What is MCTP?

MCTP, or Management Component Transport Protocol, is a standardized communications protocol designed for managing components within a computer system, particularly in server and data center environments. It provides a common interface for accessing and controlling various devices such as baseboard management controllers (BMCs), power supplies, and other management components. MCTP aims to improve interoperability and reduce the complexity of system management by providing a consistent way to communicate with diverse hardware components, abstracting away the underlying transport layer details. It is often used over buses like SMBus/I2C, PCIe, and others.