra 11ms is required for the

operation

Contrary, partitions created in a Windows Vista and Windows 7 place the first partition at sector 2048 by default. With
this, almost all the disk accessing are guaranteed to also fall on 4K boundaries and the performance result is the
similar as 512B.

1.

One 4K sector is written starting at logical sector 2048

2.

To change the information contained in logical sectors 2048

through 2055, the following actions occur:

3.

a.

Write command requested to Host

b.

Data passed to buffer

c.

Data written to the disk

Net result => 1 operation is required : 17.5ms in total

The following table shows which existing Windows operating systems are 4K aware.

Operating System

Advanced Format, 4K Aware?

Results

Windows XP

No

Creates primary partition with

Alignment 1 condition (misaligned)

Windows Vista (Pre Service Pack 1)

No

Large sector-aware but creates

partitions incorrectly (misaligned)

Windows Vista (Post Service Pack 1)

Yes

Creates partitions with Alignment 0

condition (aligned)

Windows 7

Yes

Creates partitions with Alignment 0

condition (aligned)

Type

Data Transfer Rate

Category

Introduction Year

USB 3.0

4.8 Gbps

Super Speed

2010

USB 2.0

480 Mbps

High Speed

2000

USB 1.1

12 Mbps

Full speed

1998

USB 1.0

1.5 Mbps

Low speed

1996

Intel Smart Response Technology

Smart Response is a feature that uses both a traditional hard disk drive (HDD) and a solid state drive (SSD) of
greater than 32 GB together. It dynamically monitors file, data, and application use, in addition to storing frequently
used content on a special partition on the SSD device for faster access. It provides SSD-like read/write performance
for the files used most frequently, while providing lower overall storage cost by sorting and storing less frequently
accessed content on the larger-sized traditional HDD.

Intel Rapid Start Technology

Rapid Start is a feature that provides power savings similar to Windows hibernate state, while improving resume time
vs. hibernate by ~2x. Rapid Start may be combined with Smart Response on some systems to enhance overall
system performance while also reducing power consumption when not in use.

Intel Smart Connect Technology

Smart Connect is a feature that periodically wakes the system from the Windows sleep state to refresh email or
social networking applications. When the system is equipped with specific wireless devices, it can detect the
presence of known networks while asleep, waking only when connectivity is available (this feature is called Net
Detect). When properly equipped with specific wireless devices, Smart Connect can also provide quick internet
connection readiness by keeping wireless devices active in a low-power mode during sleep (this feature is called
Quick Connect). Smart Connect may be combined with Rapid Start on some systems to help reduce power
consumption while still keeping email and other application data current.

NVIDIA Optimus Technology

The Optimus technology is designed to maximize performance and user experience on the computer, while
minimizing the impact on battery life. It combines the graphic processing capability of the integrated Intel graphic
processing unit (GPU) with the discrete nVidia GPU while running graphic-intensive applications such as 3-D games.
The nVidia GPU is turned on only for preset applications and thus extends the battery life.

Intel Active Management Technology 8.0

Intel Active Management Technology (Intel AMT) allows companies to manage their networked computers easily.

Discover computing assets on a network regardless of whether the computer is turned on or off Intel AMT
uses information stored in nonvolatile system memory to access the computer. The computer can even be
accessed while it is powered off (also called out-of-band or OOB access).

Remotely repair systems even after operating system failures In the event of a software or operating
system failure, Intel AMT can be used to access the computer remotely for repair purposes. IT
administrators can also detect computer system problems easily with the assistance of Intel AMT's out-ofband event logging and alerting.

Protect networks from incoming threats while easily keeping software and virus protection up to date across
the network.

Solid State
Solid State Drive
The solid state drive (SSD) is a new offering from Dell that replaces a conventional
hard drive. The drive uses only nonvolatile (NV) memory to store data instead of the
spinning platters and moving heads of a conventional hard drive. The result is much
faster access times and data transfer, as well as more reliability.

The drive itself comes in a 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch form factor. The smaller drive is the same size
as the drive used in the Latitude D420 system, but it has a special carrier that allows it to fit
into other systems. In the carrier, it looks just like the ruggedized drive offered on the Latitude
D620 ATG system. The larger drive is the same form factor as standard notebook drives.
The 1.8-inch drive has a PATA interface but comes with an adapter that allows it to connect to a
SATA controller. The 2.5-inch drive uses a standard SATA connection as with other drives of this
size.
Here are some of the features of the SSD:

Faster The SSD has much faster access times than a conventional hard
drive. In some tests, the Windows XP operating system loaded almost twice
as fast.

More reliable Since the drive has no moving parts, it is more reliable than
standard hard drives or other drives that require motion to work.

More durable No moving parts also means less chance of damage from
bumps or impacts.

Improved power savings Conventional hard drives require motors to

spin the platters that store data. Eliminating the motor on an SSD creates
power savings, which in turn means longer battery life.

The drive is available for most systems shipping in 2007 and may become available on other
platforms as well as its popularity increases. The drive is presently available in only two sizes: 32
GB and 64 GB.

Hybrid

Hybrid Hard Drive

The hybrid hard drive is also referred to as just a hybrid drive. The reason is that a small amount of cache memory is
included with the drive that works much the same as Intel Turbo Memory
but without the separate card. The
drive looks identical to standard drives and uses the same form factor.
All hard drives use a small amount of DRAM cache. The hybrid hard drive uses an additional 256 MB of NAND
memory for its nonvolatile (NV) cache. (You cannot replace just the cache without replacing the entire drive.) This
cache allows some data to be read and written to flash memory without the need for spinning up the drive. When the
drive is spinning and data is being transferred, it also improves read times for the drive.
The drive spins at 5400 RPM and comes in 80 GB, 120 GB and 160 GB sizes.

Here are some of the advantages of the hybrid hard drive:

the drive is accessed, the longer the drive life.Faster access times As with other implementations of
cache memory, the goal is to provide faster access to data. Since NAND memory stores and retrieves data
much faster than a hard drive, the speed increase is evident primarily when the computer is performing
repetitive tasks instead of during long data read / writes.

Quicker boots and resumes One of the most noticeable places for speed increases is during the initial
boot of the Windows operating system and when the system resumes from Hibernate.

Increased power savings Using cache memory to store data before accessing the drive itself allows the
drive to spin down more often. This provides a power savings that adds up over the course of several hours.
The result is extended battery life.

Improved hard drive reliability Moving parts have a higher rate of failure than solid-state parts. The less

Key benefits of eSATA:

Up to 6 times faster than existing external storage solutions: USB 2.0 and IEEE 1394

Robust and user-friendly external connection

High performance, cost effective expansion storage

Up to 2 meter shielded cables and connectors

If you want to run Windows 8 on your PC, here's what it

takes:

Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2 (more info)

RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)

Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver

Intel Anti-Theft Technology Overview

The loss or theft of a companys laptop can cost far more than the replacement hardware. It can cause significant
disruptions to business. It can result in legal or financial exposure. It can put a company in breach of compliance with
stringent rules and regulations regarding data security and privacy.
The Intel Anti-Theft Technology (Intel AT) within the Intel Core processor provides IT administrators with intelligent
protection of lost or stolen assets. With Intel AT, user can now disable a lost or stolen PC with a local or remote
"poison pill". This poison pill can delete essential cryptographic material from system hardware in order to disable
access to encrypted data stored on the hard drive. The poison pill can also block the laptops boot process, rendering
the system a "brick".
The Intel ATs flexible policy engine allows IT admin to specify the detection mechanism that asserts theft mode, the
thresholds for timer intervals, and the theft-response action(s) to take. Because the technology is built into PC
hardware, Intel AT provides local, tamper-resistant protection that works even if the OS is reimaged, the boot order is
changed, a new hard-drive is installed, or the laptop is disconnected from the network. When the laptop is recovered,
user can reactivate it quickly and easily using several choices of methods: pre-provisioned passwords, one-time
codes generated by IT, security questions, and more.

How Does Intel AT Works?

Local And Remote Detection Mechanisms
Intel AT includes several hardware-based detection mechanisms that can prompt the laptop to enter theft mode and
lock down. Detection of potential loss or theft can occur based on local policy or via a remote connection over the
Internet to the theft-management server. Hardware-based detection and trigger mechanisms include:

Detection Mechanism

Explanation

After an IT-specified number of login failures in the Pre-Boot

Authentication(PBA) screen, the laptop enters theft mode as specified by IT
policy.

NOTE:
Please note that Dell BIOS PBA with DEll Control Point does not fully
integrate with AT.

Excessive login attempts

If a system is protected by DCP and AT together got stolen, the system

BIOS will prevent the system from booting, so it is initially protected by
DCP-managed user credentials. While the system is in this state, the AT
check-in timer will eventually expire, and the system will go into theft
mode, at which point it will be protected by both DCP and AT.

Missed check-ins

IT administrator can define intervals at which the laptop must check in with the
central server via the internet using the built-in timer. If a check-in is missed, the
local timer will expire and the laptop will immediately go into theft mode, even if
it is not connected to the internet.

Notification via the central

server

The IT administrator can flag the laptop in the central server if the loss or theft of
the PC is reported by an individual. The next time the laptop connects to the
central server, the central server can send the poison pill via wired or wireless
LAN and put it into theft mode.

Notification via encrypted SMS

text message

The central server can send an encrypted SMS text message to enter theft
mode if the laptop is 3G-enable. For this option, the laptop need not be
connected to the internet, but it must be within range of a 3G network and its
operating system must be functioning.

IT-Specified Responses
Intel AT provides flexible options for several automated loss/theft responses. Depending on the detection mechanism,
these responses can be activated locally and automatically, or remotely by IT:

Response

Disable access to encrypted

data

Explanation

Erase essential elements of cryptographic materials that are required to access

encrypted data on the hard drive.

Disable the PC

Block the boot process. Since the boot process is blocked through the laptops
hardware, this response works even if the boot order is changed, the hard drive
is replaced or reformatted, or other boot devices (e.g. secondary hard drive,
removable drive, CD, DVD, or USB key) are tried.

Disable both the PC and

access to encrypted data

Erase essential elements of cryptographic material and disables the PC by

blocking the boot process.

Customizable "theft mode"

message

IT administrators can customize the message that is displayed after the laptop
enters theft mode. For example, an IT administrator could define a message that
says, "This laptop has been reported missing. Please call 1-800 Dell to return
the system to Dell Inc."

Reactivation And Full System Recovery

The Intel AT includes several mechanisms for easy, rapid reactivation of a recovered laptop:

Reactivate and Recovery

Explanation

Local strong passphrase

A strong password pre-provisioned in the laptop by IT or by the authorized user

by simply enters this passphrase in a special pre-OS reactivation screen (via
BIOS or a PBA module).

Reactivation code

Generated by IT or by the users service provider via the theft-management

console, upon request by the user. For reactivation, a one-time reactivation
code is provided to the user via phone or other means. The user simply enters
the code in the special pre-OS reactivation screen (via BIOS).

PBA-based authentication
process

Some PBA modules allow the IT administrator (or IT service provider) to define
additional re-activation processes. These could include a security question, a set
of challenge-response questions, or a combination of passwords, biometric
authentication, or token authentication.

Hyper-threading
For each processor core that is physically present, the operating
system addresses two virtual or logical cores, and shares the
workload between them when possible. The main function of
hyper-threading is to decrease the number of dependent
instructions on the pipeline

Registered memory
Registered (also called buffered) memory modules have a register between the DRAM
modules and the system's memory controller. They place less electrical load on the memory
controller and allow single systems to remain stable with more memory modules than they would
have otherwise. Registered memory is often more expensive because of the lower volume and
the additional components, so it is usually found only in applications where the need for
scalability and stability outweighs the need for a low price (servers, for example). Although
most memory modules are both ECC and registered, there are also both registered non-ECC
modules and non-registered ECC modules. Non-registered ECC memory is supported and used
in motherboards which do not support the very large amounts of memory used by servers.

ECC memory
Error-correcting code memory (ECC memory) is a type of computer data storage that can
detect and correct the more common kinds of internal data corruption. ECC memory is used in
most computers where data corruption cannot be tolerated under any circumstances, such as for
scientific or financial computing.
ECC memory maintains a memory system immune to single-bit errors: the data that is read from
each word is always the same as the data that had been written to it, even if a single bit actually
stored, or more in some cases, has been flipped to the wrong state. Some non-ECC memory with
parity support allows errors to be detected, but not corrected; otherwise errors are not detected.

What is TPM?
The TPM, or Trusted Platform Module, is a security device that will hold computer
generated keys for encryption. It is a hardware based solution that will help avoid
attack by hackers looking to capture passwords and encryption keys to sensitive
data.

TPM is a unique hardware device on the system board that can be used to handle various security
tasks on a personal computer system. The security features provided by the TPM are internally
supported by the following cryptographic capabilities of each TPM: hashing, random number
generation, asymmetric key generation, and asymmetric encryption/decryption. Each individual
TPM on each individual system has a unique signature initialized during the silicon
manufacturing process that further enhances its trust/security effectiveness. Each individual TPM
must have an Owner before it is useful as a security device. The process of taking ownership is
performed by the TPM customer and must involve physical presence at the particular system that
requires ownership. After this procedure is completed and the TPM has a unique owner, the trust
bond is complete. It is in this state that the TPM can effectively be utilized by TPM-aware
software for security purposes.

What is UEFI?
UEFI is the successor to EFI. Both are Extensible Firmware Interfaces. (the U stands for Unified.) The basic idea is to
provide a data table with platform information and boot/runtime service functions in a standard environment. This way
operating systems can incorporate more generic, native calls that are consistent across all platforms of hardware.

It is important to remember that the BIOS or Basic Input Output System hands over control to the operating systems
and executive software after bootstrapping has been performed to ensure basic system functionality. Historically
speaking older operating systems like MS-DOS would rely on the BIOS to carry out most input/output tasks. 32 bit
operating systems like Linux and Microsoft started to invoke the BIOS directly.
As the standard BIOS began taking on more complexity (e. g. power management, hot swapping, thermal
management), the limitation of the 16-bit 1 MiB addressable space became more and more difficult to consistently
control of the applications and Operating systems to rely on the BIOS. Add in the fact that any card that contains an
option ROM also has bootstrapping code on them, the overlaps and vendor specific coding became more and more
difficult for OS or Execution code to behave universally across all the different BIOS present in the industry.
Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) was created to replace the runtime interfaces of the legacy BIOS. The EFI
platform was originally created for use with the Itanium processors produced by Intel The platofrm was renamed
UEFI upon the formation of a Unified Forum of PC industry stakeholders whose goal is to standardize the EFI
platform across the industry and allow for eventual replacement of all legacy BIOS platforms.
The new Dell Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) versions were named 2.0 and 2.1. These versions
operate in "long-mode" on x64 based architectures. UEFI creates its own environment for using modern C
commands. Therefore, driver support is designed for standard implementation across all new UEFI-enabled systems.
UEFI will provide a clean interface between operating systems and platform firmware during the boot process, and
will act as an architecture-independent mechanism for initializing add-in cards. Windows Server 2008 and Windows
Vista SP1 introduce native UEFI 2.0 support on all 64-bit platforms. In Linux, bot elilo and grub support EFI for x86-32
bit, x86-64 bit and Itanium CPUs. BSD in x86 do not support UEFI at this time.

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is an interface between PC operating systems and platform firmware.
The UEFI Forum is a collaborative trade organization comprised of key PC industry technological stakeholders with a
direct interest in the EFI platform as an alternative to the legacy BIOS platform. . The goal of these stakeholders is to
develop and govern a standard specification which formally defines the permameters for the UEFI. The UEFI Forum's
long-term goal is to create a new and robust environment for seamlessly booting to an OS and running pre-boot
applications, and eventually to replace the legacy BIOS interfaces with this new standard.

Product Overview
Enterprise organizations are adopting notebooks into their organizations at a much greater rate
than in the past. Notebook users are also demanding more productivity from their notebooks. The
major barrier for improvement in notebook productivity is notebooks spend a large amount of
time turned off and unconnected based on limited battery life, connectivity and portability. The
time it takes to boot to the operating system and logon to the enterprise network can be as long as
15 - 20 minutes. If you just need to check a meeting invite for the meeting location or quickly
check your e-mail, the overhead to boot the computer and connect to the network is just not
worth it sometimes.
Dell Latitude ON solves this problem by providing an interface that boots in just a minute
or two. Dell Latitude ON provides wireless access to e-mail, calendars, contacts and web
browsing. Latitude ON is a chip on the system board which contains its own Linux based
operating system which can connect to either a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) or
WWAN (Wireless Wide Area Network) connection in just seconds. Since the Latitude ON is

very basic operating system there are limits to what can and cannot be done. One of the main
limitations is the external ports on the system, USB, VGA and docking, do not function. There is
also no way to store any information such as e-mail or web documents since there is no storage
available.
NOTE:
There are several different Implementations of Dell Latitude ON. The Latitude E4300 and
E4200 systems have a separate card installed for Dell Latitude ON functionality. The
Latitude Z600 implements Dell Latitude ON as an integrated chip on the system board.
Therefore when replacing a Dell Latitude ON module, the module is replaced on the
Latitude E4300 and the E4200 but the system board is replaced on the Latitude Z600.
Dell Latitude ON key components:

System within a System Architecture

WLAN or WWAN persistent connection

Uses main LCD display, keyboard and touch pad of host system

Instant on capabilities via BIOS enablement and a hardware button on notebook

Based on customer feedback, the defined usage model is:

Real time instant access to e-mail, calendar, contacts and the Internet. Users interact with
these applications in a unique state and do not have access to unique applications loaded
in the main operating system or to data stored on the system hard drive.

Alert, review, respond using the full keyboard and display of the system.

Real time two way communications for the corporate workday.

NOTE:
Dell Latitude ON does not ship on all systems. Dell Latitude ON is an option on the
E4300 and E4200. The Z600 does not support the Dell Latitude ON for systems sold in
China. Verify Dell Latitude ON was shipped by checking DellServ. The module is listed
separtely for the E4300 and E4200. For the Z600 the system board BOM shows an SDIO
board if Latitude ON is included.
There are two entries in the BIOS that must be configured for Dell Latitude ON to work correctly. The first entry
enables Latitude ON, the second setting enables Instant On Mode. Both options should be checked.
Instant On Mode allows Latitude ON to be instantly available by pressing the Latitude ON button when the system is
off or hibernated. Instant on mode uses a small amount of battery power to ensure instant availability. Without instant
on mode, Latitude ON takes up to a minute or longer to boot, but does not use any battery power when the system is

turned off. Enabling this option is recommended. However, if the customer is concerned about loss of battery power,
this option can be disabled. This option is disabled by default in the BIOS.
The two settings for Latitude ON can be found by booting to the BIOS (press <F2> while the Dell logo is on the
screen). Once the BIOS screen is shown, click System Configuration to expand it, then click Latitude ON.
NOTE:
If the Latitude ON entry does not exist in the BIOS, flash the system to the latest BIOS. You can find the latest
BIOS on support.dell.com.

Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting problems where Latitude ON does not boot or boots to Latitude ON Reader
this setting in the BIOS to ensure Latitude ON is enabled.

, always check

If the customer feels Latitude ON is slow to boot, ensure Instant On Mode is checked.

Here's how to read the notebook LED codes when a possible error occurs:
Diagnostic LED
Fault Description

Storage LED

Power LED

Wireless LED

Blinking

Solid

Solid

A possible processor failure has

occurred.
The memory modules are
detected but have encountered
an error.

Solid

Blinking

Solid

Blinking

Blinking

Blinking

Blinking

Blinking

Solid

Blinking

Blinking

Off

System failed on hard drive

initialization OR System failed in
Option ROM initialization.

Blinking

Off

Blinking

The USB controller encountered

a problem during initialization.

A system board failure has

occurred.
A possible graphics card/video
failure has occurred.

Solid

Blinking

Blinking

No memory modules are

installed/detected.

Blinking

Solid

Blinking

The LCD encountered a problem

during initialization.

Off

Blinking

Blinking

The modem is preventing the

system from completing POST.

Off

Blinking

Off

USB Powershare

USB PowerShare is a feature which allows

for external USB devices (i.e. cellular
phones, portable music players, etc.) to
charge using the portable system's battery.
Only the USB connector with a lightning
bolt icon, as seen in the image to the right,
can be used.
This functionality is enabled in the system
setup under the On Board Devices heading.
You can select how much of the battery's
charge can be used as well (pictured below).
If you set the USB PowerShare to 25%, the
external device is allowed to charge until the
battery reaches 25% of full capacity (e.g.
75% of the portable's battery charge is used
up).
When the system is in a sleep state
(S3/S4/S5), USB Powershare can be utilized
to power or charge external devices (like
phones and portable music players) using
the stored system battery. The devices must
be connected through the USB Powershare
port on the notebook.
Charging while in S0 is handled normally by
the chipset/OS/drivers. USB Powershare
charging in S3/S4/S5 while on AC is

Memory failed to initialize or

memory is unsupported.

supported. On battery, Powershare will only

charge devices when in S3, which means
that S4/S5 charging is not supported on
battery. When on battery and in the S3 state,
the system will only allow the battery to
discharge down to 50%, at which point the
Powershare feature will become disabled.

Intel Virtualization Technology

Helping to transform IT environments, hardware-assisted Intel Virtualization Technology
(Intel VT) provides greater flexibility and maximum system utilization by consolidating
multiple environments into a single server, workstation, or PC. With fewer systems required for
the same tasks, Intel VT delivers:

Simplified resource management increasing IT efficiency.

Greater systems reliability and availability reducing corporate risk and real-time losses
from downtime.

Lower hardware acquisition costs with increased utilization of the machines you already
have.

Making traditional virtualization better

With support from the processor, chipset, BIOS, and enabling software, Intel VT improves
traditional software-based virtualization. Taking advantage of offloading workloads to system
hardware, these integrated features enable virtualization software to provide more streamlined
software stacks and "near native" performance characteristics.

More environments and less hardware required

Virtualization solutions enhanced by Intel VT allow a platform to run multiple operating systems
(OSs) and applications as independent virtual machines, allowing one computer system to
function as multiple "virtual" systems. For example, IT managers can create a single build with
multiple and different OSs, software, and legacy applications.

Extending virtualization beyond business environments

Hardware-assisted Intel VT and software-based virtualization technologies also extend to the
home user. Creating virtual "partitions" and isolating multiple user environments, home users can
dedicate resources to specific activities like PC games, personal finance, and photo and video
libraries, while simultaneously improving defenses against viruses or spyware.