PMCI Platform Management Communications Infrastructure
Working Group Chair(s)
- Hemal Shah, Broadcom Inc.
- Patrick Caporale, Lenovo
Working Group Description
The Platform Management Communications Infrastructure (PMCI) Working Group defines standards to address “inside the box” communication interfaces between the components of the platform management subsystem. PMCI Working Group Specifications are referenced and used by other industry organizations and specifications.
The group develops the Network Controller Sideband Interface (NC-SI), Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP), and Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) that provide a comprehensive, common architecture for improved communication between management subsystem components. These specifications enable the monitoring and control of systems independent of the OS state, when the OS is running or an OS is not available (for example, when a system is booting, before the OS has loaded, or when the OS is inoperable).
The PMCI WG creates intra-platform manageability standards and technologies, which complement DMTF’s other standards such as the Redfish API from the Redfish Forum, Security Protocol and Data Models (SPDM) from the SPDM WG, Common Information Model (CIM) profiles, as well as remote access protocols that are defined in the other DMTF groups.
DMTF has an assigned PCI Vendor ID of 0x1AB4 for usage with the MCTP over PCIe VDM specification.
Get Involved
- Technical work on the NC-SI, MCTP, and PLDM standards takes place in the Platform Management Communications Infrastructure (PMCI) Working Group.
- DMTF members are encouraged to contribute and access the work of the PMCI Working Group via its private, members-only workspace. Non-members, learn more and join DMTF to participate.
- DMTF welcomes feedback on our standards, but requires that individuals submitting comments first agree to our DMTF Feedback Policy.
Upcoming Workgroup Deliverables
| DMTF Standard Publication Identifier | Document Title | Target Version | Target Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSP0256 | MCTP Host Interface Specification | 2.0.0 | Published |
| DSP0257 | PLDM for FRU Data Specification | 2.0.0 | Published |
| DSP0220 | DMTF FRU Data Model and Schema Specification | 1.0.0 | Published |
| DSP0291 | PCIe Management Interface (PCIe-MI) over MCTP Binding Specification | 1.0.0 | 2025Q2 |
| DSP0292 | MCTP PCC Transport Binding Specification | 1.0.0 | 2025Q2 |
| DSP0283 | MCTP over USB Binding Specification | 1.1.0 | 2025Q2 |
| DSP0236 | MCTP Base Specification | 1.4.0 | 2025Q2 |
| DSP0236 | MCTP Base Specification | 2.0.0 | 2025 |
| DSP0238 | MCTP over PCIe VDM Binding Specification | 1.4.0 | 2025Q3 |
| DSP0267 | PLDM for Firmware Update Specification | 1.4.0 | 2025Q3 |
| DSP0242 | PLDM for File Transfer Specification | 1.0.1 | 2025Q2 |
| DSP0242 | PLDM for File Transfer Specification | 1.1.0 | 2025Q3 |
| DSP0290 | MCTP UCIe™ Transport Binding Specification | 1.0.0 | TBD |
Work in Progress Documents
| DSP # | Version | Title | Date | Comments | Versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSP0291 | 1.0.0WIP99 | PCIe® Management Interface (PCIe-MI®) over MCTP Binding Specification | 8 Jun 2025 | Work-in-Progress | View |
| DSP0292 | 1.0.0WIP50 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) PCC Transport Binding Specification | 25 Apr 2024 | Work-in-Progress | View |
The following specifications are part of the MCTP protocol suite.
| DSP # | Version | Title | Date | Comments | Versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSP0283 | 1.0.1 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) Universal Serial Bus (USB) Transport Binding Specification | 21 May 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0281 | 1.0.0 | CXL™ Type 3 Device Component Command Interface over MCTP Binding Specification | 28 Dec 2021 | Standard | View |
| DSP0256 | 2.0.0 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) Host Interface Specification | 9 Apr 2025 | Standard | View |
| DSP0239 | 1.11.1 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) IDs and Codes | 19 Aug 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0238 | 1.3.0 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) PCIe VDM Transport Binding Specification | 4 Oct 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0237 | 1.2.0 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) SMBus/I2C Transport Binding Specification | 6 Apr 2020 | Standard | View |
| DSP0236 | 1.3.3 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) Base Specification | 25 Mar 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0235 | 1.0.1 | NVMe™ (NVMe Express™) Management Messages over MCTP Binding Specification | 3 Aug 2018 | Standard | View |
| DSP0234 | 1.0.0 | CXL™ Fabric Manager API over MCTP Binding Specification | 25 May 2021 | Standard | View |
| DSP0233 | 1.0.1 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) I3C Transport Binding Specification | 25 Mar 2024 | Standard | View |
The following specifications are part of the PLDM protocol suite.
| DSP # | Version | Title | Date | Comments | Versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSP0267 | 1.3.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for Firmware Update Specification | 13 Dec 2023 | Standard | View |
| DSP0249 | 1.3.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) State Set Specification | 4 Oct 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0248 | 1.3.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for Platform Monitoring and Control Specification | 5 Aug 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0247 | 1.0.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for BIOS Control and Configuration Specification | 23 Apr 2009 | Standard | View |
| DSP0246 | 1.0.1 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for SMBIOS Transfer Specification | 11 Dec 2009 | Standard | View |
| DSP0245 | 1.4.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) IDs and Codes Specification | 22 May 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0242 | 1.0.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for File Transfer Specification | 5 Aug 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0241 | 1.0.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) Over MCTP Binding Specification | 23 Apr 2009 | Standard | View |
| DSP0240 | 1.2.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) Base Specification | 5 Aug 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP0218 | 1.2.0 | Platform Level Data Model (PLDM) for Redfish Device Enablement | 5 Aug 2024 | Standard | View |
| DSP2067 | 1.0.0 | PLDM CXL Memory Modeling White Paper | 24 Jun 2024 | Informational | View |
| DSP2061 | 1.0.1 | PLDM Accelerator Modeling White Paper | 1 Oct 2024 | Informational | View |
The following specifications are part of the FRU protocol suite.
The following specifications are part of the MMBI protocol suite.
The following specifications are part of the NC-SI protocol suite.
The following specifications are part of the PMCI Tools suite.
White Papers, Example Files, Technical Notes
| DSP # | Version | Title | Date | Comments | Versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSP2067 | 1.0.0 | PLDM CXL Memory Modeling White Paper | 24 Jun 2024 | Informational | View |
| DSP2061 | 1.0.1 | PLDM Accelerator Modeling White Paper | 1 Oct 2024 | Informational | View |
| DSP2054 | 1.0.0 | PLDM NIC Modeling | 18 Dec 2019 | Informational | View |
| DSP2037 | 1.0.0 | MCTP Packets and NC-SI over MCTP Overview | 20 Feb 2014 | Informational | View |
| DSP2016 | 1.0.0 | Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) Overview White Paper | 8 Jul 2007 | Informational | View |
| DSP2015 | 2.2.0 | Platform Management Communications Infrastructure (PMCI) Architecture White Paper | 6 May 2024 | Informational | View |
| -- | 012025 | DMTF PMCI Tech Note | 13 Jan 2025 | View |
Open Source Projects using DMTF PMCI Technologies
DMTF technologies are leveraged in numerous third-party open source projects.
If you are aware of any additional projects using DMTF technologies that are not included below, please contact us so we can add them to the list.
| Title | Description of Tool | PMCI Standard |
|---|---|---|
| OpenBMC |
The OpenBMC project can be described as a Linux distribution for embedded devices that have a BMC; typically, but not limited to, things like servers, top of rack switches or RAID appliances. |
NC-SI |