Alert Standard Format

Abbreviation	ASF
Status	Published
Year started	2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Latest version	2.0 April 2003; 20 years ago (2003-04)
Organization	Distributed Management Task Force
Related standards	DASH
Website	www.dmtf.org/standards/asf

Alert Standard Format (ASF) (also sometimes referred to as Alert Standard Forum, Alerting Specifications Forum, Alert Specification Function, etc.) is a DMTF standard for remote monitoring, management and control of computer systems in both OS-present and OS-absent environments. These technologies are primarily focused on minimizing on-site I/T maintenance, maximizing system availability and performance to the local user.^[1]

ASF, unlike other DMTF standards, defines both external-facing network protocols (for use with Remote Management Consoles and Alert Sending Devices) and system-internal protocols and data models (for use in System Firmware, Remote Control Devices, Alert Sending Devices, and Sensors).

ASF v1.0 (DSP0114) was published by the DMTF Pre-OS Working Group in June 2001.

ASF v2.0 (DSP0136), adding secure remote authentication and data integrity, was published by the DMTF Pre-OS Working Group in April 2003.

Network protocols

• RMCP (Remote Management and Control Protocol) transmitted by the Remote Management Console and received by the Alert Sending Device via UDP port 623
• RSP (RMCP Security-Extensions Protocol) transmitted by the Remote Management Console and received by the Alert Sending Device via UDP port 664 (added in ASF 2.0)
• PET (Platform Event Traps) transmitted by the Alert Sending Device and received by the Remote Management Console via UDP port 162 (SNMP-Traps)

Internal protocols and data models

• SMBus 2.0 Messages (between the System Firmware, Alert Sending Device, Remote Control Device, and Sensors)
• ACPI System Description Table (sometimes referred to as the "ASF!" table) to be populated by the System Firmware and used by the Alert Sending Device