The DMTF has released its new Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for Redfish® Device Enablement Specification as a Work in Progress, inviting public review and comment. This standard enables a management controller to present Redfish-conformant management of I/O adapters in a server, without the need for code specific to each adapter family/vendor/model. 

PLDM for Redfish Device Enablement describes the operation and format of request messages (also referred to as commands) and response messages, designed to be delivered using PLDM messaging. Using Redfish, messages are generated by a Redfish client through interactions with a user or a script, and communicated via JSON over HTTP or HTTPS to a management controller. Using the new standard, the management controller will encode the message into a binary format (Binary Encoded JSON, or BEJ) and communicate it using PLDM to an appropriate device for servicing. The device processes the message and returns the response back using PLDM to the management controller, again in binary format.  The management controller then decodes the response and constructs a standard Redfish response in JSON over HTTP or HTTPS for delivery back to the client.

PLDM for Redfish Device Enablement is developed by the DMTF’s Platform Management Components Intercommunications (PMCI) Working Group, which defines standards to address “inside the box” communication and functional interfaces. It can be used in conjunction with other PMCI standards, such as the PLDM Firmware Update Specification, to provide a comprehensive, common architecture for improved communication between management subsystem components. The new WIP release is the latest example of the ongoing hard work and close collaboration between DMTF Working Groups (including PMCI, SMBIOS and SPMF) to seamlessly address both internal- and external-facing interfaces and protocols for system management.

To learn more about PMCI WG and to download the latest documents, click here.