HP ILO2 detailed tutorial [graphic]

Remote Management is a common function of servers. It is a manifestation of ease of use and ease of management of servers. Remote Management can reduce the difficulty of server management, administrators no longer need to perform maintenance in complex data centers, making management more flexible and convenient, and improving work efficiency. Today, we take the iLO2 remote management feature integrated in HP Server as an example to demonstrate the convenience that the remote management feature brings to us.

ILO, short for Intergrated Light-Out, is a remote management function provided by Whirlpool. The latest version is iLO2. ILO2 enables remote management of hardware-level servers, including on/off, restart, server status monitoring, and virtual KVM. Currently, iLO2 control chips are generally integrated on HP 3, 5, and 7 Series servers and blade servers. administrators can remotely manage them through the Web. The configuration process and management process are very simple, administrators can free up the data centers in poor environments. The management process is simple and easy, and the TCO of enterprises is also reduced.

ILO2 control chip integrated on the motherboard

1. iLO2 Configuration

The iLO2 configuration process is very simple and can be divided into server and client configurations. First, we need to set an IP address for port iLO2 of the server, which can be manually set or allocated through the DHCP server. It is easy to obtain IP addresses through DHCP. You only need to connect the backend iLO2 interface of the server to the DHCP server through the network cable.

ILO2 interface of the backend of the HP Server

To set a static IP address for the iLO2 interface, follow these steps:

1. After the server is powered on, Press F8 when the "Intergrated Light-Out 2 Advanced Press [F8] to Configure" prompt appears to go to iLO2's Advanced settings.

ILO2 configuration page

Because iLO2 is set to obtain IP addresses through DHCP by default, if we want to set static IP addresses, we must first disable the iLO2 DHCP function. Select "DNS/DHCP" in the "Network" menu, use the space key to change the DHCP Enable status to "OFF", and then press the F10 key to save.

Disable DHCP

After the DHCP function is disabled, select NIC and TCP/IP from the "Network" menu to enter the Network configuration interface. Here we can set the IP address, subnet mask, and gateway of the iLO2 interface. After setting, press F10 to save the settings. Note that if you do not disable iLO2 DHCP, you cannot set it here. Here we set the IP address to 192.168.1.2/24.

Set IP Address

You can set other iLO2 settings in the "Setting" menu. Keep the default settings.

Now the configuration of the server is complete, and the configuration is very simple. On the iLO2 configuration page, you can add management accounts and restore factory configurations.

You can add management accounts.

When the client connects to port iLO2 through Web, you need to enter the user name and password for the management account. The default user name is "Administrator", and the password will also be provided on the tab on the top of the server, note that the case sensitivity is true. In the "User" menu on the configuration page, you can also add or delete a management account.

2. Client Configuration

The configuration on the server side is very simple. You only need to set a static IP address for the iLO2 interface. In the client, we first need to verify the network connectivity, connect the client to the server through the iLO2 interface of the network cable, and then verify the network connectivity through the ping command.

Verify network connectivity

Then we need to set the browser of the client. ILO2 requires IE 5.5 or later, and the key is 128 bits. ILO2's built-in full-screen and virtual KVM functions depend on ActiveX functions. Therefore, you must first set ActiveX in the browser. Open "Intenet options", select "Custom Level" on the "Security" tab, and set "allowed window initialized by script" in the "Security Settings" option, change "no size and location limit" to "enable". Other settings remain unchanged by default.

Change Security Settings

Ii. Use of iLO2

After both the server side and the client side are set up successfully, we can use the client's browser to remotely manage them through Web. First, type the IP address "192.168.1.2" of port iLO2 in the address bar to open the iLO2 homepage. Enter the user name and password. The default account and password are located on the top of the chassis.

ILO2 Homepage

After logging on, the System Status page is displayed, listing basic information about the System, such as the server model, serial number, System Health Status, and iLO2. The interface is intuitive and friendly. Three common functions are located in the middle of the page, allowing you to quickly perform operations. "Momentary Press" is a virtual power button that can be used to remotely switch the host. "Turn UID on" is used to Turn on or off the UID indicator before and after the server. It can be used to locate the server and will be indicated by flashing during virtual KVM login. "Launch" is used to start virtual KVM, which enables Remote Desktop Management of servers. However, you need to purchase additional licenses.

System status page

On the System Status page, you can view the operating Status and operating temperature of the server's main components, such as the processor, fan, power supply, memory, and network card, allows administrators to understand the working status of server hardware from time to time.

System Health Status

You can also view iLO2 event logs in System Status, including Logon Time, logout time, logon IP address, and operations such as on/off.

ILO2 Event Log

The "Remote Console" on the page is a virtual KVM Console that enables Remote Desktop Management of servers. However, the default Licence does not support virtual KVM operations, and you need to purchase additional licenses. We can also set virtual KVM, such as keyboard and mouse settings.

Virtual KVM settings

On the "Power Management" page, we can remotely turn on and off the server, Hold, cold start, and restart the server. This kind of server hardware-level control is very necessary and will be very useful when the server goes down.

Remote switch settings

On the Administration page, you can set iLO2 firmware, License, user, access port, and security rules.

Remote iLO2 firmware refresh

Set common Network Ports

TCP/IP and VLAN settings, or you can select the link type

Summary: Based on the above description of the remote management function of the HP Server iLO2, we can see that iLO2 is easy to configure, the interface is intuitive and friendly, and the remote functions are very rich, the administrator can use the client browser to conveniently perform operations such as hardware-level switch-on/off, restart, virtual KVM, view the working status of the main server components, and view logs. ILO2 can be used to manage, maintain, and monitor most servers on a daily basis. This greatly reduces the time required for on-site maintenance by administrators, overcomes the restrictions of regions, and makes management and maintenance more flexible.

The remote management function of the server is a very important component of the server design, and also reflects the design strength of the manufacturer. In server procurement, we should not only pay attention to the availability, scalability, and configuration prices of servers, but also purchase Server products with powerful management functions to achieve tangible convenience and greatly improve management efficiency, at the same time, it reduces labor costs and enterprise TCO.