As contributors to the Open Compute Project (OCP) and foremost firmware/ silicon providers supporting OCP standards, AMI and Lattice Semiconductor are excited to demonstrate interoperability of the AMI Tektagon and Lattice-based Platform Root of Trust (PRoT) solution on third-party DC-SCM 2.0 cards. This demonstration is scheduled to take place at the OCP, in San Jose from October 17th to 19th in the San Jose Convention Center. The detailed walk-through and breakout session in the security track will show platform attestation using the Lattice Mach™-NX FPGA with Hardware Root of Trust on a DC-SCM 2.0 card, communicating to a Lattice-simulated Host Processor Module (HPM) with LVDS Tunneling Protocol and Interface (LTPI).

DC-SCM 2.0 Delivers Important Advantages with LTPI

Modular platform architectures in data centers offer several benefits, such as scalability, flexibility, and easier maintenance. However, component and resource costs must be minimized in an effort to make the modular approach more optimal. Availability of I/Os and reduced scope of board components, such as connectors, should be considered as standard specifications are created.

Designed for tunneling various low-speed signals between the HPM and SCM, LTPI is able to deliver more bandwidth and scalability, with multiplexing and tunneling of several various signal types including GPIO, SMBus, I2C, and UART. This consolidation helps enable DC-SCM 2.0 with reduced costs and complexity with better performance, creating a more optimized approach toward a modular design.

Lattice Provides a Glimpse into the LTPI Future

One of the key pieces that enables the DC-SCM PRoT demo is the simulated LTPI HPM, running on a Lattice FPGA. Normally taking the form of an FPGA, the Lattice FPGA performs the same CPLD functions as well as enabling the LTPI tunneling of the I2C and SMBus interfaces to the HPM for PRoT command/control and filtering.

Platform Root of Trust Resiliency with AMI Tektagon and Lattice Mach-NX in a Modular DC-SCM Design

The modular approach to PRoT provides great benefits to CSPs and data center managers. By using a DC-SCM enabled server, data center managers have the flexibility of choosing the right BMC solution to minimize efforts for compatibility while securing their platform firmware. This also allows for some optimizations that can be made in functionality at the server ODMs to accommodate this flexibility.

The demonstration and subsequent security track session will show how the modular DC-SCM 2.0 architecture provides a solution for fully compliant NIST 800-193 platform firmware resiliency. Attendees will be able to see the attestation of BIOS and BMC platform firmware as well as how peripheral attestation is done using SPDM over MCTP.

Experience the Demonstration and Security Track Session

Attendees of the 2023 OCP Global Summit can experience the demonstration of the PRoT DC-SCM solution with LTPI from October 17th through the 19th at the AMI Expo Hall Booth #A33. Those interested in seeing the security track session: “Leveraging FPGA-based root of trust for efficient, dynamic, and remote platform attestation” can do so on October 19th in room 210CG at the Concourse level of the San Jose Convention Center.