Hp Ilo 4 License Keygen
Gen8 MicroServer iLO4 & Remote Monitoring & License Sign in to follow this. Do we have a seperate thread for iLO 4 License setup I looked around and could not see one, would be great if we can see what HP part numbers are compatible with the iLO 4 after all it is just a serial number.
I have a HP ProLiant Microserver Gen9. It has HP ILO version 4, but the Java based Remote Console doesn't work reliably and I can't use it after the POST screen in the free version of ILO (asks me to buy an ILO Advanced license). So I want to use the serial console instead to get a login on the server.
What do I have to do on an Ubuntu system to get all phases (POST, BIOS configuration, GRUB's output, the eventual login prompt) of the boot process in a serial console via the server's ILO network port? How do I connect to it?
nh2nh23 Answers
The ILO port on the HP server by default asks for an IP via DHCP. So you just need to plug it into a network that has a DHCP server running. It will announce itself with a host name like ILOCZ12345678 which should make it easier to find in your router's DHCP lease table, or in e.g. journalctl/syslog if you run a DHCP server (e.g. isc-dhcp-server) on a system like Ubuntu.
After you've found the IP (say 1.2.3.4), you can connect to ILO's GUI interface via https://1.2.3.4. But that's not what we're looking for, we want the serial console. So instead, use ILO's SSH interface: ssh Administrator@1.2.3.4. The default password is on the little paper tag that comes with the Microserver.
Note this also works when the server is shut down as long as it has a power cable stuck into it (that is the point of ILO).
In there, type ? to see all options. Excerpt:
We choose VSP to get the serial port; TEXTCONS would probably also be nice, but you'd have to buy the Advanced ILO license to use it.
Now, once we do that, with a running system, it just hangs at
That's because by default, Ubuntu (I'm using 16.04 here) doesn't make a login prompt available via the serial port. We'll change that later. First we reboot to see that the BIOS config already works.
Seeing it boot via the serial port
In another ILO ssh session, reboot using:
After some waiting time, you'll notice that the session in which VSP is running has cleared its screen.
Then appears:
That's the POST screen. Wait a bit and see:
If you want to configure the BIOS, now is your time: This screen appears only for 1 second or so. The F* keys typically don't work, they need to be escaped: You literally have to press the ESC key and then the number/symbol as it says above. E.g. ESC and then 5 is for F5.
Now, without further settings, we get silence at the serial port, because as mentioned above, neither GRUB2 nor the Ubuntu login terminals output by default to the serial port in 16.04.
So we configure the server (now via SSH) to use the serial port.
Making GRUB2 use the serial port
I follwed the instructions at https://www.hiroom2.com/2016/06/06/ubuntu-16-04-grub2-and-linux-with-serial-console/ changing /etc/default/grub as described (- means comment out the line with #, + means add the line):
The timeout of 10 seconds is set because the serial connection redraws the screen extremely slowly, and we want enough time to be able to cancel the timeout by pressing e.g. key-down in GRUB.
After changing the file as described, run sudo update-grub, and reboot.
You should now see in your VSP session the following after the POST screen:
We ignore this (if you know how to get rid of this, please comment). After a shor time, this appears:
That's a normal GRUB screen, and you can move the * pointer with the up and down keys.
Making the Ubuntu login use the serial port
The following bits are inspired by http://0pointer.de/blog/projects/serial-console.html
Now edit /etc/systemd/system/serial-getty@ttyS1.service:
Change the line
to
We especially care to set the mode vt100-nav -- I found that the login doesn't appear without this change.
I'm not sure why we have to use ttyS1 here while in GRUB we configured ttyS0 -- but it doesn't work for me to use S0 here. If somebody knows why, please comment.
Start the tty via:
You should now see a login prompt in your VSP session. Make this happen automatically at boot using:
And reboot. You should now see all the output in VSP, from POST to GRUB2 to the login prompt.
Use textcons from the ILO ssh interface. This may require the ILO Advanced license, but at the same time, there's a very low barrier to obtaining one.
Most organizations aren't interested in making the virtual serial port work because it's time consuming.
Google for an ILO license
or obtain a demo license from HP
or just pay $25 for an ILO key from Amazon
In RHEL7 'error: terminal `serial' isn't found' is due to the fact that Anaconda does not place a 'serial' device driver in the RAM image. It is possible to rebuild the RAM disk with the missing driver but Grub seems to function sufficiently without it.
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged hp-proliantubuntu-16.04serialilo or ask your own question.
I was trying to find some serial numbers of our HP servers the other day, but was not onsite to view the actual sticker with the Serial info. I searched for a way to find the serial number for warranty purposes, but everyone online said I needed the actual sticker. I found another way!
1. Login to server iLO
2. Click on the “Administration” Tab
3. Click on “Management” on the left navigation pane
4. Click on “View XML Reply”
5. The first part of the text output is your serial. Normally the serial starts with USE
Ilo 4 License
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