mctp · shipping · also MCTP

Management Component Transport Protocol

Management Component Transport Protocol (MCTP) carries messages between platform-management components over defined physical transport bindings.

Related Observatory article: Management Component Transport Protocol on hesela.com

The base protocol handles message delivery independently of the binding used for a particular bus. NVMe-MI is one protocol carried above MCTP, not another name for it. [1] [3]

Linux exposes MCTP through AF_MCTP datagram sockets. Routes belong to a network, while interfaces represent transport bindings; one network can span several interfaces. A working socket API alone does not establish a reachable device. [2]

Relations

related
MCTP endpoint ID, MCTP message tag, NVMe-MI, Out-of-band storage management

Limitations

  • MCTP itself does not provide authentication or confidentiality. [1]

Citations

  1. DMTF DSP0236 v1.3.3: sections 7, 8.13, 8.18.9 and 8.19 (accessed 2026-10-21)
  2. Linux kernel documentation: MCTP interfaces, networks and socket addresses (accessed 2026-10-21)
  3. NVM Express Management Interface 2.2: sections 1.3, 3, 8.1 and Figure 105 (accessed 2026-10-21)
Sources & caveats
  • Protocol scope follows DMTF DSP0236 v1.3.3, dated 25 March 2024. Linux API documentation was checked on 21 October 2026. No hardware interoperability test is claimed.

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Hesela team. Management Component Transport Protocol. Hesela. 2026-10-21. https://hesela.dev/terms/mctp/